Public Law 90–482

That the Act of

Fishermen’s Protective Act of 1967, amendment.

August 27, 1954 (68 Stat. 883; 22 U.S.C. 1971–1976), is amended by adding at the end thereof a new section to read as follows:

“Sec. 7.

(a)(a)

The Secretary, upon receipt of an application filed with him at any time after the effective date of this section by the owner of any vessel of the United States which is documented or certificated as a commercial fishing vessel, shall enter into an agreement with such owner subject to the provisions of this section and such other terms and conditions as the Secretary deems appropriate. Such agreement shall provide that, if said vessel is seized by a foreign country and detained under the conditions of section 2 of this Act, the Secretary shall

22 USC 1972.

guarantee—

“(1)“(1)

the owner of such vessel for all actual costs, except those covered by section 3 of this Act, incurred by the owner during the

22 USC 1973.

seizure and detention period and as a direct result thereof, as determined by the Secretary, resulting (A) from any damage to, or destruction of, such vessel, or its fishing gear or other equipment, (B) from the loss or confiscation of such vessel, gear, or equipment, or (C) from dockage fees or utilities;

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“(2)“(2)

the owner of such vessel and its crew for the market value of fish caught before seizure of such vessel and confiscated or spoiled during the period of detention; and

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“(3)“(3)

the owner of such vessel and its crew for not: to exceed 50 per centum of the gross income lost as a direct result of such seizure and detention, as determined by the Secretary of the Interior, based on the value of the average catch per day’s fishing during the three most recent calendar years immediately preceding such seizure and detention of the vessel seized, or, if such experience is not available, then of ah commercial fishing vessels of the United States engaged in the same fishery as that of the type and size of the seized vessel.

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“(b)“(b)

Payments made by the Secretary under paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (a) of this section shall be distributed by the Secretary in accordance with the usual practices and procedures of the particular segment of the United States commercial fishing industry to which the seized vessel belongs relative to the sale of fish caught and the distribution of the proceeds of such sale.

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“(c)“(c)

The Secretary shall from time to time establish by regulation fees which shall be paid by the owners of vessels entering into agreements under this section. Such fees shall be adequate (1) to recover the costs of administering this section, and (2) to cover a reasonable portion of any payments made by the Secretary under this section. The amount fixed by the Secretary shall be predicated upon at least 33⅓ per centum of the contribution by the Government. All fees collected by the Secretary shall be credited to a separate account established in the Treasury of the United States which shall remain available without fiscal year limitation to carry out the provisions of this section. All payments under this section shall be made first out of such fees so long as they are available, and thereafter out of funds which are hereby authorized to be appropriated to such account to carry out the provisions of this section.

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“(d)“(d)

All determinations made under this section shall be final. No payment under this section shall be made with respect, to any losses covered by any policy of insurance or other provision of law.

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“(e)“(e)

The provisions of this section shall be effective for forty-eight consecutive months beginning one hundred and eighty days after the enactment of this section. The Secretary shall issue such regulations and take, such other measures as he deems appropriate to implement the provisions of this section prior to such effective date.

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“(f)“(f)

For the purposes of this section—

“(1)“(1)

the term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary of the Interior,

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“(2)“(2)

the term ‘owner’ includes any charterer of a commercial fishing vessel.”

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Sec. 2.

Section 3 of the Act of August 27, 1954 (68 Stat. 883; 22 U.S.C. 1973), is amended by inserting a comma after the word “fine” wherever it appears and the words “license fee, registration fee, or any other direct charge”.

Sec. 3.

Section 5 of the Act of August 27, 1954 (68 Stat. 883, 22 U.S.C. 1975), is amended to read as follows:

“Sec. 5.

The Secretary of State shall take such action as he may deem appropriate to make and collect claims against a foreign country for amounts expended by the United States under the provisions of this Act (including payments made pursuant to section 7) because of the seizure of a vessel of the United States by such country. If such country fails or refuses to make payment in full within one hundred and twenty days after receiving notice of any such claim of the United States, the Secretary of State shall withhold, pending such payment, an amount equal to such unpaid claim from any funds programed for the current fiscal year for assistance to the government of such country (as shown in materials concerning such fiscal year presented to the Congress in connection with its consideration of

75 Stat. 424.

22 USC 2151 note.

amendments to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961). Amounts withheld under this section shall not constitute satisfaction of any such claim of the United States against such foreign country.”

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Sec. 4.

The Act of August 27, 1954 (68 Stat. 883; 22 U.S.C. 1971–1976), as amended by this Act, may be cited as the “Fishermen’s Protective Act of 1967”.