IB 

Union Calendar No. 354 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1792 

[Report No. 118–429] 

To amend the South Pacific Tuna Act of 1988, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 24, 2023 

Mrs. RADEWAGEN (for herself and Mr. CASE) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

MARCH 21, 2024 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

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

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 24, 2023] 


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A BILL 

To amend the South Pacific Tuna Act of 1988, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘South Pacific Tuna Treaty Act of 2023’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of this 

7 Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Amendment of South Pacific Tuna Act of 1988. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Prohibited acts. 

Sec. 5. Exceptions. 

Sec. 6. Criminal offenses. 

Sec. 7. Civil penalties. 

Sec. 8. Licenses. 

Sec. 9. Enforcement. 

Sec. 10. Findings by Secretary. 

Sec. 11. Reporting requirements; disclosure of information. 

Sec. 12. Closed Area stowage requirements. 

Sec. 13. Observers. 

Sec. 14. Technical assistance. 

Sec. 15. Arbitration. 

Sec. 16. Disposition of fees, penalties, forfeitures, and other moneys. 

Sec. 17. Additional agreements. 

8 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF SOUTH PACIFIC TUNA ACT OF 1988. 

9 Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever in 

10 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of 

11 an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, 

12 the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or 

13 other provision of the South Pacific Tuna Act of 1988 (16 

14 U.S.C. 973 et seq.). 

15 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

16 (a) APPLICABLE NATIONAL LAW.—Section 2(4) (16 

17 U.S.C. 973(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘described in paraVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Mar 21, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1792.RH H1792

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1 graph 1(a) of Annex I of’’ and inserting ‘‘noticed and in 

2 effect in accordance with’’. 

3 (b) CLOSED AREA.—Section 2(5) (16 U.S.C. 973(5)) 

4 is amended by striking ‘‘of the closed areas identified in 

5 Schedule 2 of Annex I of’’ and inserting ‘‘area within the 

6 jurisdiction of a Pacific Island Party that is closed to ves7 sels pursuant to a national law of that Pacific Island Party 

8 and is noticed and in effect in accordance with’’. 

9 (c) FISHING.—Section 2(6) (16 U.S.C. 973(6)) is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘for any 

12 purpose’’ after ‘‘harvesting of fish’’; and 

13 (2) by amending subparagraph (F) to read as 

14 follows: 

15 ‘‘(F) use of any other vessel, vehicle, air16 craft, or hovercraft, for any activity described in 

17 this paragraph except for emergencies involving 

18 the health or safety of the crew or the safety of 

19 a vessel.’’. 

20 (d) FISHING VESSEL.—Section 2(7) (16 U.S.C. 

21 973(7)) is amended by striking ‘‘commercial fishing’’ and 

22 inserting ‘‘commercial purse seine fishing for tuna’’. 

23 (e) LICENSING AREA.—Section 2(8) (16 U.S.C. 

24 973(8)) is amended by striking ‘‘in the Treaty Area’’ and 

25 all that follows and inserting ‘‘under the jurisdiction of a 


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1 Pacific Island Party, except for internal waters, territorial 

2 seas, archipelagic waters, and any Closed Area.’’. 

3 (f) LIMITED AREA; PARTY; TREATY AREA.—Section 2 

4 (16 U.S.C. 973) is amended— 

5 (1) by striking paragraphs (10), (13), and (18); 

6 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (11) and (12) 

7 as paragraphs (10) and (11), respectively; 

8 (3) by redesignating paragraph (14) as para9 graph (12); and 

10 (4) by redesignating paragraphs (15) through 

11 (17) as paragraphs (14) through (16), respectively. 

