§5503 Permitting

Summary

A high seas fishing vessel must have a valid permit on board to fish on the high seas. Any U.S. vessel can get a permit unless it was earlier allowed to fish by a foreign country that later suspended that permission because the vessel harmed international conservation efforts and the suspension is still in effect, or the foreign country withdrew permission within the last 3 years for that reason. The bar can be lifted if the vessel has a new owner who proves the old owner has no legal or financial interest, or if the Secretary finds a permit would not undermine the Agreement. The owner or operator must apply on a form that gives basic vessel details (name and past names, official numbers, port of record, past flags, radio call sign), owner/operator names and addresses, where and when built, vessel type and length, and any other required information. The Secretary will set conditions on permits to meet U.S. obligations under the Agreement, such as marking the vessel to FAO or U.S. standards and reporting fishing areas and catch data, with rules on when that information can be released. The Secretary will also set permit fees, which cannot be more than the administrative cost to issue them; fees go to the NOAA Operations, Research and Facilities account and remain available until spent. A permit becomes void if another required fishing authorization for the vessel expires, is revoked, or suspended, or if the vessel is no longer documented as a U.S. vessel or is not eligible for U.S. documentation.