NOAA Issues New Civil Penalty, Sanctions Policy for Fish Trade Violations, Etc.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued its final Policy for the Assessment of Civil Administrative Penalties and Permit Sanctions, including for certain fish trade-related violations of the Lacey Act and tuna rules, etc. The final policy became effective on March 16, 2011.
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Policy Establishes Base Penalties, Additional Sanctions for Violations
NOAA states that under the new Penalty Policy, penalties and permit sanctions are based on two criteria:
- A “base penalty” calculated by adding an initial base penalty amount and permit sanction reflective of the gravity of the violation and the culpability of the violator, and adjustments to the initial base penalty and permit sanction upward or downward to reflect the particular circumstances of a specific violation; and
- An additional amount added to the base penalty to recoup the proceeds of any unlawful activity and any additional economic benefit of noncompliance.
Penalties & Sanctions for Violations Involving Lacey Act, Tuna Imports, Etc.
Among other things, NOAA provides civil penalty and sanctions guidelines for the following violations:
- Lacey Act marking violations, including importing, exporting, or transporting in interstate commerce any container of fish (including shellfish) which has not been marked in accordance with applicable regulations and/or laws (offense level I);
- Western and Central Pacific Tunas Convention Act and Atlantic Tunas Convention Act violations, including fishing in excess of quota, allocation, or incidental catch limits; and transferring, selling, importing, exporting, or having custody, possession, or control of tuna which are known to be, or should have been known to be, taken in violation (offense level IV); and
- Antarctic Marine Living Resources (AMLR) Convention Act Schedule trafficking violations, including shipping, transporting, importing, exporting, or having custody, control or possession of AMLRs harvested in violation of any binding conservation measure (offense level III).
(NOAA sought public comment on a proposed draft penalty policy between October 21 - December 20, 2010 and received written input from regional fishery management councils, industry trade groups, commercial interests, nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, and federal, state, and interstate agencies. NOAA's response to the comments is available here. See ITT's Online Archives or 10/20/10 news, 10102021, for BP summary of NOAA's request for comments on its proposed policy.)
NOAA's complete final Policy is available here.
(FR Pub 04/14/11)