(2) Whether or not the country has in force conservation measures applicable to its own fishermen adequate for the implementation of the Commission's recommendations.

(3) Whether or not the country has in force measures for the control of landings in its ports of species subject to regulation which are taken in the regulatory area by fishermen of other countries contrary to the Commission's conservation recommendations.

(4) Whether or not the country, having put conservation measures into effect, takes reasonable action to enforce such measures.

(5) The number of vessels of the country which conduct fishing operations in the regulatory area.

(6) The quantity of species subject to regulation taken from the regulatory area by the country's vessels contrary to the Commission's conservation recommendations and its relationship to (i) the total quantity permitted to be taken by the vessels of all countries participating in the fishery and (ii) the quantity of such species sought to be restored to the stocks of fish pursuant to the Commission's conservation recommendations.

(7) Whether or not repeated and flagrant fishing operations in the regulatory area by the vessels of the country seriously threaten the achievement of the objectives of the Commission's recommendations.

(b) Any person who shall have reason to believe that the vessels of any country are being used in the conduct of fishing operations in the regulatory area in such manner or in such circumstances as would tend to diminish the effectiveness of the conservation recommendations of the Commission or that other acts within the purview of the import control provisions of section 6(c) of the Tuna Conventions Act of 1950 as amended, are occurring or are likely to occur, may communicate his belief to the Bureau Director. Every such communication shall contain or be accompanied by a full statement of the reasons for the belief, including a detailed description of such specific acts or events as may support the belief, and such other pertinent facts as may indicate a need for

instituting an investigation as authorized in this part.

(c) Upon receipt by the Bureau Director of any communication submitted pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section and found to comply with the requirements of that paragraph, the Bureau Director promptly shall cause such investigation to be made as appears to be warranted by the circumstances of the case. In conducting such investigation the Bureau Director or his designated representative shall consider any representations offered by foreign interests, importers, brokers, domestic producers, or other interested persons. Unless good cause to the contrary shall exist, every such investigation shall be completed within 60 days following receipt of the communication.

§ 281.6 Publication of findings.

It it shall be determined on the basis of 281.5 that species of fish subject to regulation or under investigation by the Commission, as the case may be, are ineligible for entry into the United States from a particular country pursuant to the provisions of section 6(c) of the Act, the Bureau Director, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior and, when required by law, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, shall publish a finding to that effect in the FEDERAL REGISTER. Effective upon the date of publication of such finding in the FEDERAL REGISTER every shipment of fish in any form of the species under regulation or under investigation by the Commission offered for entry either directly or indirectly from the country named in the finding shall be denied entry unless it shall be established by satisfactory proof pursuant to § 281.7 that a particular shipment of such fish is not ineligible for entry: Provided, That entry shall not be denied and no such proof shall be required for any such shipment which, on the date of such publication, was in transit to the United States on board a vessel operating as a common carrier.

§ 281.7 Proof of admissibility.

(a) For the purposes of § 281.6 of this part and section 8(c) of the Tuna

Conventions Act of 1950, as amended, a shipment of fish in any form of the species under regulation or under investigation by the Commission offered for entry, directly or indirectly, from a country named in a finding published under such § 281.6 shall be deemed to be eligible for entry if the shipment is accompanied by a certificate of eligibility certifying, as may be appropriate, that the tuna in the shipment:

(1) Are not of the species specified in the published finding; (2) are of the species named in the published finding but were not taken in the regulatory area; or (3) are of the species named in the published finding but are products of an American fishery lawfully taken in conformity with applicable conservation laws and regulations and landed in the country named in the published finding solely for transshipment. The certificate shall be attached to the invoice and be in the following form:

CERTIFICATE OF ELIGIBILITY

(a) Contains no tuna fish of the species prohibited entry into the United States by virtue of a finding of ineligibility published under regulations issued pursuant to section 6(c) of the Tuna Conventions Act of 1950, as amended. [A certificate of authentication executed by a consular officer or a consular agent of the United States must be attached.]

(b) Contains tuna fish of the species prohibited entry into the United States by virtue of a finding of ineligibility published under regulations issued pursuant to section 6(c) of the Tuna Conventions Act of 1950, as amended, but that such fish were caught in the waters of

sular agent of the United States must be attached.]

