47 USC § 25 - Fishing vessels; duty to keep nets from cables

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t47/s25"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_prima_facie"
title: "47 USC § 25 - Fishing vessels; duty to keep nets from cables"
title_number: 47
title_name: "TELECOMMUNICATIONS"
section_number: "25"
section_name: "Fishing vessels; duty to keep nets from cables"
chapter_number: 2
chapter_name: "SUBMARINE CABLES"
positive_law: false
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2025-08-11"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Feb. 29, 1888, ch. 17, § 5, 25 Stat. 42.)"
---


# § 25. Fishing vessels; duty to keep nets from cables

The master of any fishing vessel who shall not keep his implements or nets at a distance of at least one nautical mile from a vessel engaged in laying or repairing a cable; or the master of any fishing vessel who shall not keep his implements or nets at a distance of at least a quarter of a nautical mile from a buoy or buoys intended to mark the position of a cable when being laid or when out of order or broken, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof, shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten days, or to a fine not exceeding $250, or to both such fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court. Fishing vessels, on perceiving or being able to perceive the said signals displayed on a telegraph ship, shall be allowed such time as may be necessary to obey the notice thus given, not exceeding twenty-four hours, during which period no obstacle shall be placed in the way of their operations.

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**Source Credit**: (Feb. 29, 1888, ch. 17, § 5, 25 Stat. 42.)