Common use of Procedures for Investigations Clause in Contracts

Procedures for Investigations. In addition to the Manager’s authority to invoke penalties under the Schedule of Penalties, the Manager may, on his own, and shall, at the request of a Member, request that the Committee conduct an investigation of possible infractions of the Agreement, the Harvesting Rules, the Plan or other Sector requirements by calling a meeting of the Committee and presenting it with the information that is the basis for the Manager’s or Member’s opinion that an infraction occurred. The Committee shall operate as a “blind” committee, such that the identity of the Member, Permit and/or Participating Vessel under consideration shall only be known to the Manager. Such Committee member assignments shall be rotated. If, upon the conclusion of such investigation, the Committee determines by an affirmative vote of a majority of its members that a violation of this Agreement, the Harvesting Rules, the Plan or other Sector requirements has occurred, it may, and is hereby given the authority to (in addition to the imposition of any penalties prescribed in the Schedule of Penalties), invoke sanctions, ranging from letters of warning to reductions in ACE to the Member, its Permits and its Participating Vessels by the Sector, or issue “stop fishing” orders. The Committee shall exercise all reasonable efforts to ensure that penalties and settlements are commensurate with the nature and extent of the violation, are designed to further the purposes of the Plan and are uniform with those reached in similar circumstances. All appeals from such Committee action shall be taken in accordance with Section 7.4 of the Operations Plan. Each Member agrees to cooperate fully with the Manager and the Committee in such investigations and procedures (including cooperation with any requests for information or data that may be made by the Manager or the Committee).