This subpart regulates U.S. nationals fishing in the Russian fisheries and implements the Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on Mutual Fisheries Relations, signed May 31, 1988.

In addition to the terms defined in § 300.2 and those in the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the terms used in this subpart have the following meanings. If a term is defined differently in § 300.2 or the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the definition in this section shall apply.

Affiliates means two persons (including individuals and entities) related in such a way that—

(1) One indirectly or directly controls or has power to control the other; or

(2) A third party controls or has power to control both. Indicia of control include, but are not limited to, interlocking management or ownership, identity of interests among family members, shared facilities and equipment, common use of employees, or a reorganized entity having the same or similar management, ownership, or employees as a former entity.

Agreement means the Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on Mutual Fisheries Relations, signed May 31, 1988.

Embassy of the Russian Federation means the Fisheries Attache of the embassy located in Washington, D.C.

Fishery resource means any fish, any stock of fish, any species of fish, and any habitat of fish.

Fishing or to fish means any activity that does, is intended to, or can reasonably be expected to result in catching or removing from the water fishery resources. Fishing also includes the acts of scouting, processing, and support.

Operator, with respect to any vessel, means the master or other individual on board and in charge of either the vessel, the vessel's fishing operation, or both.

Owner, with respect to any vessel, means any person who owns that vessel in whole or in part, whether or not it is leased or chartered to or managed by another person, or any charterer, whether bareboat, time, or voyage, and any person who acts in the capacity of a charterer, or manager, 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, any officer, director, manager, controlling shareholder of any entity described in this definition, any agent designated as such by any person described in this definition, and any affiliate of any person described in this definition.

Processing means any operation by a vessel to receive fish from a fishing vessel and/or the preparation of fish, including but not limited to cleaning, cooking, canning, smoking, salting, drying, or freezing, either on the vessel's behalf or to assist another vessel.

Regional Administrator means Administrator of the Alaska Region, or a designee.

Relevant laws and regulations of the Russian Federation means those Russian laws and regulations that concern fishing for fishery resources over which Russia exercises sovereign rights or fishery management authority.

Russian and Federation mean the Russian Federation, its government, or any organ or entity of its government.

Russian continental shelf or continental shelf of Russia means the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas over which, consistent with international law, Russia exercises sovereign rights.

Russian Economic Zone or Russian EZ means a zone of waters off the coast of Russia beyond and adjacent to the Russian territorial sea extending a distance of up to 200 nautical miles from the baseline from which the territorial sea is measured, within which, consistent with international law, Russia has sovereign rights over the fishery resources.

Russian Federation or Russia means the governing entity that succeeded the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and that is the successor party to the Agreement of May 31, 1988.

Russian fisheries, Russian fishery resources, or fishery resources over which Russia exercises sovereign rights or fishery management authority means fishery resources within the Russian EZ, fishery resources of the Russian continental shelf, and anadromous species that originate in the waters of Russia, whether found in the Russian EZ or beyond any exclusive economic zone or its equivalent.

Scouting means any operation by a vessel exploring (on behalf of the vessel or another vessel) for the presence of fish by any means that do not involve the catching of fish.

Support means any operation by a vessel assisting fishing by another vessel, including—

(1) Transferring or transporting fish or fish products; or

(2) Supplying a fishing vessel with water, fuel, provisions, fishing equipment, fish processing equipment, or other supplies.

(a) Application for annual permits. U.S. vessel owners and operators must have a valid permit issued by the Russian Federation obtained pursuant to a complete application submitted through NMFS before fishing in the Russian EZ or for Russian fishery resources. Application forms and copies of applicable laws and regulations of the Russian Federation may be obtained from NMFS Headquarters.

(b) Other application information. Applications for motherships, processing or transport vessels must identify the type of fishing gear to be employed or the fishing quotas if the vessel has received or is requesting a quota. To facilitate processing, NMFS requests that permit applications for more than 10 vessels be grouped by type and fishing area, and provide the name, address, telephone, and FAX number(s) of an individual who will be the official point of contact for an application.

(c) Review of Applications. NMFS will review each application, and, if it is complete, forward it to the Department of State for submission to the competent authorities of the Russian Federation. NMFS will notify the permit applicant when the permit is submitted to the Russian Federation. NMFS will return incomplete applications to the applicant.

(d) Direct Communication. U.S. applicants may communicate directly with the Russian Federation with regard to the status of their applications or permits and are encouraged to do so. Owners and operators should make direct contact and work with Russian industry and government authorities.

(a) Acceptance. Once the Department of State has accepted the conditions and restrictions proposed by the Russian Federation and all fees have been paid, the competent authorities of the Russian Federation will approve the application. The Russian Federation will issue a permit to the vessel owner for each fishing vessel for which it has approved an application. That vessel will thereupon be authorized by the Russian Federation to fish in accordance with the Agreement and the terms and conditions set forth in the permit. The vessel owner is prohibited from transferring the permit to any other vessel or person. Any such transfer, or the sale or other transfer of the vessel, will immediately invalidate the permit. The vessel owner must notify NMFS of any change in the permit application information submitted to NMFS Headquarters under § 300.152 within 7 calendar days of the change.