(c) Contains tuna fish of the species prohibited entry into the United States by virtue of a finding of ineligibility published under regulations issued pursuant to section 6(c) of the Tuna Conventions Act of 1950, as amended, but that such fish, as shown in the attached declaration, were taken in strict conformity with applicable conservation laws and regulations in a fishing enterprise conducted under the American flag by vessels of the United States, are products of an American fishery within the meaning of Schedule 1, Part 15A, Tariff Schedules of the United States, were landed in a foreign country solely for transshipment without change in condition and are eligible for free entry under such Schedule and 19 CFR 10.78-10.79. [Where an entry is to be made pursuant to this paragraph, this certificate must be executed by a consular officer or consular agent of the United States and the declaration(s) required by 19 C.F.R. 10.79 must be attached.]

(Signature)

(Title)

(Address)

(b) If the tuna fish are offered for entry under paragraph (a) or (b) of the Certificate of Eligibility, the certificate must be executed by a duly authorized official of the country named in the published finding and the certificate must be authenticated with respect to the signature and official position of the person executing the same by a consular officer or consular agent of the United States. Such certificate of authentication shall be attached to the Certificate of Eligibility and be substantially in the following form:

SS:

(Name and full title of officer)

(c) If the tuna fish are offered for entry under paragraph (c) of the Certificate of Eligibility, the certificate must be executed by a consular officer or consular agent of the United States and be accompanied by the declaration(s) required by 19 CFR 10.79. The "Declaration of Master and Two Members of Crew on Entry of Products of American Fisheries," required by 19 CFR 10.79, must contain a further statement as follows: "We further declare that the said tuna fish were caught by use in full compliance with Part 280, Title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, and such other conservation laws and regulations as were applicable at the time the fishing operation was in progress."

§ 281.8 Removal of import restrictions.

Upon a determination by the Bureau Director that the conditions no longer exist which warranted the imposition of import restrictions against the country named in the finding published pursuant to § 281.6, the Bureau Director, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, shall publish a finding to such effect in the FEDERAL REGISTER. Effective upon the date of publication of such finding, the prior existing import restrictions against the country designated therein shall terminate: Provided, That for a period of 1 year from such date of publication every shipment of fish in any form of the species subject to regulation or under investigation by the Commission shall continue to be denied entry unless the shipment is accompanied by a certification executed by an authorized official of the country of export and authenticated by a consular officer or consular agent of the United States, certifying that

AUTHORITY: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.

SOURCE: 50 FR 43398, Oct. 25, 1985, unless otherwise noted.

Subpart A-General

§ 285.1 Purpose and scope.

(a) The Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of 1975 (16 U.S.C. 971-971h) authorizes the Secretary to implement the recommendations of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). The Secretary's authority under the Act has been delegated to the Assistant Administrator.

(b) This part implements the ICCAT recommendations for persons and vessels subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

(c) This part does not apply to any person or vessel authorized by the Commission, the Regional Director, the Director of the Southeast Fisheries Center, or any State upon approval by the Regional Director, to engage in fishing for research purposes.

(d) Under section 9(d) of the act, determinations made by the Assistant Administrator that the provisions of this part apply within the territorial sea of the United States adjacent to, and within the boundaries of, the States of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, and, with the exceptions of §§ 285.22 (c) and (d), 285.23 (a) and (b) and 285.25 within the territorial sea of the United States adjacent to, and within the boundaries of, the State of Maine, continue in effect.

§ 285.2 Definitions.

The terms used in this part have the following meanings (definitions in the Act are repeated here to aid understanding of the rules):

Act means the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of 1975, 16 U.S.C. 971971h.

Albacore means the fish species Thunnus alalunga.

Angling means fishing for or catching of, or the attempted fishing for or

catching of, fish by any person (angler) with a hook attached to a line which is hand held or by rod and reel made for this purpose.

Assistant Administrator means the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce, or an individual to whom appropriate authority has been delegated.

Atlantic bluefin tuna means the fish species Thunnus thynnus thynnus. Size classes for Atlantic bluefin tuna are defined in § 285.26.

