Union Calendar No. 76

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 541

[Report No. 104–109, Parts I and II]

A BILL

To reauthorize the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act

of 1975, and for other purposes.

JUNE 27, 1995

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee

dered to be printedof the Whole House on the State of the Union, and or-
IB

Union Calendar No. 76

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 541

[Report No. 104–109, Parts I and II]

To reauthorize the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of 1975, and for other

purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 17, 1995

Mr. SAXTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Resources

MAY 1, 1995

Reported with an amendment, and referred to the Committee on Ways and

Means for a period ending not later than June 30, 1995, for consideration of such provisions of the bill and amendment as fall within the jurisdiction of that committee pursuant to clause 1(s), rule X

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

JUNE 27, 1995

Reported from the Committee on Ways and Means with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and

ordered to be printed

[Omit the part struck through in italic and insert the part printed in boldface roman]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy as introduced on January 17, 1995]

A BILL

To reauthorize the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of 1975,

and for other purposes.
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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Atlantic Tunas Conven5 tion Act of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. RESEARCH AND MONITORING ACTIVITIES.

7 (a) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary of Com8 merce shall, within 90 days after the date of enactment of

9 this Act, submit a report to the Committee on Commerce,

10 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Commit11 tee on Resources of the House of Representatives—

12 (1) identifying current governmental and non13 governmental research and monitoring activities on

14 Atlantic bluefin tuna and other highly migratory spe15 cies;

16 (2) describing the personnel and budgetary re17 sources allocated to such activities; and

18 (3) explaining how each activity contributes to

19 the conservation and management of Atlantic bluefin

20 tuna and other highly migratory species.

21 (b) RESEARCH AND MONITORING PROGRAM.—Section

22 3 of the Act of September 4, 1980 (16 U.S.C. 971i) is

23 amended—

24 (1) by amending the section heading to read as

25 follows:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 3. RESEARCH ON ATLANTIC HIGHLY MIGRATORY

2 SPECIES.’’;

3 (2) by inserting ‘‘(a) BIENNIAL REPORT ON

4 BLUEFIN TUNA.—’’ before ‘‘The Secretary of Com5 merce shall’’; and

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

7 ‘‘(b) HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES RESEARCH AND

8 MONITORING.—

9 ‘‘(1) Within 6 months after the date of enactment

10 of the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of 1995, the

11 Secretary of Commerce, in cooperation with the advi12 sory committee established under section 4 of the At13 lantic Tunas Convention Act of 1975 (16 U.S.C.

14 971b) and in consultation with the United States

15 Commissioners on the International Commission for

16 the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (referred to in

17 this section as the ‘Commission’) and the Secretary of

18 State, shall develop and implement a comprehensive

19 research and monitoring program to support the con20 servation and management of Atlantic bluefin tuna

21 and other highly migratory species, that shall—

22 ‘‘(A) identify and define the range of stocks

23 of highly migratory species in the Atlantic

24 Ocean, including Atlantic bluefin tuna; and
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1 ‘‘(B) provide for appropriate participation

2 by nations which are members of the Commis3 sion.

4 ‘‘(2) The program shall provide for, but not be

5 limited to—

6 ‘‘(A) statistically designed cooperative tag7 ging studies;

8 ‘‘(B) genetic and biochemical stock analyses;

9 ‘‘(C) population censuses carried out

10 through aerial surveys of fishing grounds and

11 known migration routes;

12 ‘‘(D) adequate observer coverage and port

13 sampling of commercial and recreational fishing

14 activity;

15 ‘‘(E) collection of comparable real-time data

16 on commercial and recreational catches and

17 landings through the use of permits, logbooks,

18 landing reports for charter operations and fish19 ing tournaments, and programs to provide reli20 able reporting of the catch by private anglers;

21 ‘‘(F) studies of the life history parameters of

22 Atlantic bluefin tuna and other highly migratory

23 species;
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1 ‘‘(G) integration of data from all sources

2 and the preparation of data bases to support

3 management decisions; and

4 ‘‘(H) other research as necessary.

5 ‘‘(3) The Secretary of Commerce shall ensure

6 that personnel and resources of each regional research

7 center shall have substantial participation in the

8 stock assessments, research, and monitoring of highly

9 migratory species that occur in that region.

