United States V. Approximately 64,695 Pounds Of Shark Fins

''United States v. Approximately 64,695 Pounds of Shark Fins'' (520 F.3d 976) is a 2008 decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit concerning civil forfeiture in admiralty law. Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote for a three-judge panel that ordered that the shark fins be returned to their owners, reversing a decision by the Southern District of California. The government did not appeal the case further.

The case began in 2002 when a Coast Guard crew working from a Navy ship stopped and searched the ''King Diamond II'', a U.S.- flagged, Hong Kong–based vessel in international waters off the coast of Guatemala. On board the ship they found shark fins, equivalent to tons ( tonnes) but without any corresponding shark carcasses. The Coast Guard, upon further investigation, found documentary evidence that the ''KD II'' had arranged to meet fishing vessels at predetermined locations and buy various quantities of fins. These activities were believed to violate the Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000 (SFPA). The fins were thus seized and the ship escorted to San Diego, the nearest American port.

Federal agencies filed charges against the ''KD II''s owner, operator and captain. They further sought forfeiture of the fins under ''in rem'' jurisdiction, resulting in the unusual case title. Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz granted the order in 2005. The boat's owners appealed to the Ninth Circuit, which reversed Moskowitz's decision three years later. It held that the seizure was illegal: the ''KD II''s activities did not meet the definition of a fishing vessel under the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Since it did not, under the SFPA, the fins could not have been lawfully seized on the high seas. In 2011, President Barack Obama signed the Shark Conservation Act into law, which closed these loopholes.

Background

China's late-20th-century economic reforms produced a middle class that increased demand for traditional luxury items like shark fins. Chinese traditional medicine ascribes various restorative and healing effects to the fins, and the soup is considered a delicacy, costing as much as US$100 per bowl. The Chinese demand for fins led fishing crews to both take them from sharks in their bycatch and start fishing for sharks directly.Clarke, Shelley; ; April 16, 2008; United States House Committee on Natural Resources, p. 3; retrieved March 25, 2012.

Shark populations began declining. Since they are predators near the top of the marine food chain, an umbrella species, playing an important role in maintaining ocean ecosystems, this could have serious adverse environmental consequences for marine fisheries. Campaigns began in many nations to prohibit or greatly curtail finning in both territorial and international waters and work toward international agreements on the practice. In the U.S., President Bill Clinton signed the Shark Finning Prohibition Act (SFPA) into law in 2000 shortly before leaving office. It amended the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the primary statute regulating fisheries in the U.S.'s Exclusive Economic Zone up to 200 nautical miles offshore, to prohibit finning in U.S. territorial waters by any vessels, and the possession of fins by a U.S.-flagged vessel in international waters or the landing of any fins at a U.S. port without corresponding carcasses amounting to at least 20 times the weight of the fins. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) was charged with promulgating and implementing regulations to enforce the act.

During Congressional debate on the SFPA, Eni Faleomavaega, non-voting Delegate to the House of Representatives from American Samoa, had expressed concerns about the lack of language barring vessels from engaging in transshipment of fins, such as purchasing those taken by other vessels on the high seas. To stop this, he introduced an amendment to the bill banning the possession of the fins without the carcasses by fishing vessels, as defined in the Magnuson–Stevens Act, and the landing of same by any vessel. Congress assumed that this language would be sufficient to accomplish its intended purpose. Rahall, Nick; ; United States House Committee on Natural Resources, p. 3; July 8, 2008; retrieved March 25, 2012.

Underlying dispute

On August 13, 2002, the U.S. Navy destroyer USS ''Fife'' was in international waters southeast of Acapulco, Mexico, when it observed the ''King Diamond II'', an U.S.- flagged vessel owned by Tran and Yu, Inc, a shipping company in Hong Kong, its home port.
United States v. Approximately 64,695 Pounds of Shark Fins
' (hereafter ''Shark Fins I''), 353 F.Supp.2d 1095, 1096 ( S.D. Cal., 2005). The ''Fife'''s crew asked more questions over the radio. It learned that the ''KD II'', having sailed out of Honolulu some time ago, was on its way from Honolulu to Guatemala.

A Coast Guard detachment aboard the ''Fife'' confirmed that it was properly flying the U.S. flag. The Coast Guard was suspicious since the ship was low in the water, suggesting it was carrying heavy cargo, yet there were no cranes or other equipment that a legitimate fishing vessel would be expected to have. Instead there were several large shipping containers. Via radio, they asked the Joint Interagency Task Force West, a consortium of various federal law enforcement agencies, for permission to investigate further, since smugglers and drug traffickers were known to use that route.

After receiving permission to do so, the Coast Guard boarded the ''KD II''. The stench of decaying flesh quickly led them to a large quantity of shark fins. They were in bundles on the deck, the shipping container and filling most of the 40-ton (36-tonne) hold, where the ammonia odor was so strong that the Coast Guardsman who found them had to breathe through his mouth since it burned his nose. Since no corresponding carcasses could be found, the task force told the boarding party that this indicated a likely violation of the SFPA, and to consider the ship a crime scene as the fins were contraband.

Two days later, the Coast Guard cutter '' Chase'' took over, escorting the ''KD II'' to San Diego. Along the way the investigation continued. The Coast Guard reported that the four-man crew was cooperative with the investigation, largely sitting back and watching television in the lounge. Since they claimed not to have finned the sharks themselves, they believed they had not done anything wrong. Ship's records revealed that the ''KD II'' had met fishing vessels, primarily Korean longline fishing

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