Atlantic bonito means the fish species Sarda chiliensis or Sarda sarda. Authorized officer means

(a) Any commissioned, warrant, or petty officer of the U.S. Coast Guard; (b) Any Special Agent of NMFS;

(c) Any officer designated by the head of any Federal or State agency which has entered into an agreement with the Secretary and the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard to enforce the provisions of the Act; or

(d) Any U.S. Coast Guard personnel accompanying and acting under the direction of any person described in paragraph (a) of this definition.

Bigeye tuna means the fish species Thunnus obesus.

Buy-boat means any vessel or other means of conveyance used by a dealer in purchasing or receiving Atlantic bluefin tuna from any person or fishing vessel engaged in fishing for any tuna.

Cargo vessel means any fishing vessel used for transporting fish or fish products.

Center Director means the Center Director, Southeast Fisheries Center, 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, FL 33149.

Commercial activity means any activity, other than fishing, of industry, trade, or commerce, including but not limited to the buying or selling of a regulated species and activities conducted for the purpose of facilitating such buying and selling.

Commission means the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas established under Article III of the Convention.

Convention means the International Convention for the Conservation of

Atlantic Tunas, signed at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on May 14, 1966, 20 U.S.T. 2887, TIAS 6767, including any amendments or protocols thereto, which are binding upon the United States.

Dealer means any person who engages in a commercial activity with respect to a regulated species or parts thereof.

Dressed weight means the weight of a fish after it has been gilled, gutted, beheaded, and definned.

Fish or fishing means the catching or fishing for, or the attempted catching or fishing for, any species of fish covered by the Convention, or any activities in support of fishing.

Fishing trip means the time period between when a fishing vessel departs from port to carry out fishing operations and the time such vessel returns to port or offloads any of its catch.

Fishing vessel means any vessel engaged in fishing, processing, or transporting fish loaded on the high seas, or any vessel outfitted for such activities.

Fishing week means a period of time beginning at 0001 hours local time on Sunday, and ending at 2400 hours local time on the following Saturday.

Fork length means a measurement of the length of Atlantic bluefin tuna taken in a straight line along the middle of the lateral surface from the tip of the snout to the fork of the tail. Handgear means handline, harpoon, or rod and reel.

Handline or handline gear means fishing gear which is released by hand and consists of one main line of variable length to which is attached one or two leaders and hooks. Handlines are retrieved only by hand, and not by mechanical means.

Harpoon or harpoon gear means fishing gear consisting of a pointed dart or iron attached to the end of a line several hundred feet in length, the other end of which is attached to a floatation device. Harpoon gear is attached to a pole or stick which is propelled only by hand, and not by mechanical means.

Land means to begin offloading fish, to offload fish, or to arrive in port with the intention of offloading fish.

Longline or longline gear means fishing gear which is set horizontally, either anchored, floating, or attached to a vessel, which consists of a main or groundline with three or more gangions and hooks. A longline may be retrieved by hand or mechanical means.

Metal tag means the flexible, selflocking ribbon of metal issued by the NMFS for the identification of Atlantic bluefin tuna under § 285.30.

Metric ton (mt) means 2204.6 pounds (1000 kilograms).

NMFS means the National Marine Fisheries Services, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce.

Owner means, with respect to any vessel

(a) Any person who owns that vessel in whole or part;

(b) Any charterer of the vessel, whether bareboat, time, or voyage; or

(c) Any person who acts in the capacity of a charterer, including but not limited to parties to a management agreement, operating agreement, or any similar agreement that bestows control over the destination, function, or operation of the vessel.

Person means any individual, partnership, corporation, or association subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

Plastic tag means the plastic or combination plastic and metal marker issued for the tag and release program under § 285.27

Purse seining means fishing for or catching a regulated species by means of an encircling net and associated gear.

Regional Director means

(a) For purposes of Atlantic bluefin tuna, the Director, Northeast Region, National Marine Fisheries Service, Federal Building, 14 Elm Street, Gloucester, Massachusetts 01930-3799; and

(b) For purposes of yellowfin tuna, bigeye tuna, skipjack tuna, and albacore, the Regional Director, Southeast Region, National Marine Fisheries Service, 9450 Koger Boulevard, St. Petersburg, FL 33702.

Regulated species means albacore, Atlantic bluefin tuna, bigeye tuna, skipjack tuna, or yellowfin tuna.