Fishermen's Protective Act of 1967, United States
The Fishermen's Protective Act of 1967 (22 U.S.C. 1971-1980; Pub. L. 90-482, as amended) authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to establish an insurance fund for the reimbursement of owners or charterers of fishing vessels which incur damage, loss, or destruction while engaged in any fishery under U.S. exclusive management, or are damaged by a vessel other than a U.S. vessel. This insurance also extends to any loss of, damage to, or destruction of fishing gear being used for fishing within any fishery subject to exclusive U.S. management authority, or its damage by any vessel, whether or not such vessel is a U.S. vessel. Funding for this insurance program is available through the Fishing Vessel and Gear Damage Compensation Fund. The Fund is capitalized by all sums recovered by the United States acting on behalf of vessel owners, all administrative fees collected on applications for compensation submitted to the Secretary pursuant to this Act, all surcharges collected on foreign vessels, all revenues received from deposits or investment of the Fishing Vessel and Gear Damage Compensation Fund, and any funds derived from notes or obligations issued by the Secretary to assure sufficient levels of funds for implementing this Act.
The 1971 Pelly Amendment to the Fishermen's Protective Act authorizes the Secretary of Commerce, upon determination that foreign nationals are conduction fishing operations in a way that diminishes the effectiveness of international fishery conservation programs, to certify such to the President. The Secretary also has the responsibility to certify to the President when foreign nationals are engaging in trade or taking in a manner which diminishes the effectiveness of any international program for endangered or threatened species. The Secretary also periodically reviews the activities of the offending nationals to determine if the reasons for the certification still prevail. If the reasons no longer prevail, the Secretary revokes the certification and publishes a notice thereof in the Federal Register.
Further reading
- Fishermen's Protective Act of 1967 (Library of Congress: Thomas)
- Fisherman's Protective Act (Pelly Ammendment) (Federal Wildlife and Related Laws Handbook)
| Disclaimer: This article is taken wholly from, or contains information that was originally published by, the Congressional Research Service. Topic editors and authors for the Encyclopedia of Earth may have edited its content or added new information. The use of information from the Congressional Research Service should not be construed as support for or endorsement by that organization for any new information added by EoE personnel, or for any editing of the original content. |
Note: The first version of this article was drawn from material prepared for the Congressional Research Service by Eugene H. Buck.
