16 U.S.C. § 1826a: Denial of port privileges and sanctions for high seas large-scale driftnet fishing

Not later than 30 days after November 2, 1992 , and periodically thereafter, the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall publish a list of nations whose nationals or vessels conduct large-scale driftnet fishing beyond the exclusive economic zone of any nation. withhold or revoke the clearance required by section 60105 of title 46 for any large-scale driftnet fishing vessel of a nation that receives a negative certification under section 1826j(d) or 1826k(c) of this title, or fishing vessels of a nation that has been listed pursuant to section 1826j(b) of this title or section 1826k(a) of this title in 2 or more consecutive reports for the same type of fisheries activity, as described under section 1826h of this title , until a positive certification has been received; withhold or revoke the clearance required by section 60105 of title 46 for fishing vessels of a nation that has been listed pursuant to section 1826j(a) or 1826k(a) of this title in 2 or more consecutive reports as described under section 1826h of this title ; and deny entry of that vessel to any place in the United States and to the navigable waters of the United States, except for the purposes of inspecting such vessel, conducting an investigation, or taking other appropriate enforcement action. the effect of that publication on port privileges of vessels of that nation under paragraph (1); and any sanctions or requirements, under this Act or any other law, that may be imposed on that nation if nationals or vessels of that nation continue to conduct large-scale driftnet fishing beyond the exclusive economic zone of any nation after December 31, 1992 . identify each nation whose nationals or vessels are conducting large-scale driftnet fishing beyond the exclusive economic zone of any nation; and notify the President and that nation of the identification under clause (i). identify that nation; and notify the President and that nation of the identification under clause (i). Not later than 30 days after a nation is identified under paragraph (1)(B), the President shall enter into consultations with the government of that nation for the purpose of obtaining an agreement that will effect the immediate termination of large-scale driftnet fishing by the nationals or vessels of that nation beyond the exclusive economic zone of any nation. upon receipt of notification of the identification of a nation under paragraph (1)(A) or a negative certification under section 1826j(d) of this title or section 1826k(c) of this title ; or if the consultations with the government of a nation under paragraph (2) are not satisfactorily concluded within ninety days, shall direct the Secretary of the Treasury to prohibit the importation into the United States of fish and fish products and sport fishing equipment (as that term is defined in section 4162 of title 26 ) from that nation. With respect to an import prohibition directed under subparagraph (A), the Secretary of the Treasury shall implement such prohibition not later than the date that is forty-five days after the date on which the Secretary has received the direction from the President. Before the effective date of any import prohibition under this paragraph, the Secretary of the Treasury shall provide public notice of the impending prohibition. any prohibition established under paragraph (3) is insufficient to cause that nation to terminate large-scale driftnet fishing conducted by its nationals and vessels beyond the exclusive economic zone of any nation, or to address the offending activities for which a nation received a negative certification under section 1826j(d) or 1826k(c) of this title; or that nation has retaliated against the United States as a result of that prohibition. The Secretary of Commerce shall certify to the President each affirmative determination under subparagraph (A) with respect to a nation. Certification by the Secretary of Commerce under subparagraph (B) is deemed to be a certification under section 1978(a) of title 22 . Large-scale driftnet fishing on the high seas is highly destructive to the living marine resources and ocean ecosystems of the world’s oceans, including anadromous fish and other living marine resources of the United States. The cumulative effects of large-scale driftnet fishing pose a significant threat to the marine ecosystem, and slow-reproducing species like marine mammals, sharks, and seabirds may require many years to recover. Members of the international community have reviewed the best available scientific data on the impacts of large-scale pelagic driftnet fishing, and have failed to conclude that this practice has no significant adverse impacts which threaten the conservation and sustainable management of living marine resources. The United Nations, via General Assembly Resolutions numbered 44–225, 45–197, and most recently 46–215 (adopted on December 20, 1991 ), has called for a worldwide moratorium on all high seas driftnet fishing by December 31, 1992 , in all the world’s oceans, including enclosed seas and semi-enclosed seas. The United Nations has commended the unilateral, regional, and international efforts undertaken by members of the international community and international organizations to implement and support the objectives of the General Assembly resolutions. Operative paragraph (4) of United Nations General Assembly Resolution numbered 46–215 specifically ‘encourages all members of the international community to take measures individually and collectively to prevent large-scale pelagic driftnet fishing operations on the high seas of the world’s oceans and seas’. The United States, in section 307(1)(M) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1857(1)(M) ), has specifically prohibited the practice of large-scale driftnet fishing by United States nationals and vessels both within the exclusive economic zone of the United States and beyond the exclusive economic zone of any nation. The Senate, through Senate Resolution 396 of the One Hundredth Congress (approved on March 18, 1988 ), has called for a moratorium on fishing in the Central Bering Sea and the United States has taken concrete steps to implement such moratorium through international negotiations. Despite the continued evidence of a decline in the fishery resources of the Bering Sea and the multiyear cooperative negotiations undertaken by the United States, the Russian Federation, Japan, and other concerned fishing nations, some nations refuse to agree to measures to reduce or eliminate unregulated fishing practices in the waters of the Bering Sea beyond the exclusive economic zones of the United States and the Russian Federation. In order to ensure that the global moratorium on large-scale driftnet fishing called for in United Nations General Assembly Resolution numbered 46–215 takes effect by December 31, 1992 , and that unregulated fishing practices in the waters of the Central Bering Sea are reduced or eliminated, the United States should take the actions described in this Act [see Short Title of 1992 Amendments note set out under section 1801 of this title ] and encourage other nations to take similar action. implement United Nations General Assembly Resolution numbered 46–215, approved unanimously on December 20, 1991 , which calls for an immediate cessation to further expansion of large-scale driftnet fishing, a 50 percent reduction in existing large-scale driftnet fishing effort by June 30, 1992 , and a global moratorium on the use of large-scale driftnets beyond the exclusive economic zone of any nation by December 31, 1992 ; bring about a moratorium on fishing in the Central Bering Sea, or an international conservation and management agreement to which the United States and the Russian Federation are parties that regulates fishing in the Central Bering Sea; and secure a permanent ban on the use of destructive fishing practices, and in particular large-scale driftnets, by persons or vessels fishing beyond the exclusive economic zone of any nation.”