10 ‘‘(4) In developing a program under this section,

11 the Secretary shall provide for comparable monitoring

12 of all United States fishermen to which this Act ap13 plies with respect to effort and species composition of

14 catch and discards. The Secretary through the Sec15 retary of State shall encourage other member nations

16 to adopt a similar program.’’.

17 SEC. 3. ADVISORY COMMITTEE PROCEDURES.

18 Section 4 of the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of

19 1975 (16 U.S.C. 971b) is amended—

20 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before ‘‘There’’; and

21 (2) by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘(b)(1) A majority of the members of the advisory com23 mittee shall constitute a quorum, but one or more such

24 members designated by the advisory committee may hold

25 meetings to provide for public participation and to discuss
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1 measures relating to the United States implementation of

2 Commission recommendations.

3 ‘‘(2) The advisory committee shall elect a Chairman

4 for a 2-year term from among its members.

5 ‘‘(3) The advisory committee shall meet at appropriate

6 times and places at least twice a year, at the call of the

7 Chairman or upon the request of the majority of its voting

8 members, the United States Commissioners, the Secretary,

9 or the Secretary of State.

10 ‘‘(4)(A) The Secretary shall provide to the advisory

11 committee in a timely manner such administrative and

12 technical support services as are necessary for the effective

13 functioning of the committee.

14 ‘‘(B) The Secretary and the Secretary of State shall

15 furnish the advisory committee with relevant information

16 concerning fisheries and international fishery agreements.

17 ‘‘(5) The advisory committee shall determine its orga18 nization, and prescribe its practices and procedures for car19 rying out its functions under this Act, the Magnuson Fish20 ery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et

21 seq.), and the Convention. The advisory committee shall

22 publish and make available to the public a statement of its

23 organization, practices, and procedures.

24 ‘‘(6) The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C.

25 App.) shall not apply to the advisory committee.’’.
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1 SEC. 4. REGULATIONS AND ENFORCEMENT OF CONVEN2 TION.

3 Section 6(c) of the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of

4 1975 (16 U.S.C. 971d(c)) is amended—

5 (1) in paragraph (3) in the matter following

6 subparagraph (K), by inserting ‘‘or fishery mortality

7 level’’ after ‘‘quota of fish’’; and

8 (2) by striking paragraphs (4) and (5) and in9 serting the following:

10 ‘‘(4) PUBLICATION OF LIST.—Not later than

11 January 1, 1996, and annually thereafter, the Sec12 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of State,

13 shall publish a list of nations whose fishing vessels are

14 fishing, or have fished during the previous year, with15 in the Convention area in a manner that is inconsist16 ent with the objectives of a conservation or manage17 ment recommendation of the Commission.

18 ‘‘(5) IDENTIFICATION AND NOTIFICATION.—As

19 soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of

20 the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of 1995 and as

21 appropriate thereafter, the Secretary shall—

22 ‘‘(A) identify those nations whose fishing

23 vessels are fishing within the Convention area in

24 a manner that is inconsistent with the objectives

25 of a conservation or management recommenda26 tion of the Commission; and
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1 ‘‘(B) notify the President and the nation so

2 identified, including an explanation of the rea3 sons therefor.

4 ‘‘(6) CONSULTATIONS.—Not later than 30 days

5 after a nation is notified under paragraph (5), the

6 President shall enter into consultations with the gov7 ernment of that nation for the purpose of obtaining

8 an agreement that will—

9 ‘‘(A) effect the immediate termination and

10 prevent the resumption of any fishing by fishing

11 vessels of that nation within the Convention area

12 that is inconsistent with the objectives of a con13 servation or management recommendation of the

14 Commission; and

15 ‘‘(B) when practicable, require the govern16 ment or fishing vessels of that nation to mitigate

17 the negative impacts of that fishing on the effec18 tiveness of a conservation or management rec19 ommendation of the Commission including, but

20 not limited to, by imposing deductions for quota

21 overages in subsequent years.