(b) Copies. The vessel owner and operator must mail a copy of each permit and any conditions and restrictions issued for that vessel by the Russian Federation within 7 calendar days of its receipt to NMFS Headquarters.

(c) Validity. Any permit issued by the Russian Federation with respect to a vessel subject to this subpart will be deemed to be a valid permit only if:

(1) A completed permit application has been forwarded to the competent authorities of the Russian Federation as provided in § 300.152(b)(1).

(2) Such application has been approved and a permit issued by the competent authorities of the Russian Federation as provided in paragraph (a) of this section.

(3) The U.S. Department of State has notified the competent authorities of the Russian Federation that it has accepted the conditions and restrictions as provided in paragraph (a) of this section. The permit will be rendered invalid by: The transfer or sale of the permit specified in paragraph (a) of this section; the failure to submit to NMFS any changes in permit application information as required by paragraph (a) of this section; failure to submit to NMFS any permit copy required by paragraph (b) of this section or any other information or report required by any other provision of this subpart; or the failure to pay required permit fees.

(d) Russian-imposed sanctions. (1) The Russian Federation will impose appropriate fines, penalties, or forfeitures in accordance with its laws, for violations of its relevant laws or regulations.

(2) In the case of arrest and seizure of a U.S. vessel by Russian authorities, notification will be given promptly through diplomatic channels informing the United States of the facts and actions taken.

(3) The Russian Federation will release U.S. vessels and their crews promptly, subject to the posting of reasonable bond or other security.

(4) The sanctions for violations of limitations or restrictions on fishing operations will be appropriate fines, penalties, forfeitures, or revocations or suspensions of fishing privileges.

(a) General. The owner and operator of a vessel subject to this subpart are responsible for complying with all recordkeeping and reporting requirements in this part in a timely and accurate manner. Reports and records required by this subpart must be in English, in the formats specified, and unless otherwise specified, based on Greenwich mean time (GMT).

(b) Vessel permit abstract report. (1) The owner and operator of a vessel subject to this subpart must submit to NMFS Headquarters a permit abstract report containing the following information:

(i) Vessel name.

(ii) Russian Federation permit number.

(iii) Duration of permit (e.g., 1/1/91-12/31/91).

(iv) Authorized areas of fishing operations in geographic coordinates.

(v) Authorized catch quota in tons.

(vi) Authorized fishing gear.

(vii) Type of permit (e.g., catcher).

(2) The report must be faxed to (301) 713-2313 within 5 calendar days of receipt of the Russian permit.

(c) Activity reports. The owner and operator of a vessel subject to this subpart must submit to the Regional Administrator by telefax to (907) 586-7313, the following reports:

(1) Depart Report (Action code DEPART). At least 24 hours before the vessel departs from the EEZ for the Russian EZ, NMFS must receive the following information:

(i) The date (month and day), and time (hour and minute GMT), and position (latitude and longitude to the nearest degree and minute), at which the vessel will depart the EEZ for the Russian EZ.

(ii) The weight in metric tons (to the nearest hundredth of a metric ton) of all fish and fish product (listed by species and product codes) on board the vessel at the time it will depart the EEZ.

(2) Return Report (Action code RETURN). At least 24 hours before a vessel that has been in the Russian EZ enters the EEZ, NMFS must receive the following information:

(i) The date (month and day), time (hour and minute GMT), and position (latitude and longitude to the nearest degree and minute), at which the vessel will enter the EEZ.

(ii) The weight in metric tons (to the nearest hundredth of a metric ton) of all fish and fish products (listed by species and product codes) on board the vessel at the time it will enter the EEZ, and the areas (Russian EZ, U.S. EEZ, or other) in which such fish products were harvested or received.

(3) All reports must specify: The appropriate action code (“DEPART” or “RETURN”); the vessel's name and international radio call sign (IRCS); the sender's name and telephone number, and FAX, TELEX, and COMSAT numbers; the date (month and day) and time (hour and minute GMT) that the report is submitted to NMFS; and the intended date and U.S. port of landing. A list of species and product codes may be obtained from the Regional Administrator.

(d) Recordkeeping. The owner and operator of a vessel subject to this subpart must retain all copies of all reports required by this subpart on board the vessel for 1 year after the end of the calendar year in which the report was generated. The owner and operator must retain and make such records available for inspection upon the request of an authorized officer at any time for 3 years after the end of the calendar year in which the report was generated, whether or not such records on board the vessel.

(a) Compliance with permit requirements. (1) U.S. nationals and vessels subject to this subpart must have a valid permit, as specified in § 300.153(c) in order to fish for Russian fishery resources.

(2) U.S. nationals and vessels subject to this subpart that are fishing for Russian fishery resources must comply with all provisions, conditions, and restrictions of any applicable permit.

(b) Compliance with Russian law. U.S. nationals and vessels fishing for Russian fishery resources must comply with the relevant laws and regulations of the Russian Federation.

