129 



COMMONWEALTH OF 



THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS 



Statement of Jesus C. Borja 



June 1, 1995 



made for criminal fines, civil penalties, and forfeitures as- 

 sessed under the Magnuson Act. These penalties can be substan- 

 tial. For example, the prosecution of the Han Bok 309 for Magnu- 

 son Act violations resulted in a fine of more than one million 

 dollars. 



Our draft amendments provide that the Pacific insular areas 

 are entitled to retain the proceeds from these fines, penalties, 

 and forfeitures, less a deduction for federal administrative 

 costs of enforcement. 



Employment of alien fishermen 



Fishing vessels based in the Northern Mariana Islands have 

 been prevented from employing alien seamen to the same extent as 

 vessels based in other United States jurisdictions. This is due 

 to interpretations of section 8103 of title 46 of the U.S. Code 

 by the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Department of Transportation, 

 and the Immigration and Naturalization Service. 



The crewing restrictions imposed on U . S . -documented vessels 

 may hamper the development of local fishing industries in Pacific 

 insular areas, if insular area entrepreneurs are unable to find 

 U.S. citizens and/or U.S. permanent residents to work on their 



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