16 U.S.C. § 1802 : US Code - Section 1802: Definitions

Search 16 U.S.C. § 1802 : US Code - Section 1802: Definitions

As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires -
(1) The term "anadromous species" means species of fish which
spawn in fresh or estuarine waters of the United States and which
migrate to ocean waters.
(2) The term "bycatch" means fish which are harvested in a
fishery, but which are not sold or kept for personal use, and
includes economic discards and regulatory discards. Such term
does not include fish released alive under a recreational catch
and release fishery management program.
(3) The term "charter fishing" means fishing from a vessel
carrying a passenger for hire (as defined in section 2101(21a) of
title 46) who is engaged in recreational fishing.
(4) The term "commercial fishing" means fishing in which the
fish harvested, either in whole or in part, are intended to enter
commerce or enter commerce through sale, barter or trade.
(5) The term "conservation and management" refers to all of the
rules, regulations, conditions, methods, and other measures (A)
which are required to rebuild, restore, or maintain, and which
are useful in rebuilding, restoring, or maintaining, any fishery
resource and the marine environment; and (B) which are designed
to assure that -
(i) a supply of food and other products may be taken, and
that recreational benefits may be obtained, on a continuing
basis;
(ii) irreversible or long-term adverse effects on fishery
resources and the marine environment are avoided; and
(iii) there will be a multiplicity of options available with
respect to future uses of these resources.
(6) The term "Continental Shelf" means the seabed and subsoil
of the submarine areas adjacent to the coast, but outside the
area of the territorial sea, of the United States, to a depth of
200 meters or, beyond that limit, to where the depth of the
superjacent waters admits of the exploitation of the natural
resources of such areas.
(7) The term "Continental Shelf fishery resources" means the
following:
CNIDARIA
Bamboo Coral - Acanella spp.;
Black Coral - Antipathes spp.;
Gold Coral - Callogorgia spp.;
Precious Red Coral - Corallium spp.;
Bamboo Coral - Keratoisis spp.; and
Gold Coral - Parazoanthus spp.
CRUSTACEA
Tanner Crab - Chionoecetes tanneri;
Tanner Crab - Chionoecetes opilio;
Tanner Crab - Chionoecetes angulatus;
Tanner Crab - Chionoecetes bairdi;
King Crab - Paralithodes camtschatica;
King Crab - Paralithodes platypus;
King Crab - Paralithodes brevipes;
Lobster - Homarus americanus;
Dungeness Crab - Cancer magister;
California King Crab - Paralithodes californiensis;
California King Crab - Paralithodes rathbuni;
Golden King Crab - Lithodes aequispinus;
Northern Stone Crab - Lithodes maja;
Stone Crab - Menippe mercenaria; and
Deep-sea Red Crab - Chaceon quinquedens.
MOLLUSKS
Red Abalone - Haliotis rufescens;
Pink Abalone - Haliotis corrugata;
Japanese Abalone - Haliotis kamtschatkana;
Queen Conch - Strombus gigas;
Surf Clam - Spisula solidissima; and
Ocean Quahog - Arctica islandica.
SPONGES
Glove Sponge - Spongia cheiris;
Sheepswool Sponge - Hippiospongia lachne;
Grass Sponge - Spongia graminea; and
Yellow Sponge - Spongia barbera.
If the Secretary determines, after consultation with the
Secretary of State, that living organisms of any other sedentary
species are, at the harvestable stage, either -
(A) immobile on or under the seabed, or
(B) unable to move except in constant physical contact with
the seabed or subsoil,
of the Continental Shelf which appertains to the United States,
and publishes notice of such determination in the Federal
Register, such sedentary species shall be considered to be added
to the foregoing list and included in such term for purposes of
this chapter.
(8) The term "Council" means any Regional Fishery Management
Council established under section 1852 of this title.
(9) The term "economic discards" means fish which are the
target of a fishery, but which are not retained because they are
of an undesirable size, sex, or quality, or for other economic
reasons.
(10) The term "essential fish habitat" means those waters and
substrate necessary to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding or
growth to maturity.
(11) The term "exclusive economic zone" means the zone
established by Proclamation Numbered 5030, dated March 10, 1983.
For purposes of applying this chapter, the inner boundary of that
zone is a line coterminous with the seaward boundary of each of
the coastal States.
(12) The term "fish" means finfish, mollusks, crustaceans, and
all other forms of marine animal and plant life other than marine
mammals and birds.
(13) The term "fishery" means -
(A) one or more stocks of fish which can be treated as a unit
for purposes of conservation and management and which are
identified on the basis of geographical, scientific, technical,
recreational, and economic characteristics; and
(B) any fishing for such stocks.
(14) The term "fishery resource" means any fishery, any stock
of fish, any species of fish, and any habitat of fish.
(15) The term "fishing" means -
(A) the catching, taking, or harvesting of fish;
(B) the attempted catching, taking, or harvesting of fish;
(C) any other activity which can reasonably be expected to
result in the catching, taking, or harvesting of fish; or
(D) any operations at sea in support of, or in preparation
for, any activity described in subparagraphs (A) through (C).
Such term does not include any scientific research activity which
is conducted by a scientific research vessel.
(16) The term "fishing community" means a community which is
substantially dependent on or substantially engaged in the
harvest or processing of fishery resources to meet social and
economic needs, and includes fishing vessel owners, operators,
and crew and United States fish processors that are based in such
community.
(17) The term "fishing vessel" means any vessel, boat, ship, or
other craft which is used for, equipped to be used for, or of a
type which is normally used for -
(A) fishing; or
(B) aiding or assisting one or more vessels at sea in the
performance of any activity relating to fishing, including, but
not limited to, preparation, supply, storage, refrigeration,
transportation, or processing.
