II 112th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3424 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 24, 2012 Mr. Vitter introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To prohibit the sale of billfish.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Billfish Conservation Act of 2012.

2.

Findings

Congress finds the following: (1)Billfish populations are severely depleted and in need of greater protection. (2)Billfish population declines are largely attributable to overfishing by non-United States commercial fishing fleets that harvest billfish as bycatch while targeting other species. (3)Commercial fisheries in the United States do not target billfish. (4)The current United States prohibition on the commercial harvest and sale of billfish is limited to Atlantic-caught fish. (5)There are no existing conservation measures that prohibit the importation of Pacific-caught billfish. (6)Billfish account for less than 0.1 percent of the market value of United States seafood. (7)The United States seafood market is highly elastic and consumers have a large number of sustainable seafood alternatives. (8)Catch and release recreational angling for billfish generates billions of dollars in economic benefits to the United States economy each year. (9)Prohibiting the sale of Pacific-caught billfish in the continental United States will assist in the recovery of billfish populations worldwide.

3.

Statement of constitutional authority

The Congress enacts this Act pursuant to clause 3 of section 8 of article I of the Constitution.

4.

Prohibition on sale of billfish

(a)

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. (b)

Penalty

For purposes of section 308(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1858(a)), a violation of this section shall be treated as an act prohibited by section 307 of that Act (16 U.S.C. 1857). (c)

Exemptions for traditional fisheries and markets

(1)

In general

Subsection (a) does not apply to billfish— (A)caught by United States vessels and landed in the State of Hawaii or the Pacific Insular Area; or (B)landed by foreign vessels in the Pacific Insular Areas if the foreign caught billfish is exported to markets outside the United States or retained within the Pacific Insular Area for local consumption. (2)

Pacific Insular Area defined

In this subsection, the term Pacific Insular Area has the meaning given that term in section 3 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1802). (d)

Billfish defined

In this section, the term billfish— (1)means any fish of the species— (A)Makaira nigricans (blue marlin); (B)Kajikia audax (striped marlin); (C)Istiompax indica (black marlin); (D)Istiophorus platypterus (sailfish); (E)Tetrapturus angustirostris (shortbill spearfish); (F)Kajikia albida (white marlin); (G)Tetrapturus georgii (roundscale spearfish); (H)Tetrapturus belone (Mediterranean spearfish); and (I)Tetrapturus pfluegeri (longbill spearfish); and (2)does not include the species Xiphias gladius (swordfish).