republic-os/legal/us/code/title-16/chapter-71a/section-5154.md

type, title, description, jurisdiction, corpus, kind, title_number, title_name, chapter_number, chapter_name, section, citation, status, release_point, release_date, source, source_url, source_identifier, source_file, source_hash, raw_snapshot_hash, text_hash, retrieved_at, confidence, tags

type	title	description	jurisdiction	corpus	kind	title_number	title_name	chapter_number	chapter_name	section	citation	status	release_point	release_date	source	source_url	source_identifier	source_file	source_hash	raw_snapshot_hash	text_hash	retrieved_at	confidence	tags
LegalText	16 U.S.C. § 5154	Moratorium	us	united_states_code	code_section	16	CONSERVATION	71A	ATLANTIC STRIPED BASS CONSERVATION	5154	16 U.S.C. § 5154	current	119-100	2026-06-26	official	https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc16@119-100.zip	/us/usc/t16/s5154	data/legal/raw/us/code/title-16/usc16.xml	8f1bd06cd71260643ee23ed85090a9a07f01c909f052ae883b175950574e6d75	7be8950da5a93cac7c98e4576ce00340f2aba5e8e46d29915382c203c421d503	23e64d461de050ec562c6e4e7eb745ebe5e3ad8ba61f60465c0268b7c62bf091	2026-07-04	official	legal us-code

16 U.S.C. § 5154 - Moratorium

Text

(a) Secretarial action after notification Upon receiving notice from the Commission under section 5153(c) of this title of a negative determination regarding a coastal State, the Secretaries shall determine jointly, within 30 days, whether that coastal State is in compliance with the Plan and, if the State is not in compliance, the Secretaries shall declare jointly a moratorium on fishing for Atlantic striped bass within the coastal waters of that coastal State. In making such a determination, the Secretaries shall carefully consider and review the comments of the Commission and that coastal State in question.

(b) Prohibited acts during moratorium During a moratorium period, it is unlawful for any person—

(1) to engage in fishing within the moratorium area;

(2) to land, or attempt to land, Atlantic striped bass that are caught, taken, or harvested in violation of paragraph (1);

(3) to land lawfully harvested Atlantic striped bass within the boundaries of a coastal State when a moratorium declared under subsection (a) applies to that State; or

(4) to fail to return to the water Atlantic striped bass to which the moratorium applies that are caught incidental to harvesting that occurs in the course of commercial or recreational fish catching activities, regardless of the physical condition of the striped bass when caught.

(c) Civil penalties (1) Civil penalty Any person who commits any act that is unlawful under subsection (b) shall be liable to the United States for a civil penalty as provided by section 308 of the Magnuson Act (16 U.S.C. 1858).

(2) Civil forfeitures (A) In general Any vessel (including its gear, equipment, appurtenances, stores, and cargo) used, and any fish (or the fair market value thereof) taken or retained, in any manner, in connection with, or as the result of, the commission of any act that is unlawful under subsection (b) shall be subject to forfeiture to the United States as provided in section 310 of the Magnuson Act (16 U.S.C. 1860).

(B) Disposal of fish Any fish seized pursuant to this chapter may be disposed of pursuant to the order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or, if perishable, in a manner prescribed in regulations.

(d) Enforcement A person authorized by the Secretaries or the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating may take any action to enforce a moratorium declared under subsection (a) that an officer authorized by the Secretary under section 311(b) of the Magnuson Act (16 U.S.C. 1861(b)) may take to enforce that Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). The Secretaries may, by agreement, on a reimbursable basis or otherwise, utilize the personnel, services, equipment (including aircraft and vessels), and facilities of any other Federal department or agency and of any agency of a State in carrying out that enforcement.

(e) Regulations The Secretaries may issue regulations to implement this section.

(Pub. L. 98–613, § 5, Oct. 31, 1984, 98 Stat. 3189; Pub. L. 99–432, § 3, Oct. 1, 1986, 100 Stat. 990; Pub. L. 100–589, § 6(g)(2), Nov. 3, 1988, 102 Stat. 2988; Pub. L. 102–130, § 2(a), Oct. 17, 1991, 105 Stat. 626; Pub. L. 104–208, div. A, title I, § 101(a) [title II, § 211(b)], Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009, 3009–41; Pub. L. 105–146, § 2, Dec. 16, 1997, 111 Stat. 2674.)

Notes

Editorial Notes

Amendments1997—Pub. L. 105–146 amended section catchline and text generally. Prior to amendment, section defined terms “moratorium area” and “moratorium period”, prohibited acts during moratorium, and provided for penalties, forfeitures, and enforcement. 1996—Subsec. (e)(2). Pub. L. 104–208 substituted “Magnuson-Stevens Fishery” for “Magnuson Fishery”. 1991—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 102–130 designated existing provisions as par. (1) and added pars. (2) and (3). 1988—Subsecs. (c)(2), (d)(2). Pub. L. 100–589 substituted “Magnuson Act” for “Act of 1976”. 1986—Pub. L. 99–432, § 3(b), which directed the substitution of “Secretaries” for “Secretary”, was executed by making the substitution in subsec. (a)(2), in three places in subsec. (c), and in two places in subsec. (e) to reflect the probable intent of Congress. Pub. L. 99–432, § 3(a), which directed the substitution of “section 5153(b)” for “section 5153(d)”, was executed by making the substitution in subsecs. (a)(1), (2), (b)(3), and (e) to reflect the probable intent of Congress.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 1996 AmendmentPub. L. 104–208, div. A, title I, § 101(a) [title II, § 211(b)], Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009, 3009–41, provided that the amendment made by that section is effective 15 days after Oct. 11, 1996.

Transfer of Functions For transfer of authorities, functions, personnel, and assets of the Coast Guard, including the authorities and functions of the Secretary of Transportation relating thereto, to the Department of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see sections 468(b), 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6.