(c) Protection of marine mammals. U.S. nationals and vessels fishing for Russian fishery resources may not harass, hunt, capture, or kill any marine mammal within the Russian EZ, attempt to do so, except as may be provided for by an international agreement to which both the United States and Russia are parties, or in accordance with specific authorization and controls established by the Russian Federation. The provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq. also apply to any person or vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States while in the Russian EZ, and it shall not be a defense to any violation of the MMPA that the person or vessel was acting in accordance with any permit or authorization issued by the Russian Federation.

(d) Cooperation with enforcement procedures. (1) The operator of, or any person aboard, any U.S. vessel subject to this subpart must immediately comply with instructions and signals issued by an authorized officer of the Russian Federation to stop the vessel and with instructions to facilitate safe boarding and inspection of the vessel, its gear, equipment, fishing record, and catch for purposes of enforcing the relevant laws and regulations of Russia.

(2) The operator of, and any person aboard, any U.S. vessel subject to this subpart, must comply with directions issued by authorized officers of the Russian Federation in connection with the seizure of the vessel for violation of the relevant laws or regulations of the Russian Federation.

(3) U.S. nationals and vessels subject to this subpart must pay all fines and penalties and comply with forfeiture sanctions imposed by the Russian Federation for violations of its relevant laws and regulations.

(4) The operator of, and any person aboard, any U.S. vessel subject to this subpart must immediately comply with instructions and signals issued by an authorized officer of the United States to stop the vessel and with instructions to facilitate safe boarding and inspection of the vessel, its gear, equipment, fishing records, and catch for purposes of enforcing the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Agreement, and this subpart.

(e) Compliance with observer requirements. The owner of, operator of, and any person aboard, any U.S. vessel fishing in the Russian EZ or for Russian fishery resources to which a Russian observer is assigned must—

(1) Allow and facilitate, on request, boarding of a U.S. vessel by the observer.

(2) Provide to the observer, at no cost to the observer or the Russian Federation, the courtesies and accommodations provided to ship's officers.

(3) Cooperate with the observer in the conduct of his or her official duties.

(4) Reimburse the Russian Federation for the costs of providing an observer aboard the vessel.

In addition to the prohibited acts specified at § 300.4, it shall be unlawful for any U.S. national or vessel, or the owner or operator of any such vessel:

(a) To fish for Russian fishery resources without a valid permit issued by the competent authorities of the Russian Federation.

(b) To violate the provisions, conditions, and restrictions of an applicable permit.

(c) To violate the relevant laws and regulations of Russia.

(d) To harass, hunt, capture, or kill any marine mammal within the Russian EZ, or while fishing for Russian fishery resources, except as provided in § 300.155 (c).

(e) To fail to comply immediately with enforcement and boarding procedures specified in § 300.155 (d).

(f) To refuse to allow an authorized officer of the Russian Federation to board and inspect a vessel subject to this subpart for purposes of conducting any search, inspection, arrest, or seizure in connection with the enforcement of the relevant laws and regulations of the Russian Federation.

(g) To assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate, threaten, or interfere with, in any manner, any authorized officer of the Russian Federation in the conduct of any search, inspection, seizure, or arrest in connection with enforcement of the relevant laws and regulations of the Russian Federation.

(h) To fail to pay fines or penalties or comply with forfeitures imposed for a violation of the relevant laws and regulations of the Russian Federation.

(i) To refuse or fail to allow a Russian observer to board a vessel subject to this subpart while fishing in the Russian EZ, or for Russian fishery resources.

(j) To fail to provide to a Russian observer aboard a vessel fishing in the Russian EZ or for Russian fishery resources, the courtesies and accommodations provided to ship's officers.

(k) To assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate, threaten, interfere with, harass, or fail to cooperate, in any manner, with a Russian observer placed aboard a vessel subject to this subpart.

(l) To fail to reimburse the Russian Federation for the costs incurred in the utilization of Russian observers placed aboard such vessel.

(m) To possess, have custody or control of, ship, transport, offer for sale, sell, purchase, transship, import, export, or traffic in any manner, any fish or parts thereof taken or retained, landed, purchased, sold, traded, acquired, or possessed, in any manner, in violation of the relevant laws and regulations of the Russian Federation, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, or this subpart.

(n) To enter the Russian EZ to fish unless a permit application has been submitted through NMFS to the competent authorities of the Russian Federation by the U.S. Department of State for such vessel as provided in this subpart.

(o) To fish for Russian fisheries or to possess fish taken in Russian fisheries on board a vessel subject to this subpart without a valid permit or other valid form of authorization issued by the competent authorities of the Russian Federation on board the vessel.

(p) To falsify, or fail to report to NMFS, any change in the information contained in a permit application subject to this subpart within 7 calendar days of such change.

(q) To attempt to do, cause to be done, or aid and abet in doing, any of the foregoing.

(r) To violate any other provision of this subpart.

In addition to any fine, penalty, or forfeiture imposed by the Russian Federation, nationals and vessels of the United States violating the prohibitions of § 300.156 are subject to the fines, penalties, and forfeitures and the adjudicative procedures provided in the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 16 U.S.C. 1858, 1860, 1861, and any other applicable laws and regulations of the United States.