22 ‘‘(7) PROHIBITION OF IMPORTS OF FISH AND

23 FISH PRODUCTS.—

24 ‘‘(A) If, within 90 days after entering into

25 consultations under paragraph (6), the President
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1 finds that such consultations have not concluded

2 satisfactorily or are not likely to conclude satis3 factorily, the President shall—

4 ‘‘(i) direct the Secretary of the Treas5 ury to prohibit the importation into the

6 United States from the nation concerned of

7 fish and fish products of those species which

8 are subject to regulation pursuant to a rec9 ommendation of the Commission and which

10 were harvested within the Convention area;

11 and

12 ‘‘(ii) upon the recommendation of the

13 Secretary, direct the Secretary of the Treas14 ury to prohibit the importation from the

15 nation concerned of such other fish and fish

16 products as may be necessary to carry out

17 the purposes of this subsection.

18 ‘‘(B) In making a recommendation under

19 subparagraph (A)(ii), the Secretary shall take

20 into consideration the severity of the impacts of

21 fishing by fishing vessels of the nation concerned

22 on the effectiveness of a conservation or manage23 ment recommendation of the Commission.’’.

24 (2) by inserting the following after

25 paragraph (5):
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1 ‘‘(6) IDENTIFICATION AND NOTIFICATION.—

2 Not later than January 1, 1996, and annually

3 thereafter, the Secretary shall—

4 ‘‘(A) identify those nations whose fish5 ing vessels are fishing, or have fished

6 during the preceding calendar year, with7 in the Convention area in a manner that

8 is inconsistent with the objectives of a

9 conservation or management rec10 ommendation of the Commission;

11 ‘‘(B) notify the President and the na12 tion so identified, including an expla13 nation of the reasons therefor; and

14 ‘‘(C) publish a list of those nations

15 identified under subparagraph (A).

16 In identifying such nations, the Secretary

17 shall consider, based on the best available in18 formation, whether such nations have meas19 ures in place for reporting, monitoring, and

20 enforcement that are adequate and effective

21 to meet the obligations of the Convention.

22 ‘‘(7) CONSULTATION.—Not later than 30

23 days after a nation is notified under para24 graph (6), the President may enter into con25 sultations with the government of that nation
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1 for the purpose of obtaining an agreement

2 that will—

3 ‘‘(A) effect the immediate termination

4 and prevent the resumption of any fish5 ing by fishing vessels of that nation with6 in the Convention area that is inconsist7 ent with the objectives of a conservation

8 or management recommendation of the

9 Commission; and

10 ‘‘(B) when practicable, require the

11 government or fishing vessels of that na12 tion to mitigate the negative impacts of

13 that fishing on the effectiveness of a con14 servation or management recommenda15 tion of the Commission including, but not

16 limited to, by imposing deductions for

17 quota overages in subsequent years.’’.

18 SEC. 5. FINES AND PERMIT SANCTIONS.

19 Section 7(e) of the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of

20 1975 (16 U.S.C. 971(e)) is amended to read as follows:

21 ‘‘(e) The civil penalty and permit sanctions of section

22 308 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Manage23 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1858) are hereby made applicable to

24 violations of this section as if they were violations of section

25 307 of that Act.’’.
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1 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 Section 10 of the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of

3 1975 (16 U.S.C. 971h) is amended to read as follows:

4 ‘‘AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

5 ‘‘SEC. 10. There are authorized to be appropriated to

6 carry out this Act, including use for payment of the United

7 States share of the joint expenses of the Commission as pro8 vided in article X of the Convention, the following sums:

9 ‘‘(1) For fiscal year 1996, $2,750,000, of which

10 $50,000 are authorized in the aggregate for the advi11 sory committee established under section 4 and the

12 species working groups established under section 4A,

13 and $1,500,000 are authorized for research activities

14 under this Act.

15 ‘‘(2) For fiscal year 1997, $4,000,000 of which

16 $62,000 are authorized in the aggregate for such advi17 sory committee and such working groups, and

18 $2,500,000 are authorized for such research activities.

19 ‘‘(3) For fiscal year 1998, $4,000,000, of which

20 $75,000 are authorized in the aggregate for such advi21 sory committee and such working groups, and

22 $2,500,000 are authorized for such research activi23 ties.’’.
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1 SEC. 7. REPORT AND CERTIFICATION.

