Prohibition
No person shall offer for sale, sell, or have custody, control, or possession of for purposes of offering for sale or selling billfish or products containing billfish.
Penalty
section 1858(a) of this titlesection 1857 of this titleFor purposes of , a violation of this section shall be treated as an act prohibited by .
Exemptions for traditional fisheries and markets
section 1802(35) of this title Subsection (a) does not apply to billfish caught by US fishing vessels and landed and retained in the State of Hawaii or Pacific Insular Areas as defined in .
Subsection (a) does not apply to billfish landed by foreign fishing vessels in the Pacific Insular Areas when the foreign caught billfish is exported to non-US markets or retained within Hawaii and the Pacific Insular Areas for local consumption.
Billfish defined
In this section the term “billfish”—
means any fish of the species—
Makaira nigricans (blue marlin);
Kajikia audax (striped marlin);
Istiompax indica (black marlin);
Istiophorus platypterus (sailfish);
Tetrapturus angustirostris (shortbill spearfish);
Kajikia albida (white marlin);
Tetrapturus georgii (roundscale spearfish);
Tetrapturus belone (Mediterranean spearfish); and
Tetrapturus pfluegeri (longbill spearfish); and
does not include the species Xiphias gladius (swordfish).
Pub. L. 112–183, § 4126 Stat. 1422Pub. L. 115–228, § 1132 Stat. 1628(, , ; , , .)
Editorial Notes
Codification
Section was enacted as part of the Billfish Conservation Act of 2012 and not as part of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act which comprises this chapter.
Amendments
Pub. L. 115–2282018—Subsec. (c)(1). inserted “and retained” after “landed”.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Findings
Pub. L. 112–183, § 2126 Stat. 1422
“Congress finds the following:“(1) “(2) “(3)
, , , provided that:
The United States carefully regulates its domestic fisheries for billfish and participates in international fishery management bodies in the Atlantic and Pacific.
Global billfish populations have declined significantly, however, because of overfishing primarily through retention of bycatch by non-United States commercial fishing fleets.
Ending the importation of foreign-caught billfish for sale in the United States aligns with U.S. management measures of billfish and protects the significant economic benefits to the U.S. economy of recreational fishing and marine commerce and the traditional cultural fisheries.”