§5503 Permitting

Summary

A high seas fishing vessel must have a valid permit on board before it can do any fishing on the high seas. Any U.S. vessel can get a permit unless a foreign country had previously authorized it and then suspended that authorization because the vessel broke international conservation rules and the suspension is still in effect, or the foreign country withdrew authorization within the last 3 years for the same reason. A permit can still be given if the vessel has a new owner who shows the old owner has no legal or financial ties to the boat, or if the Secretary decides the permit will not undermine the Agreement. The Secretary must also be satisfied that the U.S. can carry out its duties under the Agreement. Owners or operators must apply on a form with basic vessel details (name, past names, numbers, flags, radio call sign, owner info, where and when built, type, length, and any other required facts). The Secretary will set permit rules, such as marking the vessel to FAO standards or U.S. rules and reporting fishing area and catch data, and will make rules about releasing submitted information. The Secretary will set fees that cannot be more than the permit’s administrative cost; fees go to the NOAA Operations, Research and Facilities account and stay available until spent. A permit becomes void if any other required fishing permit is expired, revoked, or suspended, or if the vessel is no longer U.S. documented or eligible for U.S. documentation.