2 The Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of 1975 (16 U.S.C.

3 971 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end thereof the

4 following:

5 ‘‘ANNUAL REPORT

6 ‘‘SEC. 12. Not later than April 1, 1996, and annually

7 thereafter, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary

8 of State and the advisory committee established under sec9 tion 4, shall prepare and transmit to the Committee on Re10 sources of the House of Representatives and the Committee

11 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate

12 a report, that—

13 ‘‘(1) details for the previous 10-year period the

14 catches and exports to the United States of highly mi15 gratory species (including tunas, swordfish, marlin,

16 and sharks) from nations fishing on Atlantic stocks of

17 such species that are subject to management by the

18 Commission;

19 ‘‘(2) describes the results of efforts by the United

20 States to negotiate with other nations whose fishing

21 vessels are fishing or have fished in the previous year

22 within the Convention area to establish reporting,

23 monitoring, and enforcement measures that are com24 parable to those in effect for the United States pursu25 ant to adequate and effective to meet the

26 obligations of the Convention;
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1 ‘‘(3) describes reporting requirements established

2 by the Secretary to ensure that imported fish products

3 are in compliance with all international management

4 measures, including minimum size requirements, es5 tablished by the Commission and other international

6 fishery organizations to which the United States is a

7 party; and

8 ‘‘(4) describes actions taken by the Secretary

9 under sections 6 and 13 section 6.

10 ‘‘CERTIFICATION

11 ‘‘SEC. 13. (a) After January 1, 1997, if the Secretary

12 determines that any nation with which negotiations were

13 held pursuant to section 12(2) has not established or is not

14 likely to establish reporting, monitoring, and enforcement

15 measures that are comparable to those in effect for the Unit16 ed States pursuant to the Convention, the Secretary shall

17 certify that fact to the President and notify the nation of

18 the certification.

19 ‘‘(b) Within 60 days after the date of receiving a cer20 tification under subsection (a) regarding a nation, the

21 President shall direct the Secretary of the Treasury to limit

22 the importation from the nation of fish and fish products

23 of those species which are subject to a regulation pursuant

24 to a recommendation of the Commission, to levels that are

25 consistent with the applicable harvest or fishing mortality

26 levels recommended by the Commission.
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1 ‘‘REMOVAL OF PROHIBITIONS

2 ‘‘SEC. 14. If the President finds that the reasons for

3 the imposition of any prohibition under section 6 or any

4 limitation on importation under section 13 no longer pre5 vail, the President shall direct the Secretary of the Treasury

6 to promptly terminate such prohibition or limitation.

7 ‘‘SAVINGS CLAUSES

8 ‘‘SEC. 15. (a) Nothing in this Act shall have the effect

9 of diminishing the rights and obligations of any nation

10 under Article VIII(3) of the Convention.

11 ‘‘(b) Nothing in this Act shall have the effect of dimin12 ishing the rights and obligations of the United States as

13 set forth in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.’’.

14 ‘‘SAVINGS CLAUSES

15 ‘‘SEC. 13. (a) Nothing in this Act shall have

16 the effect of diminishing the rights and obli17 gations of any nation under Article VIII(3) of

18 the Convention.

19 ‘‘(b) Nothing in this Act shall have the ef20 fect of diminishing the rights of the United

21 States, or of requiring the United States to

22 take any action that is inconsistent with Unit23 ed States obligations, under the Convention

24 or under the Agreement Establishing the

25 World Trade Organization entered into on

26 April 15, 1994, and the agreements annexed to
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1 that Agreement that are set forth in section

2 101(d) of the Uruguay Round Agreements

3 Act.’’.

4 SEC. 8. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS WITH RESPECT TO ICCAT

5 NEGOTIATIONS.

6 (a) SHARING OF CONSERVATION BURDEN.—It is the

7 sense of the Congress that in future ICCAT negotiations,

8 the Secretary of Commerce shall ensure that the conserva9 tion actions recommended by international commissions

10 and implemented by the Secretary for United States com11 mercial and recreational fishermen provide fair and equi12 table sharing of the conservation burden among all con13 tracting harvesters in negotiations with those commissions.

14 (b) ENFORCEMENT PROVISIONS.—It is further the

15 sense of the Congress that, during 1995 ICCAT negotiations

16 on swordfish and other Highly Migratory Species managed

17 by ICCAT, the Congress encourages the United States Com18 missioners to add enforcement provisions similar to the

19 bluefin tuna sanctions.

20 (c) ENHANCED MONITORING.—It is further the sense

21 of the Congress that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

22 Administration and United States Customs Service should

23 enhance monitoring activities to ascertain what specific

24 stocks are being imported into the United States and the

25 country of origin.