Terms Used In U.S. Code > Title 46 > Subtitle IV > Part A - Ocean Shipping

• Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
• agency or instrumentality of a foreign state: has the meaning given that term in section 1603(b) of title 28. See 22 USC 6023
• agency or instrumentality of the Government of Cuba: means an agency or instrumentality of a foreign state as defined in section 1603(b) of title 28, with each reference in such section to "a foreign state" deemed to be a reference to "Cuba". See 22 USC 6023
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• anadromous species: means species of fish which spawn in fresh or estuarine waters of the United States and which migrate to ocean waters. See 16 USC 1802
• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• association: when used in reference to a corporation, shall be deemed to embrace the words "successors and assigns of such company or association" in like manner as if these last-named words, or words of similar import, were expressed. See 1 USC 5
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Baseline: Projection of the receipts, outlays, and other budget amounts that would ensue in the future without any change in existing policy. Baseline projections are used to gauge the extent to which proposed legislation, if enacted into law, would alter current spending and revenue levels.
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• bycatch: means fish which are harvested in a fishery, but which are not sold or kept for personal use, and includes economic discards and regulatory discards. See 16 USC 1802
• Chairman: means the Chairman of the National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Policies. See 22 USC 262r
• charter fishing: means fishing from a vessel carrying a passenger for hire (as defined in section 2101(30) of title 46) who is engaged in recreational fishing. See 16 USC 1802
• Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
• Civil forfeiture: The loss of ownership of property used to conduct illegal activity.
• commercial activity: has the meaning given that term in section 1603(d) of title 28. See 22 USC 6023
• commercial fishing: means fishing in which the fish harvested, either in whole or in part, are intended to enter commerce or enter commerce through sale, barter or trade. See 16 USC 1802
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Concurrent resolution: A legislative measure, designated "S. Con. Res." and numbered consecutively upon introduction, generally employed to address the sentiments of both chambers, to deal with issues or matters affecting both houses, such as a concurrent budget resolution, or to create a temporary joint committee. Concurrent resolutions are not submitted to the President/Governor and thus do not have the force of law.
• confiscated: refers to &mdash. See 22 USC 6023
• conservation and management: refers to all of the rules, regulations, conditions, methods, and other measures (A) which are required to rebuild, restore, or maintain, and which are useful in rebuilding, restoring, or maintaining, any fishery resource and the marine environment. See 16 USC 1802
• Continental Shelf: means the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas adjacent to the coast, but outside the area of the territorial sea, of the United States, to a depth of 200 meters or, beyond that limit, to where the depth of the superjacent waters admits of the exploitation of the natural resources of such areas. See 16 USC 1802
• Continental Shelf fishery resources: means the following:

