[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 135 Engrossed in House (EH)]

103d CONGRESS

  1st Session

                            H. CON. RES. 135

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

  Calling for the United States to take further steps to establish an 
  international fishery agreement for conservation and management of 
living marine resources in international waters of the Bering Sea known 
                           as the Donut Hole.






103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 135

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Whereas there exists a small, central enclave in the Bering Sea known as the 
        Donut Hole that is more than two hundred nautical miles seaward of the 
        baselines from which the breadth of the territorial seas of the United 
        States and the Russian Federation are measured and that encompasses less 
        than 10 percent of the Bering Sea;
Whereas the Donut Hole and surrounding areas have been part of one of the 
        world's most productive regions of fishing for important commercial 
        species;
Whereas one of the most highly valued fisheries is the Aleutian Basin pollock 
        stock which straddles the United States and Russian exclusive economic 
        zones and the Donut Hole but spawns only inside the exclusive economic 
        zones;
Whereas fishing in the Donut Hole for the Aleutian Basin pollock stock began 
        only in the mid-1980's and does not constitute a traditional high seas 
        fishery;
Whereas the past productivity of these fishery resources has resulted in their 
        overuse and their subsequent dramatic declines exemplified by the 
        harvest of Aleutian Basin pollock by fishermen from distant-water 
        fishing nations which has recently plummeted from a peak of 
        approximately one million four hundred thousand metric tons in 1989 to a 
        low of approximately ten thousand metric tons in 1992;
Whereas in an effort to prevent the commercial extinction of the Aleutian Basin 
        pollock stock, the Russian Federation and the United States 
        substantially reduced, then suspended, domestic fisheries inside their 
        respective exclusive economic zones;
Whereas conservation of the fishery resources in the exclusive economic zones 
        has little success if similar conservation measures are not achieved in 
        the Donut Hole;
Whereas the United States and the Russian Federation have made significant 
        efforts with the distant-water fishing nations to negotiate effective 
        conservation and management arrangements for the Donut Hole;
Whereas the distant-water fishing nations refused to suspend operations until 
        the fishery collapsed and was no longer economically viable;
Whereas international law attempts to balance freedom of fishing in 
        international waters with the interests of the coastal states in 
        conserving and developing fish stocks within their own exclusive 
        economic zones and the interests of all nations in conserving the living 
        marine resources, but these efforts may not succeed due to the inherent 
        difficulty associated with establishing effective conservation, 
        management, and enforcement controls in international waters;
Whereas international negotiations have not yet succeeded in reaching a 
        permanent means to control fishing in the Donut Hole despite continuing 
        attempts to resolve the issues since the 1980's;
Whereas on April 4, 1993, at the Vancouver Summit, the Presidents of the United 
        States and the Russian Federation agreed, inter alia, ``to develop 
        bilateral fisheries cooperation in the Bering Sea, the North Pacific, 
        and the Sea of Okhotsk for the purpose of preservation and reproduction 
        of living marine resources and of monitoring the ecosystem of the North 
        Pacific Ocean'';
Whereas the Congress of the United States has passed the Central Bering Sea 
        Fisheries Enforcement Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-582) which denies port 
        privileges to those vessels that violate international agreements 
        concerning Central Bering Sea fishery resources;
Whereas the collaborative conservation efforts of the United States, Russian 
        Federation, and distant-water fishing nations will provide enhanced 
        fishery resources;
Whereas delegates from the People's Republic of China, Japan, the Republic of 
        Korea, the Republic of Poland, the Russian Federation, and the United 
        States signed a joint resolution at the Fifth Conference on the 
        Conservation and Management of the Living Marine Resources of the 
        Central Bering Sea on August 14, 1992, which provided for a temporary 
        suspension of all commercial fishing in the Donut Hole during 1993 and 
        1994;
Whereas these delegations met most recently in Tokyo in June, 1993, to negotiate 
        a long-term management agreement for the Donut Hole and were not able to 
        finalize such an agreement; and
Whereas delegates from each of these nations have expressed their consensus 
        concerns for the long-term conservation and management of the fishery 
        resources of the Donut Hole: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) the United States should take appropriate measures to 
        conserve the resources of the Donut Hole;
            (2) the United States should continue its pursuit of an 
        international agreement, consistent with its rights as a 
        coastal state, to ensure proper management for future 
        commercial viability of these natural resources;
            (3) the United States, working closely with the Russian 
        Federation should, in accordance with international law and 
        through multilateral consultations or through other means, 
        promote effective international programs for the implementation 
        and enforcement of regulations of the fisheries by those 
        nations that fish in the Donut Hole;
            (4) the United States nonetheless should be mindful of its 
        management responsibility in this regard and of its rights in 
        accordance with international law to fully utilize the stock 
        within its own exclusive economic zone;
            (5) the United States should accept as an urgent duty the 
        need to conserve for future generations the Aleutian Basin 
        pollock stock and should carry out that duty by taking all 
        necessary measures, in accordance with international law; and
            (6) the United States should foster further multilateral 
        cooperation leading to international consensus on management of 
        the Donut Hole resources through the fullest use of diplomatic 
        channels and appropriate domestic and international law and 
        should explore all other available options and means for 
        conservation and management of these living marine resources.

            Passed the House of Representatives November 2, 1993.

            Attest:






                                                                 Clerk.