106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5461

AN ACT

To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to eliminate the wasteful and unsportsmanlike practice of shark finning.

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5461

AN ACT

To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and

Management Act to eliminate the wasteful and unsportsmanlike practice of shark finning.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Shark Finning Prohi3 bition Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

5 The purpose of this title is to eliminate shark-finning

6 by addressing the problem comprehensively at both the na7 tional and international levels.

8 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON REMOVING SHARK FIN AND DIS9 CARDING SHARK CARCASS AT SEA.

10 Section 307(1) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

11 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1857(1))

12 is amended—

13 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon in sub14 paragraph (N);

15 (2) by striking ‘‘section 302(j)(7)(A).’’ in sub16 paragraph (O) and inserting ‘‘section 302(j)(7)(A);

17 or’’; and

18 (3) by adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘(P)(i) to remove any of the fins of a

20 shark (including the tail) and discard the car21 cass of the shark at sea;

22 ‘‘(ii) to have custody, control, or possession

23 of any such fin aboard a fishing vessel without

24 the corresponding carcass; or

25 ‘‘(iii) to land any such fin without the cor26 responding carcass.
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1 ‘‘For purposes of subparagraph (P) there is a rebut2 table presumption that any shark fins landed from

3 a fishing vessel or found on board a fishing vessel

4 were taken, held, or landed in violation of subpara5 graph (P) if the total weight of shark fins landed or

6 found on board exceeds 5 percent of the total weight

7 of shark carcasses landed or found on board.’’.

8 SEC. 4. REGULATIONS.

9 No later than 180 days after the date of the enact10 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall promul11 gate regulations implementing the provisions of section

12 3076(1)(P) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conserva13 tion and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1857(1)(P)), as

14 added by section 403 of this title.

15 SEC. 5. INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS.

16 The Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Sec17 retary of State, shall—

18 (1) initiate discussions as soon as possible for

19 the purpose of developing bilateral or multilateral

20 agreements with other nations for the prohibition on

21 shark-finning;

22 (2) initiate discussions as soon as possible with

23 all foreign governments which are engaged in, or

24 which have persons or companies engaged in shark25 finning, for the purposes of—
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1 (A) collecting information on the nature

2 and extent of shark-finning by such persons

3 and the landing or transshipment of shark fins

4 through foreign ports; and

5 (B) entering into bilateral and multilateral

6 treaties with such countries to protect such spe7 cies;

8 (3) seek agreements calling for an international

9 ban on shark-finning and other fishing practices ad10 versely affecting these species through the United

11 Nations, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s

12 Committee on Fisheries, and appropriate regional

13 fishery management bodies;

14 (4) initiate the amendment of any existing

15 international treaty for the protection and conserva16 tion of species of sharks to which the United States

17 is a party in order to make such treaty consistent

18 with the purposes and policies of this section;

19 (5) urge other governments involved in fishing

20 for or importation of shark or shark products to ful21 fill their obligations to collect biological data, such

22 as stock abundance and by-catch levels, as well as

23 trade data, on shark species as called for in the

24 1995 Resolution on Cooperation with FAO with Re-
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1 gard to study on the Status of Sharks and By-Catch

2 of Shark Species; and

3 (6) urge other governments to prepare and sub4 mit their respective National Plan of Action for the

5 Conservation and Management of Sharks to the

6 2001 session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries, as

7 set forth in the International Plan of Action for the

8 Conservation and Management of Sharks.

9 SEC. 6. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

10 The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the

11 Secretary of State, shall provide to Congress, by not later

12 than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act,

13 and every year thereafter, a report which—

14 (1) includes a list that identifies nations whose

15 vessels conduct shark-finning and details the extent

16 of the international trade in shark fins, including es17 timates of value and information on harvesting of

18 shark fins, and landings or transshipment of shark

19 fins through foreign ports;

20 (2) describes the efforts taken to carry out this

21 title, and evaluates the progress of those efforts;

22 (3) sets forth a plan of action to adopt inter23 national measures for the conservation of sharks;

24 and
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1 (4) includes recommendations for measures to

2 ensure that United States actions are consistent

3 with national, international, and regional obligations

4 relating to shark populations, including those listed

5 under the Convention on International Trade in En6 dangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna.

7 SEC. 7. RESEARCH.

8 The Secretary of Commerce, subject to the avail9 ability of appropriations authorized by section 410, shall

10 establish a research program for Pacific and Atlantic

11 sharks to engage in the following data collection and re12 search:

13 (1) The collection of data to support stock as14 sessments of shark populations subject to incidental

15 or directed harvesting by commercial vessels, giving

16 priority to species according to vulnerability of the

17 species to fishing gear and fishing mortality, and its

18 population status.

19 (2) Research to identify fishing gear and prac20 tices that prevent or minimize incidental catch of

21 sharks in commercial and recreational fishing.

22 (3) Research on fishing methods that will en23 sure maximum likelihood of survival of captured

24 sharks after release.
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1 (4) Research on methods for releasing sharks

2 from fishing gear that minimize risk of injury to

3 fishing vessel operators and crews.

4 (5) Research on methods to maximize the utili5 zation of, and funding to develop the market for,

6 sharks not taken in violation of a fishing manage7 ment plan approved under section 303 or of section

8 307(1)(P) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con9 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1853,

10 1857(1)(P)).

11 (6) Research on the nature and extent of the

12 harvest of sharks and shark fins by foreign fleets

13 and the international trade in shark fins and other

14 shark products.

15 SEC. 8. WESTERN PACIFIC LONGLINE FISHERIES COOPERA16 TIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM.

17 The National Marine Fisheries Service, in consulta18 tion with the Western Pacific Fisheries Management

19 Council, shall initiate a cooperative research program with

20 the commercial longlining industry to carry out activities

21 consistent with this title, including research described in

22 section 407 of this title. The service may initiate such

23 shark cooperative research programs upon the request of

24 any other fishery management council.
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1 SEC. 9. SHARK-FINNING DEFINED.

2 In this Act, the term ‘‘shark-finning’’ means the tak3 ing of a shark, removing the fin or fins (whether or not

4 including the tail) of a shark, and returning the remainder

5 of the shark to the sea.

6 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

7 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec8 retary of Commerce for fiscal years 2001 through 2005

9 such sums as are necessary to carry out this title.

Passed the House of Representatives October 30,

2000.

Attest:

Clerk.