12 (g) REGIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Section 2 

13 (16 U.S.C. 973) is amended by inserting after paragraph 

14 (12), as so redesignated, the following: 

15 ‘‘(13) The term ‘regional terms and conditions’ 

16 means any of the terms or conditions attached by the 

17 Administrator to the license issued by the Adminis18 trator, as notified by the Secretary.’’. 

19 SEC. 4. PROHIBITED ACTS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5(a) (16 U.S.C. 973c(a)) 

21 is amended— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘Except as provided in section 6 

23 of this Act, it’’ at the beginning and inserting ‘‘It’’; 

24 (2) by striking paragraphs (3) and (4); 


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1 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through (13) 

2 as paragraphs (3) through (11), respectively; 

3 (4) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated, by in4 serting ‘‘, except in accordance with an agreement 

5 pursuant to the Treaty’’ after ‘‘Closed Area’’; 

6 (5) in paragraph (10), as so redesignated, by 

7 striking ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

8 (6) in paragraph (11), as so redesignated, by 

9 striking the period at the end and inserting a semi10 colon; and 

11 (7) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(12) to violate any of the regional terms and 

13 conditions; or 

14 ‘‘(13) to violate any limit on authorized fishing 

15 effort or catch.’’. 

16 (b) IN THE LICENSING AREA.—Section 5(b) (16 U.S.C. 

17 973c(b)) is amended— 

18 (1) by striking ‘‘Except as provided in section 6 

19 of this Act, it’’ and inserting ‘‘It’’; 

20 (2) by striking paragraph (5); and 

21 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (6) and (7) as 

22 paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively. 

23 SEC. 5. EXCEPTIONS. 

24 Section 6 (16 U.S.C. 973d) is repealed. 


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1 SEC. 6. CRIMINAL OFFENSES. 

2 Section 7(a) (16 U.S.C. 973e(a)) is amended by strik3 ing ‘‘section 5(a) (8), (10), (11), or (12)’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘paragraphs (6), (8), (9), or (10) of section 5(a)’’. 

5 SEC. 7. CIVIL PENALTIES. 

6 (a) DETERMINATION OF LIABILITY; AMOUNT; PARTICI7 PATION BY SECRETARY OF STATE IN ASSESSMENT PRO8 CEEDING.—Section 8(a) (16 U.S.C. 973f(a)) is amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘Code’’ after ‘‘liable to the United 

10 States’’; and 

11 (2) by striking ‘‘Except for those acts prohibited 

12 by section 5(a) (4), (5), (7), (8), (10), (11), and (12), 

13 and section 5(b) (1), (2), (3), and (7) of this Act, the’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘The’’. 

15 (b) WAIVER OF REFERRAL TO ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 

16 Section 8(g) (16 U.S.C. 973f(g)) is amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘section 5(a)(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), 

18 (6), (7), (8), (9), or (13)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs 

19 (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (11), (12), or (13) of 

20 section 5(a)’’; and 

21 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘, all Limited 

22 Areas closed to fishing,’’ after ‘‘outside of the Licens23 ing Area’’. 


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1 SEC. 8. LICENSES. 

2 (a) FORWARDING AND TRANSMITTAL OF VESSEL LI3 CENSE APPLICATION.—Section 9(b) (16 U.S.C. 973g(b)) is 

4 amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(b) In accordance with subsection (e), and except as 

6 provided in subsection (f), the Secretary shall forward a 

7 vessel license application to the Administrator whenever 

8 such application is in accordance with application proce9 dures established by the Secretary.’’. 

10 (b) FEES AND SCHEDULES.—Section 9(c) (16 U.S.C. 

11 973g(c)) is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(c) Fees required under the Treaty shall be paid in 

13 accordance with the Treaty and any procedures established 

14 by the Secretary.’’. 

15 (c) MINIMUM FEES REQUIRED TO BE RECEIVED IN

16 INITIAL YEAR OF IMPLEMENTATION FOR FORWARDING AND

17 TRANSMITTAL OF LICENSE APPLICATIONS.—Section 9 (16 

18 U.S.C. 973g) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking subsection (f); 

20 (2) by redesignating subsections (g) and (h) as 

21 subsections (f) and (g), respectively; 

22 (3) by amending subsection (f), as so redesig23 nated, to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(f) The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary 

25 of State, may determine that a license application should 

26 not be forwarded to the Administrator if— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the application is not in accordance with 

