Title 16 — ConservationRelease 119-73

§8016 Technology programs

Title 16 › Chapter CHAPTER 99— - MARITIME SECURITY AND FISHERIES ENFORCEMENT › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - PROGRAMS TO COMBAT IUU FISHING AND INCREASE MARITIME SECURITY › § 8016

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Several federal leaders must carry out programs, when appropriate, to use technology to fight illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The leaders include the Secretary of State, the USAID Administrator, the head of the Coast Guard’s department when it is not part of the Navy, the Secretaries of Defense and Commerce, and other agency heads if needed. These programs must promote technology use; check needs like vessel tracking and data sharing in priority regions and flag states; work with priority flag states to encourage required use of vessel monitoring systems, AIS, or other movement-tracking tech on fishing and transshipment vessels at sea; and build partnerships with universities, research nonprofits, the seafood industry, and tech, transportation, and logistics firms to use technology and data analytics against IUU fishing.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §8016

Conservation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The Secretary of State, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating when it is not operating as a service in the Department of the Navy, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Commerce, and the heads of other Federal agencies, if merited, shall pursue programs, as appropriate, to expand the role of technology for combating IUU fishing, including by—

(1)promoting the use of technology to combat IUU fishing;

(2)assessing the technology needs, including vessel tracking technologies and data sharing, in priority regions and priority flag states;

(3)engaging with priority flag states to encourage the mandated use of vessel tracking technologies, including vessel monitoring systems, AIS, or other vessel movement monitoring technologies on fishing vessels and transshipment vessels at all times, as appropriate, while at sea as a means to identify IUU fishing activities and the shipment of illegally caught fish products; and

(4)building partnerships with the private sector, including universities, nonprofit research organizations, the seafood industry, and the technology, transportation and logistics sectors, to leverage new and existing technologies and data analytics to address IUU fishing.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 8016

Title 16 — Conservation

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73