Licenses

(a) Forwarding of vessel license application Section 9(b) (16 U.S.C. 973g(b)) is amended to read as follows: (b) In accordance with subsection (e), and except as provided in subsection (f), the Secretary shall forward a vessel license application to the Administrator whenever such application is in accordance with application procedures established by the Secretary.. (b) Fees and schedules Section 9(c) (16 U.S.C. 973g(c)) is amended to read as follows: (c) Fees required under the Treaty shall be paid in accordance with the Treaty and any procedures established by the Secretary.. (c) Minimum fees required to be received in initial year; grounds for denial of forwarding of license application; grandfathering of certain vessels Section 9 (16 U.S.C. 973g) is amended— (1) by striking subsection (f); (2) by redesignating subsections (g) and (h) as subsections (f) and (g), respectively; (3) by amending subsection (f), as so redesignated, to read as follows: (f) The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State, may determine that a license application should not be forwarded to the Administrator if— (1) the application is not in accordance with the Treaty or the procedures established by the Secretary; or (2) the owner or charterer— (A) is the subject of proceedings under the bankruptcy laws of the United States, unless reasonable financial assurances have been provided to the Secretary; (B) has not established to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the fishing vessel is fully insured against all risks and liabilities normally provided in maritime liability insurance; or (C) has not paid any penalty which has become final, assessed by the Secretary in accordance with this Act.; and (4) in subsection (g), as redesignated by paragraph (2)— (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows: (1) section 12113 of title 46, United States Code;; (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting of 1972 after Marine Mammal Protection Act; (C) in paragraph (3), by inserting of 1972 after Marine Mammal Protection Act; and (D) in the matter following paragraph (3), by striking any vessel documented and all that follows and inserting the following: any vessel documented under the laws of the United States as of the date of enactment of the Fisheries Act of 1995 (Public Law 104–43) for which a license has been issued under subsection (a) may fish for tuna in the Licensing Area, and on the high seas and in waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States west of 146 west longitude and east of 129.5 east longitude in accordance with international law, subject to the provisions of the Treaty, this Act, and other applicable law, provided that no such vessel intentionally deploys a purse seine net to encircle any dolphin or other marine mammal in the course of fishing..