2 the Treaty or the procedures established by the Sec3 retary; or 

4 ‘‘(2) the owner or charterer— 

5 ‘‘(A) is the subject of proceedings under the 

6 bankruptcy laws of the United States, unless rea7 sonable financial assurances have been provided 

8 to the Secretary; 

9 ‘‘(B) has not established to the satisfaction 

10 of the Secretary that the fishing vessel is fully in11 sured against all risks and liabilities normally 

12 provided in maritime liability insurance; or 

13 ‘‘(C) has not paid any penalty which has 

14 become final, assessed by the Secretary in accord15 ance with this Act.’’; and 

16 (4) in subsection (g), as so redesignated— 

17 (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 

18 follows: 

19 ‘‘(1) chapter 12113 of title 46, United States 

20 Code;’’; 

21 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘of 

22 1972’’ after ‘‘Marine Mammal Protection Act’’; 

23 (C) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘of 

24 1972’’ after ‘‘Marine Mammal Protection Act’’; 

25 and 


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1 (D) in the matter that follows paragraph 

2 (3), by striking ‘‘any vessel documented’’ and all 

3 that follows and inserting the following: 

4 ‘‘any vessel documented under the laws of the United States 

5 as of the date of enactment of the Fisheries Act of 1995 

6 for which a license has been issued under subsection (a) 

7 may fish for tuna in the Licensing Area, and on the high 

8 seas and in waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United 

9 States west of 146° west longitude and east of 129.5° east 

10 longitude in accordance with international law, subject to 

11 the provisions of the Treaty, this Act, and other applicable 

12 law, provided that no such vessel intentionally deploys a 

13 purse seine net to encircle any dolphin or other marine 

14 mammal in the course of fishing.’’. 

15 SEC. 9. ENFORCEMENT. 

16 (a) NOTICE REQUIREMENTS TO PACIFIC ISLAND

17 PARTY CONCERNING INSTITUTION AND OUTCOME OF LEGAL

18 PROCEEDINGS.—Section 10(c)(1) (16 U.S.C. 973h(c)(1)) is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) by striking ‘‘paragraph 8 of Article 4 of’’; 

21 and 

22 (2) by striking ‘‘Article 10 of’’. 

23 (b) SEARCHES AND SEIZURES BY AUTHORIZED OFFI24 CERS; LIMITATIONS ON POWER.—Section 10(d)(1)(A) (16 

25 U.S.C. 973h(d)(1)(A)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

2 and 

3 (2) in clause (iii), by adding ‘‘or’’ at the end. 

4 SEC. 10. FINDINGS BY SECRETARY. 

5 (a) ORDER TO LEAVE WATERS UPON FAILURE TO

6 SUBMIT TO JURISDICTION OF PACIFIC ISLAND PARTY; PRO7 CEDURE APPLICABLE.—Section 11(a) (16 U.S.C. 973i(a)) 

8 is amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘, all Limited Areas,’’; 

10 (2) in paragraph (1)— 

11 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

12 ‘‘paragraph 2 of Article 3 of’’; and 

13 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘with14 in the Treaty Area’’ and inserting ‘‘under the ju15 risdiction’’; and 

16 (3) in paragraph (2)— 

17 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘sec18 tion 5 (a)(4), (a)(5), (b)(2), or (b)(3)’’ and in19 serting ‘‘paragraph (4) of section 5(a) or para20 graphs (2) or (3) of section 5(b)’’; 

21 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘(7)’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘(6)’’; and 

23 (C) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘(7)’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘(6)’’. 


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1 (b) ORDER OF VESSEL TO LEAVE WATERS WHERE PA2 CIFIC ISLAND PARTY INVESTIGATING ALLEGED TREATY IN3 FRINGEMENT.—Section 11(b) (16 U.S.C. 973i(b)) is amend4 ed by striking ‘‘paragraph 7 of Article 5 of’’. 

5 SEC. 11. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS; DISCLOSURE OF IN6 FORMATION. 

7 Section 12 (16 U.S.C. 973j) is amended to read as fol8 lows: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 12. REPORTING. 

