United States Court of Appeals,

Ninth Circuit.

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,

Tai Loong Hong Marine Products, Limited, Claimant-Appellant,

v.

APPROXIMATELY 64,695 POUNDS OF SHARK FINS, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 05-56274.

Argued and Submitted May 14, 2007.

Filed March 17, 2008.

Background: Government brought civil forfeiture action against cargo of shark fins which had been seized from vessel on basis of alleged violation of Shark Finning Prohibition Act (SFPA). The United States District Court for the Southern District of California, 353 F.Supp.2d 1095, Barry T. Moskowitz, J., granted summary judgment for government on issue of whether vessel qualified as “fishing vessel” subject to SFPA, and subsequently entered judgment of forfeiture of fins' fair market value. Claimant, vessel's charterer, appealed.

Holdings: The Court of Appeals, Reinhardt, Circuit Judge, held that:

(1) statutory definition of “fishing vessel” did not give fair notice to claimant that chartered vessel could be within definition, and thus imposition of sanction under SFPA violated due process, and

(2) regulation prohibiting cargo vessels that received shark fins at sea from landing at U.S. ports could not be applied to chartered vessel, which was to land at non-U.S. port.

Reversed and remanded.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1932737&forum_id=2#20544272)