Present Plans for Near-Term 

 Enforcement 



24 



3. An allocation of fishing level (fish 

 quotas) will be made to specific foreign 

 countries. 



4. If a foreign vessel, with a permit, violates 

 the regulations: 



a. The permit of that vessel could be 

 revoked. 



b. The permit could be suspended. 



c. Additional conditions could be im- 

 posed on the foreign nation and on 

 any of its permits. 



5. Civil penalties for violations could be as 

 much as $25,000 per violation, where ev- 

 ery day may be considered as an addi- 

 tional violation. 



6. Criminal penalties for violations could be 

 as much as $100,000 and 10 years in 

 prison. 



7. Any vessel, its fishing gear and cargo, 

 could be forfeited to the United States. 



Since the passage of the Fishery Manage- 

 ment and Conservation Act of 1976, some 

 concern has been voiced by Members of Con- 

 gress, members of the Regional Councils, and 

 others, that foreign investments in U.S. fishing 

 operations and joint ventures between foreign 

 and domestic fishing and processing com- 

 panies may provide a means of circumventing 

 controls on foreign fishing interests within the 

 200-mile zone. Such investments may 

 guarantee foreign firms the almost unlimited 

 access to fish stocks which is intended for 

 domestic fishermen and allow them to operate 

 outside certain regulations — such as gear 

 restrictions — which may be in effect only for 

 foreign fishermen. While such investments 

 may pose problems in enforcing the intent of 

 the Act, they are not, strictly speaking, an en- 

 forcement problem to be dealt with by the 

 Coast Guard and NMFS operational divisions. 



The problems and benefits of foreign in- 

 vestments are discussed as management con- 

 cerns in other sections of this report. 



Enforcement of regulations in the new 200- 

 mile fishery zone is complicated by the size of 

 the area and the fact that fishing is to be reg- 

 ulated not prohibited. The area encompassed 

 by the 200-mile-wide band surrounding the 

 United States and its possessions adds up to 

 almost 2V4-million square miles of ocean. Ac- 

 cording to Coast Guard estimates, major fish- 

 eries cover approximately one-fourth of that 

 area. These prime fishing grounds will require 

 concentrated enforcement efforts during cer- 

 tain seasons. In addition, at least some level of 

 enforcement may be required in all parts of 

 the zone at some time during the year. A 

 dense mixture of marine traffic, including 

 merchant vessels, warships, tankers, recrea- 

 tional craft, and both domestic and foreign 

 fishing vessels, is found within the 200-mile 

 zone. From this mix of vessels, foreign fishing 

 craft must be located and identified by nation. 

 Further, in order to enforce any regulation in 

 any fishing area at any given time, fishing 

 vessels must be classified as fishing according 

 to the provisions of their permits and existing 

 regulations or in violation of these controls; 

 violators must be apprehended; and some 

 prosecutory action must be taken. 



This detection, identification, and classifica- 

 tion of foreign fishing activity must go on 

 under any sea conditions that permit fishing 

 itself. Experienced fishermen have indicated 

 that this means enforcement activities may be 