  Cnidaria

  Bamboo Coral&mdash. See 16 USC 1802

• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Council: means any Regional Fishery Management Council established under section 1852 of this title. See 16 USC 1802
• county: includes a parish, or any other equivalent subdivision of a State or Territory of the United States. See 1 USC 2
• Cuban Government: includes the government of any political subdivision of Cuba, and any agency or instrumentality of the Government of Cuba. See 22 USC 6023
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• democratically elected government in Cuba: means a government determined by the President to have met the requirements of section 6066 of this title. See 22 USC 6023
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• economic discards: means fish which are the target of a fishery, but which are not retained because they are of an undesirable size, sex, or quality, or for other economic reasons. See 16 USC 1802
• eligible colleges and universities: means colleges and universities eligible to be supported and maintained, in whole or in part, with funds made available under the provisions of the Act of July 2, 1862 (12 Stat. See 16 USC 1672
• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• essential fish habitat: means those waters and substrate necessary to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding or growth to maturity. See 16 USC 1802
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• exclusive economic zone: means the zone established by Proclamation Numbered 5030, dated March 10, 1983. See 16 USC 1802
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• fish: means finfish, mollusks, crustaceans, and all other forms of marine animal and plant life other than marine mammals and birds. See 16 USC 1802
• fishery: means &mdash. See 16 USC 1802
• fishery resource: means any fishery, any stock of fish, any species of fish, and any habitat of fish. See 16 USC 1802
• fishing: means &mdash. See 16 USC 1802
• fishing community: means a community which is substantially dependent on or substantially engaged in the harvest or processing of fishery resources to meet social and economic needs, and includes fishing vessel owners, operators, and crew and United States fish processors that are based in such community. See 16 USC 1802
• fishing vessel: means any vessel, boat, ship, or other craft which is used for, equipped to be used for, or of a type which is normally used for&mdash. See 16 USC 1802
• Forbearance: A means of handling a delinquent loan. A
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
• foreign fishing: means fishing by a vessel other than a vessel of the United States. See 16 USC 1802
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• high seas: means all waters beyond the territorial sea of the United States and beyond any foreign nation's territorial sea, to the extent that such sea is recognized by the United States. See 16 USC 1802
• highly migratory species: means tuna species, marlin (Tetrapturus spp. See 16 USC 1802
• individual: shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. See 1 USC 8
• individual fishing quota: means a Federal permit under a limited access system to harvest a quantity of fish, expressed by a unit or units representing a percentage of the total allowable catch of a fishery that may be received or held for exclusive use by a person. See 16 USC 1802
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• international financial institutions: means the International Monetary Fund, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Development Association, International Finance Corporation, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, African Development Bank, African Development Fund, Asian Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank ² Bank for Economic Cooperation and Development in the Middle East and North Africa,,³ and Inter-American Investment Corporation. See 22 USC 262r
• international fishery agreement: means any bilateral or multilateral treaty, convention, or agreement which relates to fishing and to which the United States is a party. See 16 USC 1802
• Interrogatories: Written questions asked by one party of an opposing party, who must answer them in writing under oath; a discovery device in a lawsuit.
• Joint meeting: An occasion, often ceremonial, when the House and Senate each adopt a unanimous consent agreement
• Joint resolution: A legislative measure which requires the approval of both chambers.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• knowingly: means with knowledge or having reason to know. See 22 USC 6023
• large-scale driftnet fishing: means a method of fishing in which a gillnet composed of a panel or panels of webbing, or a series of such gillnets, with a total length of two and one-half kilometers or more, or with a mesh size of 14 inches or greater, is placed in the water and allowed to drift with the currents and winds for the purpose of entangling fish in the webbing. See 16 USC 1802
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Legacy: A gift of property made by will.
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• limited access system: means a system that limits participation in a fishery to those satisfying certain eligibility criteria or requirements contained in a fishery management plan or associated regulation. See 16 USC 1802
• Lineal descendant: Direct descendant of the same ancestors.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Majority leader: see Floor Leaders
• Marine Fisheries Commission: means the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, or the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission. See 16 USC 1802
• migratory range: means the maximum area at a given time of the year within which fish of an anadromous species or stock thereof can be expected to be found, as determined on the basis of scale pattern analysis, tagging studies, or other reliable scientific information, except that the term does not include any part of such area which is in the waters of a foreign nation. See 16 USC 1802
• Minority leader: See Floor Leaders
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• national standards: means the national standards for fishery conservation and management set forth in section 1851 of this title. See 16 USC 1802
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• observer: means any person required or authorized to be carried on a vessel for conservation and management purposes by regulations or permits under this chapter. See 16 USC 1802
• officer: includes any person authorized by law to perform the duties of the office. See 1 USC 1
• official of the Cuban Government or the ruling political party in Cuba: refers to any member of the Council of Ministers, Council of State, central committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, or the Politburo of Cuba, or their equivalents. See 22 USC 6023
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Pacific Insular Area: means American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Island, Wake Island, or Palmyra Atoll, as applicable, and includes all islands and reefs appurtenant to such island, reef, or atoll. See 16 USC 1802
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• person: means any person or entity, including any agency or instrumentality of a foreign state. See 22 USC 6023
• person: means any individual (whether or not a citizen or national of the United States), any corporation, partnership, association, or other entity (whether or not organized or existing under the laws of any State), and any Federal, State, local, or foreign government or any entity of any such government. See 16 USC 1802
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• President pro tempore: A constitutionally recognized officer of the Senate who presides over the chamber in the absence of the Vice President. The President Pro Tempore (or, "president for a time") is elected by the Senate and is, by custom, the Senator of the majority party with the longest record of continuous service.
• Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
• property: means any property (including patents, copyrights, trademarks, and any other form of intellectual property), whether real, personal, or mixed, and any present, future, or contingent right, security, or other interest therein, including any leasehold interest. See 22 USC 6023
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• recreational fishing: means fishing for sport or pleasure. See 16 USC 1802
• regional fishery association: means an association formed for the mutual benefit of members&mdash. See 16 USC 1802
• regulatory discards: means fish harvested in a fishery which fishermen are required by regulation to discard whenever caught, or are required by regulation to retain but not sell. See 16 USC 1802
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Commerce or his designee. See 16 USC 1802
• Sentencing guidelines: A set of rules and principles established by the United States Sentencing Commission that trial judges use to determine the sentence for a convicted defendant. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• special areas: means the areas referred to as eastern special areas in Article 3(1) of the Agreement between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Maritime Boundary, signed June 1, 1990. See 16 USC 1802
• State: means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and any other Commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States. See 16 USC 1802
• State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• stock of fish: means a species, subspecies, geographical grouping, or other category of fish capable of management as a unit. See 16 USC 1802
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Temporary restraining order: Prohibits a person from an action that is likely to cause irreparable harm. This differs from an injunction in that it may be granted immediately, without notice to the opposing party, and without a hearing. It is intended to last only until a hearing can be held.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• treaty: means any international fishery agreement which is a treaty within the meaning of section 2 of article II of the Constitution. See 16 USC 1802
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• tuna species: means the following:

  Albacore Tuna&mdash. See 16 USC 1802

• United States: when used in a geographical context, means all the States thereof. See 16 USC 1802
• United States fish processors: means facilities located within the United States for, and vessels of the United States used or equipped for, the processing of fish for commercial use or consumption. See 16 USC 1802
• United States harvested fish: means fish caught, taken, or harvested by vessels of the United States within any fishery regulated under this chapter. See 16 USC 1802
• United States national: means &mdash. See 22 USC 6023
• United States person: means any United States citizen or alien admitted for permanent residence in the United States, and any corporation, partnership, or other organization organized under the laws of the United States. See 22 USC 6010
• Uphold: The decision of an appellate court not to reverse a lower court decision.
• Variable Rate: Having a "variable" rate means that the APR changes from time to time based on fluctuations in an external rate, normally the Prime Rate. This external rate is known as the "index." If the index changes, the variable rate normally changes. Also see Fixed Rate.
• vessel: includes every description of watercraft or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on water. See 1 USC 3
• vessel of the United States: means &mdash. See 16 USC 1802
• waters of a foreign nation: means any part of the territorial sea or exclusive economic zone (or the equivalent) of a foreign nation, to the extent such territorial sea or exclusive economic zone is recognized by the United States. See 16 USC 1802
• writing: includes printing and typewriting and reproductions of visual symbols by photographing, multigraphing, mimeographing, manifolding, or otherwise. See 1 USC 1