(a) Secretarial action after notification

Upon receiving notice from the Commission under section 5153(c) of this title of a negative determination regarding a coastal State, the Secretaries shall determine jointly, within 30 days, whether that coastal State is in compliance with the Plan and, if the State is not in compliance, the Secretaries shall declare jointly a moratorium on fishing for Atlantic striped bass within the coastal waters of that coastal State. In making such a determination, the Secretaries shall carefully consider and review the comments of the Commission and that coastal State in question.

(b) Prohibited acts during moratorium

Terms Used In 16 USC 5154

  • Atlantic striped bass: means members of stocks or populations of the species Morone saxatilis, which ordinarily migrate seaward of the waters described in paragraph (3)(A)(i). See 16 USC 5152
  • coastal State: means &mdash. See 16 USC 5152
  • coastal waters: means &mdash. See 16 USC 5152
  • Commission: means the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission established under the interstate compact consented to and approved by the Congress in Public Laws 77-539 and 81-721. See 16 USC 5152
  • Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
  • fishing: means &mdash. See 16 USC 5152
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Magnuson Act: means the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U. See 16 USC 5152
  • moratorium area: means the coastal waters with respect to which a declaration under section 5154(a) of this title applies. See 16 USC 5152
  • moratorium period: means the period beginning on the day on which moratorium is declared under section 5154(a) of this title regarding a coastal State and ending on the day on which the Commission notifies the Secretaries that that State has taken appropriate remedial action with respect to those matters that were the case of the moratorium being declared. See 16 USC 5152
  • officer: includes any person authorized by law to perform the duties of the office. See 1 USC 1
  • Plan: means a plan for managing Atlantic striped bass, or an amendment to such plan, that is prepared and adopted by the Commission. See 16 USC 5152
  • Secretaries: means the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the Interior or their designees. See 16 USC 5152
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of Commerce or a designee of the Secretary of Commerce. See 16 USC 5152
  • State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7
  • vessel: includes every description of watercraft or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on water. See 1 USC 3

During a moratorium period, it is unlawful for any person—

(1) to engage in fishing within the moratorium area;

(2) to land, or attempt to land, Atlantic striped bass that are caught, taken, or harvested in violation of paragraph (1);

(3) to land lawfully harvested Atlantic striped bass within the boundaries of a coastal State when a moratorium declared under subsection (a) applies to that State; or

(4) to fail to return to the water Atlantic striped bass to which the moratorium applies that are caught incidental to harvesting that occurs in the course of commercial or recreational fish catching activities, regardless of the physical condition of the striped bass when caught.

(c) Civil penalties

(1) Civil penalty

Any person who commits any act that is unlawful under subsection (b) shall be liable to the United States for a civil penalty as provided by section 308 of the Magnuson Act (16 U.S.C. 1858).

(2) Civil forfeitures

(A) In general

Any vessel (including its gear, equipment, appurtenances, stores, and cargo) used, and any fish (or the fair market value thereof) taken or retained, in any manner, in connection with, or as the result of, the commission of any act that is unlawful under subsection (b) shall be subject to forfeiture to the United States as provided in section 310 of the Magnuson Act (16 U.S.C. 1860).

(B) Disposal of fish

Any fish seized pursuant to this chapter may be disposed of pursuant to the order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or, if perishable, in a manner prescribed in regulations.

(d) Enforcement

A person authorized by the Secretaries or the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating may take any action to enforce a moratorium declared under subsection (a) that an officer authorized by the Secretary under section 311(b) of the Magnuson Act (16 U.S.C. 1861(b)) may take to enforce that Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). The Secretaries may, by agreement, on a reimbursable basis or otherwise, utilize the personnel, services, equipment (including aircraft and vessels), and facilities of any other Federal department or agency and of any agency of a State in carrying out that enforcement.

(e) Regulations

The Secretaries may issue regulations to implement this section.