United States v. Approximately 64,695 Pounds of Shark Fins

United States v. Approximately 64,695 Pounds of Shark Fins
Court	United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Full case name	United States of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, Tai Loong Hong Marine Products, Limited, Claimant-Appellant v. Approximately 64,695 Pounds of Shark Fins, Defendant-Appellant
Argued	May 14, 2007
Decided	March 17, 2008
Citation(s)	520 F.3d 976 (2008)
Case history
Prior history	Summary judgement granted in part and denied in part, 353 F. Supp. 2d 1095 (S.D. Cal., 2005)
Holding
Vessel that merely purchased shark fins from others on high seas was not acting in support of fishing and did not therefore meet the statutory definition of a fishing vessel, so fins could not lawfully be seized when intent was to land them at foreign port; government's failure to provide timely notice that Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000 was to be interpreted thusly violated due process. Southern District of California reversed and remanded.
Court membership
Judge(s) sitting	Stephen Reinhardt, Raymond C. Fisher, Richard R. Clifton
Case opinions
Majority	Reinhardt, joined by Fisher, Clifton
Laws applied
Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000
Superseded by
Shark Conservation Act

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 32.3 tons (29.3 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.