(18) The term "foreign fishing" means fishing by a vessel other
than a vessel of the United States.
(19) The term "high seas" means all waters beyond the
territorial sea of the United States and beyond any foreign
nation's territorial sea, to the extent that such sea is
recognized by the United States.
(20) The term "highly migratory species" means tuna species,
marlin (Tetrapturus spp. and Makaira spp.), oceanic sharks,
sailfishes (Istiophorus spp.), and swordfish (Xiphias gladius).
(21) The term "individual fishing quota" means a Federal permit
under a limited access system to harvest a quantity of fish,
expressed by a unit or units representing a percentage of the
total allowable catch of a fishery that may be received or held
for exclusive use by a person. Such term does not include
community development quotas as described in section 1855(i) of
this title.
(22) The term "international fishery agreement" means any
bilateral or multilateral treaty, convention, or agreement which
relates to fishing and to which the United States is a party.
(23) The term "large-scale driftnet fishing" means a method of
fishing in which a gillnet composed of a panel or panels of
webbing, or a series of such gillnets, with a total length of two
and one-half kilometers or more is placed in the water and
allowed to drift with the currents and winds for the purpose of
entangling fish in the webbing.
(24) (!1) The term "Marine Fisheries Commission" means the
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the Gulf States
Marine Fisheries Commission, or the Pacific States Marine
Fisheries Commission.
(25) The term "migratory range" means the maximum area at a
given time of the year within which fish of an anadromous species
or stock thereof can be expected to be found, as determined on
the basis of scale pattern analysis, tagging studies, or other
reliable scientific information, except that the term does not
include any part of such area which is in the waters of a foreign
nation.
(26) The term "national standards" means the national standards
for fishery conservation and management set forth in section 1851
of this title.
(27) The term "observer" means any person required or
authorized to be carried on a vessel for conservation and
management purposes by regulations or permits under this chapter.
(28) The term "optimum", with respect to the yield from a
fishery, means the amount of fish which -
(A) will provide the greatest overall benefit to the Nation,
particularly with respect to food production and recreational
opportunities, and taking into account the protection of marine
ecosystems;
(B) is prescribed on the basis of the maximum sustainable
yield from the fishery, as reduced by any relevant social,
economic, or ecological factor; and
(C) in the case of an overfished fishery, provides for
rebuilding to a level consistent with producing the maximum
sustainable yield in such fishery.
(29) The terms "overfishing" and "overfished" mean a rate or
level of fishing mortality that jeopardizes the capacity of a
fishery to produce the maximum sustainable yield on a continuing
basis.
(30) The term "Pacific Insular Area" means American Samoa,
Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Baker Island, Howland Island,
Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Island, Wake
Island, or Palmyra Atoll, as applicable, and includes all islands
and reefs appurtenant to such island, reef, or atoll.
(31) The term "person" means any individual (whether or not a
citizen or national of the United States), any corporation,
partnership, association, or other entity (whether or not
organized or existing under the laws of any State), and any
Federal, State, local, or foreign government or any entity of any
such government.
(32) The term "recreational fishing" means fishing for sport or
pleasure.
(33) The term "regulatory discards" means fish harvested in a
fishery which fishermen are required by regulation to discard
whenever caught, or are required by regulation to retain but not
sell.
(34) The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Commerce or
his designee.
(35) The term "State" means each of the several States, the
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American
Samoa, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and any other Commonwealth,
territory, or possession of the United States.
(36) (!1) The term "special areas" means the areas referred to
as eastern special areas in Article 3(1) of the Agreement between
the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics on the Maritime Boundary, signed June 1, 1990. In
particular, the term refers to those areas east of the maritime
boundary, as defined in that Agreement, that lie within 200
nautical miles of the baselines from which the breadth of the
territorial sea of Russia is measured but beyond 200 nautical
miles of the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial
sea of the United States is measured.
(37) The term "stock of fish" means a species, subspecies,
geographical grouping, or other category of fish capable of
management as a unit.
(38) The term "treaty" means any international fishery
agreement which is a treaty within the meaning of section 2 of
article II of the Constitution.
(39) The term "tuna species" means the following:
Albacore Tuna - Thunnus alalunga;
Bigeye Tuna - Thunnus obesus;
Bluefin Tuna - Thunnus thynnus;
Skipjack Tuna - Katsuwonus pelamis; and
Yellowfin Tuna - Thunnus albacares.
(40) The term "United States", when used in a geographical
context, means all the States thereof.
(41) The term "United States fish processors" means facilities
located within the United States for, and vessels of the United
States used or equipped for, the processing of fish for
commercial use or consumption.
(42) The term "United States harvested fish" means fish caught,
taken, or harvested by vessels of the United States within any
fishery regulated under this chapter.
(43) The term "vessel of the United States" means -
(A) any vessel documented under chapter 121 of title 46;
(B) any vessel numbered in accordance with chapter 123 of
title 46 and measuring less than 5 net tons;
(C) any vessel numbered in accordance with chapter 123 of
title 46 and used exclusively for pleasure; or
(D) any vessel not equipped with propulsion machinery of any
kind and used exclusively for pleasure.
(44) The term "vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United
States" has the same meaning such term has in section 1903(c) of
title 46, Appendix.
(45) The term "waters of a foreign nation" means any part of
the territorial sea or exclusive economic zone (or the
equivalent) of a foreign nation, to the extent such territorial
sea or exclusive economic zone is recognized by the United
States.