---
type: "LegalText"
title: "47 U.S.C. § 25"
description: "Fishing vessels; duty to keep nets from cables"
jurisdiction: "us"
corpus: "united_states_code"
kind: "code_section"
title_number: 47
title_name: "TELECOMMUNICATIONS"
chapter_number: "2"
chapter_name: "SUBMARINE CABLES"
section: "25"
citation: "47 U.S.C. § 25"
status: "current"
release_point: "119-100"
release_date: "2026-06-26"
source: "official"
source_url: "https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc47@119-100.zip"
source_identifier: "/us/usc/t47/s25"
source_file: "data/legal/raw/us/code/title-47/usc47.xml"
source_hash: "11fe664d5bcf3c0b1487ee0c8cedf696a7d10519d200c0e38bd57a0d331f4410"
raw_snapshot_hash: "7cfb2d22df305544d8fac4913876d34c6b712d99019bd01ec134ed44ef145534"
text_hash: "1d7a49bde655f66d84501a911acd09aef96a060c7fa1804d2ceaa46676b17380"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-04"
confidence: "official"
tags: ["legal", "us-code"]
---

# 47 U.S.C. § 25 - Fishing vessels; duty to keep nets from cables

## Text

The master of any fishing vessel who shall not keep his implements or nets at a distance of at least one nautical mile from a vessel engaged in laying or repairing a cable; or the master of any fishing vessel who shall not keep his implements or nets at a distance of at least a quarter of a nautical mile from a buoy or buoys intended to mark the position of a cable when being laid or when out of order or broken, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof, shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten days, or to a fine not exceeding $250, or to both such fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court. Fishing vessels, on perceiving or being able to perceive the said signals displayed on a telegraph ship, shall be allowed such time as may be necessary to obey the notice thus given, not exceeding twenty-four hours, during which period no obstacle shall be placed in the way of their operations.

(Feb. 29, 1888, ch. 17, § 5, 25 Stat. 42.)