Title 16ConservationRelease 119-73

§773e Prohibited acts

Title 16 › Chapter CHAPTER 10— - NORTHERN PACIFIC HALIBUT FISHING › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER IV— - NORTHERN PACIFIC HALIBUT ACT OF 1982 › § 773e

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

People under U.S. jurisdiction must not break the international Convention, these laws, or the related rules. They must let officers board and inspect fishing vessels when asked. They must not attack, resist, intimidate, or interfere with officers during searches or investigations, or resist a lawful arrest. They also must not buy, sell, move, import, export, or keep fish that were taken in violation of the rules, or help someone avoid arrest if they know that person broke these rules. Foreign fishing vessels, and their owners or operators, must not fish for halibut in the fishery conservation zone unless they are authorized and follow the Convention, these laws, and the regulations.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §773e

Conservation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

It is unlawful—
(1)for any person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States—
(A)to violate any provision of the Convention, this subchapter or any regulation adopted under this subchapter;
(B)to refuse to permit any enforcement officer to board a fishing vessel subject to such person’s control for purposes of conducting any search, investigation, or inspection in connection with the enforcement of the Convention, this subchapter or any regulation adopted under this subchapter;
(C)to forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate or interfere with any enforcement officer in the conduct of any search, investigation, or inspection described in paragraph (2);
(D)to resist a lawful arrest or detention for any act prohibited by this section;
(E)to ship, transport, offer for sale, sell, purchase, import, export or have custody, control or possession of, any fish taken or retained in violation of the Convention, this subchapter, or any regulation adopted under this subchapter;
(F)to interfere with, delay or prevent, by any means, the apprehension, arrest or detention of another person, knowing that such person has committed any act prohibited by this section; or
(2)for any foreign fishing vessel, and for the owner or operator of any foreign fishing vessel, to engage in fishing for halibut in the fishery conservation zone, unless such fishing is authorized by, and conducted in accordance with the Convention, this subchapter and regulations adopted under this subchapter.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Amendment of Paragraph (2)Pub. L. 102–251, title III, §§ 302(b), 308, Mar. 9, 1992, 106 Stat. 65, 66, provided that, effective on the date on which the Agreement between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Maritime Boundary, signed June 1, 1990, enters into force for the United States, with authority to prescribe implementing

Regulations

effective Mar. 9, 1992, but with no such regulation to be effective until the date on which the Agreement enters into force for the United States, paragraph (2), formerly subsection (b) of this section, is amended by substituting “exclusive economic zone or special areas” for “fishery conservation zone”.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2015—Pub. L. 114–81 redesignated subsecs. (a) and (b) as pars. (1) and (2), respectively, and former pars. (1) to (6) of subsec. (a) as subpars. (A) to (F), respectively, of par. (1), inserted “, investigation,” before “or inspection” in par. (1)(B) and (C), struck out “or” after the semicolon in par. (1)(E), and substituted “section; or” for “section.” in par. (1)(F).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1992 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 102–251 effective on date on which Agreement between United States and Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Maritime Boundary, signed June 1, 1990, enters into force for United States, with authority to prescribe implementing

Regulations

effective Mar. 9, 1992, but with no such regulation to be effective until date on which Agreement enters into force for United States, see section 308 of Pub. L. 102–251, set out as a note under section 773 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 773e

Title 16Conservation

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73