§4012 Assessments

Summary

A council must charge and collect assessments to pay for its work. The council’s charter will say whether the fees come from people who receive fish in the U.S., people who import fish, or both. Fees on receivers are a percentage of the value of the fish they buy from harvesters. If the receiver is the owner of a fish-processing vessel, the fee is a percentage of the value of the fish that vessel harvested, and it must be at least as much as the fee would have been if the fish had been sold to a different buyer. Fees on importers are a percentage of the customs value when the fish or fish products enter the U.S. or leave a warehouse for use. People who were not allowed to vote in the council referendum because they did not meet the voting rules cannot be charged unless they meet those rules after the vote. Voluntary payments are allowed. All money a council gets must go into a council account and only the allowed funds can be collected. Participants must give the Secretary the information needed to run and enforce the program. That information is kept private by government staff and others with access, except when a court or official allows disclosure, when general statistics that don’t identify anyone are released, or when the Secretary names someone who violated assessment or quality rules. Anyone who must keep information secret and knowingly breaks that rule can be fined up to $1,000, jailed for up to one year, or both, and can be removed from office.