10 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITED DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN INFORMA11 TION.—The Secretary shall keep confidential and may not 

12 disclose the following information, except in accordance 

13 with subsection (b): 

14 ‘‘(1) Information provided to the Secretary by 

15 the Administrator that the Administrator has des16 ignated confidential. 

17 ‘‘(2) Information collected by observers. 

18 ‘‘(3) Information submitted to the Secretary by 

19 any person in compliance with the requirements of 

20 this Act. 

21 ‘‘(b) PERMITTED DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN INFORMA22 TION.—The Secretary may disclose information described 

23 in subsection (a)— 

24 ‘‘(1) if disclosure is ordered by a court; 


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1 ‘‘(2) if the information is used by a Federal em2 ployee— 

3 ‘‘(A) for enforcement; or 

4 ‘‘(B) in support of the homeland and na5 tional security missions of the Coast Guard as 

6 defined in section 888 of the Homeland Security 

7 Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 468); 

8 ‘‘(3) if the information is used by a Federal em9 ployee or an employee of the Fishery Management 

10 Council for Treaty administration or fishery manage11 ment and monitoring; 

12 ‘‘(4) to the Administrator, in accordance with 

13 the requirements of the Treaty and this Act; 

14 ‘‘(5) to the secretariat or equivalent of an inter15 national fisheries management organization of which 

16 the United States is a member, in accordance with 

17 the requirements or decisions of such organization, 

18 and insofar as possible, in accordance with an agree19 ment that prevents public disclosure of the identity of 

20 any person that submits such information; 

21 ‘‘(6) if the Secretary has obtained written au22 thorization from the person providing such informa23 tion, and disclosure does not violate other require24 ments of this Act; or 


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1 ‘‘(7) in an aggregate or summary form that does 

2 not directly or indirectly disclose the identity of any 

3 person that submits such information.’’. 

4 SEC. 12. CLOSED AREA STOWAGE REQUIREMENTS. 

5 Section 13 (16 U.S.C. 973k) is amended by striking 

6 ‘‘. In particular, the boom shall be lowered’’ and all that 

7 follows and inserting ‘‘and in accordance with any require8 ments established by the Secretary.’’. 

9 SEC. 13. OBSERVERS. 

10 Section 14 (16 U.S.C. 973l) is repealed. 

11 SEC. 14. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

12 Section 15 (16 U.S.C. 973m) is amended to read as 

13 follows: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 15. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

15 ‘‘The Secretary and the Secretary of State may provide 

16 assistance to a Pacific Island Party to benefit such Pacific 

17 Island Party from the development of fisheries resources 

18 and the operation of fishing vessels that are licensed pursu19 ant to the Treaty, including— 

20 ‘‘(1) technical assistance; 

21 ‘‘(2) training and capacity building opportuni22 ties; 

23 ‘‘(3) facilitation of the implementation of private 

24 sector activities or partnerships; and 


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1 ‘‘(4) other activities as determined appropriate 

2 by the Secretary and the Secretary of State.’’. 

3 SEC. 15. ARBITRATION. 

4 Section 16 (16 U.S.C. 973n) is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘Article 6 of’’ after ‘‘arbitral tri6 bunal under’’; and 

7 (2) by striking ‘‘paragraph 3 of that Article’’, 

8 and inserting ‘‘the Treaty, shall determine the loca9 tion of the arbitration’’. 

10 SEC. 16. DISPOSITION OF FEES, PENALTIES, FORFEITURES, 

11 AND OTHER MONEYS. 

12 Section 17 (16 U.S.C. 973o) is amended by striking 

13 ‘‘Article 4 of’’. 

14 SEC. 17. ADDITIONAL AGREEMENTS. 

15 Section 18 (16 U.S.C. 973p) is amended by striking 

16 ‘‘Within 30 days after’’ and all that follows and inserting 

17 ‘‘The Secretary may establish procedures for review of any 

18 agreements for additional fishing access entered into pursu19 ant to the Treaty.’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 354 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1792 

[Report No. 118–429] 

A BILL 

To amend the South Pacific Tuna Act of 1988, and 

for other purposes. 

MARCH 21, 2024 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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