16 U.S.C. § 8001 — Definitions

This section defines terms used throughout this chapter: (1) AIS. Automatic Identification System, as defined in 33 C.F.R. § 164.46 or a similar successor rule. (2) Combined Maritime Forces. A 33-nation naval partnership, started in February 2002, that promotes security, stability, and prosperity across about 3,200,000 square miles of international waters. (3) Exclusive economic zone. (A) Unless the President publishes a different rule in the Federal Register as being in the public interest, this means (i) the area within a zone set by a maritime boundary established through a treaty in force, or being provisionally applied, by the United States; or (ii) if there's no such treaty, either (I) a zone reaching out 200 nautical miles from the baseline used to measure the territorial sea, or (II) if the U.S. and another country are less than 400 nautical miles apart, a zone with an outer edge equally distant between the two countries. (B) The inner edge of the zone is: (i) for coastal states, a line matching the state's seaward boundary under 43 U.S.C. § 1312; (ii) for Puerto Rico, a line 3 marine leagues from its coastline; (iii) for American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, a line 3 geographic miles from each one's coastline; or (iv) for any other U.S. possession, that possession's coastline. (C) Nothing in this paragraph reduces the authority of the Department of Defense, the Department of the Interior, or any other federal agency. (4) Food security. Having access to, and enough available and stable, food to meet a person's calorie and nutrition needs for an active, healthy life. (5) Global record of fishing vessels, refrigerated transport vessels, and supply vessels. The Food and Agriculture Organization's initiative to quickly gather certified data from governments about vessels and their activities. (6) IUU fishing. Illegal fishing, unreported fishing, or unregulated fishing, as those terms are defined in paragraph 3 of the International Plan of Action adopted in Rome on March 2, 2001. (7) Port State Measures Agreement. The Food and Agriculture Organization's agreement, signed in Rome on November 22, 2009, and in force since June 5, 2016, setting standards for reporting and inspecting foreign fishing vessels at port. (8) Priority flag state. A country chosen under section 8032(b)(3) of this title because (A) its flagged vessels actively engage in, knowingly profit from, or help with illegal, unreported, or unregulated (IUU) fishing, and (B) it's willing but lacks the capacity to monitor or enforce against its own fleet. (9) Priority region. A region chosen under section 8032(b)(2) of this title because (A) it's at high risk for IUU fishing or for illegally caught seafood entering its markets, and (B) countries there lack the capacity to fully address that problem. (10) Regional Fisheries Management Organization. An intergovernmental fisheries organization or arrangement with the authority to set conservation and management measures. (11) Seafood. (A) Marine finfish, mollusks, crustaceans, and all other marine animal and plant life, including those raised through marine aquaculture. (B) It does not include marine mammals, turtles, or birds. (12) Transnational organized illegal activity. Criminal activity by groups of people who operate across borders to gain power, influence, or money through illegal means, protecting themselves through corruption, violence, or an organized structure that exploits international trade or communication. (13) Transshipment. The use of refrigerated vessels that (A) collect catch from multiple fishing boats, (B) carry the combined catch back to port, and (C) deliver supplies to fishing boats, letting those boats stay at sea longer without returning to port.