PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

The Secretary of Commerce must make rules for taking fur seals on the Pribilof Islands and on U.S. lands to protect and manage the seal population. The Secretary also must handle seized or forfeited seals, carry out the international Convention, and give authorized agents the seal skins they are owed. The Secretary may make agreements with public or private groups to help take, cure, and sell sealskins and other seal parts, and may keep the money from those sales. The Secretary must give preference to the village corporations of Saint Paul and Saint George (established under section 1607 of title 43). Money from sales goes into a separate Treasury fund and, if Congress provides the money, can pay for future harvests using prior years’ proceeds or unsold assets first. If those funds aren’t enough, Congress may appropriate whatever sums are needed for fiscal year 1984 and for fiscal year 1985 and later only if the Convention is extended by a protocol that goes into effect for the United States. Any amounts the Secretary finds are more than needed must be transferred to the General Fund of the Treasury.

Title 16, §1155

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Regulations with respect to taking of fur seals on Pribilof Islands and on lands subject to United States jurisdiction

The Secretary shall prescribe such regulations with respect to the taking of fur seals on the Pribilof Islands and on lands subject to the jurisdiction of the United States as he deems necessary and appropriate for the conservation, management, and protection of the fur seal population, and to dispose of any fur seals seized or forfeited pursuant to this chapter, and to carry out the provisions of the Convention, and shall deliver to authorized agents of the parties such fur seal skins as the parties are entitled to under the Convention.

(b)Agreements with public and private entities

The Secretary is authorized to enter into agreements with any public or private agency or person for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of the Convention and of this subchapter, including but not limited to the taking of fur seals on the Pribilof Islands, and the curing and marketing of the sealskins and other seal parts, and may retain the proceeds therefrom.

(c)Taking of fur seals on Saint Paul and Saint George Islands; preference; separate fund in Treasury

The Secretary shall give preference to the village corporations of Saint Paul and Saint George Islands established pursuant to section 1607 of title 43 for the taking of fur seals on the village corporations’ respective islands, and the curing and marketing of the sealskins and other seal parts, and may retain the proceeds therefrom. Any proceeds therefrom will be deposited in a separate fund in the Treasury and will be available to the Secretary, subject to appropriations, for the purpose of this section. All seal harvests will be financed, to the extent possible, from proceeds collected in preceding years or unsold assets retained from harvests conducted in preceding years. In the event that such assets and proceeds are insufficient, as determined by the Secretary, to finance the seal harvest in accordance with the requirements of the Convention, there are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for fiscal year 1984, and for fiscal year 1985 and beyond if the Convention is extended by protocol signed by the parties and made effective as to the United States, such sums as may be necessary to carry out the harvest and curing on the Pribilof Islands. Such amounts as are determined by the Secretary to exceed amounts required to carry out this section shall be transferred to the General Fund of the Treasury.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1983—Pub. L. 98–129 amended section generally, substituting provisions delineating the authority of the Secretary of Commerce, which were previously contained in section 1154 and 1185 of this title, for provisions which had set out

Enforcement

steps. See section 1156 of this title.

§1155 Authority of Secretary of Commerce