PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Jul 24, 2012
Billfish Conservation Act of 2012- Prohibits any person from offering billfish or billfish products for sale, selling them, or having custody, control, or possession of them for purposes of offering them for sale or selling them.
Treats a violation of this Act as an act prohibited by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Subjects a person to a maximum civil penalty of $100,000 for each violation, with each day of a continuing violation constituting a separate offense.
Exempts from such prohibition billfish: (1) caught by U.S. vessels and landed in the state of Hawaii or the Pacific Insular Area (PIA), or (2) landed by foreign vessels in the PIA if the foreign caught billfish is exported to markets outside the United States or retained within the PIA for local consumption.
Defines "billfish" as any of the following: (1) blue marlin, (2) striped marlin, (3) black marlin, (4) sailfish, (5) shortbill spearfish, (6) white marlin, (7) roundscale spearfish, (8) Mediterranean spearfish, or (9) longbill spearfish. Excludes swordfish from such definition.
People & committees
Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA] · R–LA
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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