[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2243 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]

103d CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 2243

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

To amend the Fishermen's Protective Act of 1967 to permit reimbursement 
 of fishermen for fees required by a foreign government to be paid in 
  advance in order to navigate in the waters of that foreign country 
 whenever the United States considers that fee to be inconsistent with 
               international law, and for other purposes.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2243

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To amend the Fishermen's Protective Act of 1967 to permit reimbursement 
 of fishermen for fees required by a foreign government to be paid in 
  advance in order to navigate in the waters of that foreign country 
 whenever the United States considers that fee to be inconsistent with 
               international law, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) customary international law and the United Nations 
        Convention on the Law of the Sea guarantee the right of 
        passage, including innocent passage, to vessels through the 
        waters commonly referred to as the ``Inside Passage'' off the 
        Pacific Coast of Canada;
            (2) Canada has recently announced that it will require all 
        commercial fishing vessels of the United States to pay 1,500 
        Canadian dollars to obtain a ``license which authorizes 
        transit'' through the Inside Passage off the Pacific Coast of 
        Canada;
            (3) this action is inconsistent with international law, 
        including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 
        and in particular Article 26 of that Convention, which 
        specifically prohibits such fees, and threatens the safety of 
        United States commercial fishermen who may seek to avoid the 
        fee by traveling in less protected waters;
            (4) the Fishermen's Protective Act of 1967 provides for the 
        reimbursement of vessel owners who are forced to pay a license 
        fee to secure the release of a vessel which has been seized, 
        but does not permit reimbursement of a fee paid by the owner in 
        advance in order to prevent a seizure;
            (5) Canada has announced that the license fee may only be 
        paid in two ports on the Pacific Coast of Canada, and must be 
        paid in person or in advance by mail;
            (6) significant expense and delay would be incurred by a 
        commercial fishing vessel of the United States that had to 
        travel from the point of seizure back to one of those ports in 
        order to pay the license fee required by Canada, and the costs 
        of that travel and delay cannot be reimbursed under the 
        Fishermen's Protective Act as presently enacted;
            (7) the Fishermen's Protective Act of 1967 should be 
        amended to permit vessel owners to be reimbursed for fees 
        required by a foreign government to be paid in advance in order 
        to navigate in the waters of that foreign country, provided the 
        United States considers that fee to be inconsistent with 
        international law;
            (8) the Secretary of State should seek to recover from 
        Canada any amounts paid by the United States to reimburse 
        vessel owners who paid the transit license fee;
            (9) the United States should review its current policy with 
        respect to anchorage by commercial fishing vessels of Canada in 
        waters of the United States off Alaska, including waters in and 
        near the Dixon Entrance, and should accord such vessels the 
        same treatment that commercial fishing vessels of the United 
        States are accorded for anchorage in the waters of Canada off 
        British Columbia;
            (10) the President should ensure that, consistent with 
        international law, the United States Coast Guard has available 
        adequate resources in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska to 
        provide for the safety of United States citizens, the 
        enforcement of United States law, and to protect the rights of 
        the United States and keep the peace among vessels operating in 
        disputed waters;
            (11) the President should continue to review all agreements 
        between the United States and Canada to identify other actions 
        that may be taken to convince Canada that continuation of the 
        transit license fee would be against Canada's long-term 
        interests, and should immediately implement any actions which 
        the President deems appropriate until Canada rescinds the fee;
            (12) the President should immediately convey to Canada in 
        the strongest terms that the United States will not now, nor at 
        any time in the future, tolerate any action by Canada which 
        would impede or otherwise restrict the right of passage of 
        vessels of the United States vessels in a manner inconsistent 
        with international law; and
            (13) the United States should redouble its efforts to seek 
        expeditious agreement with Canada on appropriate fishery 
        conservation and management measures that can be implemented 
        through the Pacific Salmon Treaty to address issues of mutual 
        concern.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO THE FISHERMEN'S PROTECTIVE ACT.

    The Fishermen's Protective Act of 1967 (P.L. 90-482), as amended, 
is further amended by adding at the end the following new section:
    ``Sec. 11. (a) In any case on or after June 15, 1994, in which a 
vessel of the United States exercising its right of passage is charged 
a fee by the government of a foreign country to engage in transit 
passage between points in the United States (including a point in the 
exclusive economic zone or in an area over which jurisdiction is in 
dispute), and such fee is regarded by the United States as being 
inconsistent with international law, the Secretary of State shall 
reimburse the vessel owner for the amount of any such fee paid under 
protest.
    ``(b) In seeking such reimbursement, the vessel owner shall 
provide, together with such other information as the Secretary of State 
may require--
            ``(1) a copy of the receipt for payment;
            ``(2) an affidavit attesting that the owner or the owner's 
        agent paid the fee under protest; and
            ``(3) a copy of the vessel's certificate of documentation.
    ``(c) Requests for reimbursement shall be made to the Secretary of 
State within 120 days of the date of payment of the fee, or within 90 
days of the date of enactment of this section, whichever is later.
    ``(d) Such funds as may be necessary to meet the requirements of 
this section may be made available from the unobligated balances of 
previously appropriated funds remaining in the Fishermen's Guaranty 
Fund established under section 7 and the Fishermen's Protective Fund 
established under section 9. To the extent that requests for 
reimbursement under this section exceed such funds, there are 
authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be needed for 
reimbursements authorized under subsection (a).
    ``(e) The Secretary of State shall take such action as the 
Secretary deems appropriate to make and collect claims against the 
foreign country imposing such fee for any amounts reimbursed under this 
section.
    ``(f) For purposes of this section, the term `owner' includes any 
charterer of a vessel of the United States.
    ``(g) The provisions of this section shall remain in effect until 
October 1, 1995.''.

SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION.

    (a) Section 7(c) of the Fishermen's Protective Act of 1967 (22 
U.S.C. 1977(c)) is amended by striking ``The amount fixed by the 
Secretary shall be predicated upon at least 33\1/3\ per centum of the 
contribution by the Government.''.
    (b) Section 7(e) of the Fishermen's Protective Act of 1967 (22 
U.S.C. 1977(e)) is amended by striking ``October 1, 1993'' and 
inserting in lieu thereof ``October 1, 2000''.

SEC. 4. TECHNICAL CORRECTION.

    (a) Section 15(a) of Public Law 103-238 is amended by striking 
``April 1, 1994,'' and inserting ``May 1, 1994.''.
    (b) The amendment made by subsection (a) shall be effective on and 
after April 30, 1994.

            Passed the Senate July 1 (legislative day, June 7), 1994.

            Attest:






                                                             Secretary.