[ceejayoz]

Congress was pretty explicit about that; they wrote it in the legislation.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/50/679.55

[massysett]

You're citing an Executive-branch regulation, not a law from Congress.

[ceejayoz]

My bad.

The regulation stems from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson%E2%80%93Stevens_Fishe..., which says things like:

> United States observers required under subsection (h) be permitted to be stationed aboard any such vessel and that all of the costs incurred incident to such sta- tioning, including the costs of data editing and entry and observer monitoring, be paid for, in accordance with such subsection, by the owner or operator of the vessel