[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 541 Introduced in House (IH)]





104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 541

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To reauthorize the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of 1975, 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of 
1995''.

SEC. 2. RESEARCH AND MONITORING ACTIVITIES.

    (a) Report to Congress.--The Secretary of Commerce shall, within 90 
days after the date of enactment of this Act, submit a report to the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 
the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives--
            (1) identifying current governmental and non-governmental 
        research and monitoring activities on Atlantic bluefin tuna and 
        other highly migratory species;
            (2) describing the personnel and budgetary resources 
        allocated to such activities; and
            (3) explaining how each activity contributes to the 
        conservation and management of Atlantic bluefin tuna and other 
        highly migratory species.
    (b) Research and Monitoring Program.--Section 3 of the Act of 
September 4, 1980 (16 U.S.C. 971i) is amended--
            (1) by amending the section heading to read as follows:

``SEC. 3. RESEARCH ON ATLANTIC HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES.'';

            (2) by inserting ``(a) Biennial Report on Bluefin Tuna.--'' 
        before ``The Secretary of Commerce shall''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Highly Migratory Species Research and Monitoring.--
            ``(1) Within 6 months after the date of enactment of the 
        Atlantic Tunas Convention Authorization Act of 1995, the 
        Secretary of Commerce, in cooperation with the advisory 
        committee established under section 4 of the Atlantic Tunas 
        Convention Act of 1975 (16 U.S.C. 971b) and in consultation 
        with the United States Commissioners on the International 
        Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (referred to 
        in this section as the `Commission') and the Secretary of 
        State, shall develop and implement a comprehensive research and 
        monitoring program to support the conservation and management 
        of Atlantic bluefin tuna and other highly migratory species, 
        that shall--
                    ``(A) identify and define the range of stocks of 
                highly migratory species in the Atlantic Ocean, 
                including Atlantic bluefin tuna; and
                    ``(B) provide for appropriate participation by 
                nations which are members of the Commission.
            ``(2) The program shall provide for, but not be limited 
        to--
                    ``(A) statistically designed cooperative tagging 
                studies;
                    ``(B) genetic and biochemical stock analyses;
                    ``(C) population censuses carried out through 
                aerial surveys of fishing grounds;
                    ``(D) adequate observer coverage and port sampling 
                of commercial and recreational fishing activity;
                    ``(E) collection of comparable real-time data on 
                commercial and recreational catches and landings 
                through the use of permits, logbooks, landing reports 
                for charter operations and fishing tournaments, and 
                programs to provide reliable reporting of the catch by 
                private anglers;
                    ``(F) studies of the life history parameters of 
                Atlantic bluefin tuna and other highly migratory 
                species;
                    ``(G) integration of data from all sources and the 
                preparation of data bases to support management 
                decisions; and
                    ``(H) other research as necessary.
            ``(3) In developing a program under this section, the 
        Secretary shall provide for comparable monitoring of all United 
        States fishermen to which the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act 
        applies with respect to effort and species composition of catch 
        and discards. The Secretary through the Secretary of State 
        shall encourage other member nations to adopt a similar 
        program.''.

SEC. 3. ADVISORY COMMITTEE PROCEDURES.

    Section 4 of the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of 1975 (16 U.S.C. 
971b) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(a)'' before ``There''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b)(1) A majority of the members of the advisory committee shall 
constitute a quorum, but one or more such members designated by the 
advisory committee may hold meetings to provide for public 
participation and to discuss measures relating to the United States 
implementation of Commission recommendations.
    ``(2) The advisory committee shall elect a Chairman for a 2-year 
term from among its members.
    ``(3) The advisory committee shall meet at appropriate times and 
places at least twice a year, at the call of the Chairman or upon the 
request of the majority of its voting members, the United States 
Commissioners, the Secretary, or the Secretary of State.
    ``(4)(A) The Secretary shall provide to the advisory committee in a 
timely manner such administrative and technical support services as are 
necessary for the effective functioning of the committee.
    ``(B) The Secretary and the Secretary of State shall furnish the 
advisory committee with relevant information concerning fisheries and 
international fishery agreements.
    ``(5) The advisory committee shall determine its organization, and 
prescribe its practices and procedures for carrying out its functions 
under this Act, the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
(16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), and the Convention. The advisory committee 
shall publish and make available to the public a statement of its 
organization, practices, and procedures.
    ``(6) The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not 
apply to the advisory committee.''.

SEC. 4. REGULATIONS.

    Section 6(c)(3) of the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of 1975 (16 
U.S.C. 971d(c)(3)) is amended by adding ``or fishery mortality level'' 
after ``quota of fish'' in the last sentence.

SEC. 5. FINES AND PERMIT SANCTIONS.

    Section 7(e) of the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of 1975 (16 
U.S.C. 971(e)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(e) The civil penalty and permit sanctions of section 308 of the 
Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1858) are 
hereby made applicable to violations of this section as if they were 
violations of section 307 of that Act.''.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 10 of the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of 1975 (16 U.S.C. 
971h) is amended to read as follows:

                   ``authorization of appropriations

    ``Sec. 10. There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this Act, including use for payment of the United States share of the 
joint expenses of the Commission as provided in article X of the 
Convention, the following sums:
            ``(1) For fiscal year 1996, $2,750,000, of which $50,000 
        are authorized in the aggregate for the advisory committee 
        established under section 4 and the species working groups 
        established under section 4A, and $1,500,000 are authorized for 
        research activities under this Act.
            ``(2) For fiscal year 1997, $4,000,000 of which $62,000 are 
        authorized in the aggregate for such advisory committee and 
        such working groups, and $2,500,000 are authorized for such 
        research activities.
            ``(3) For fiscal year 1998, $4,000,000, of which $75,000 
        are authorized in the aggregate for such advisory committee and 
        such working groups, and $2,500,000 are authorized for such 
        research activities.''.

SEC. 7. REPORT AND CERTIFICATION.

    The Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of 1975 (16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.) 
is amended by adding at the end thereof the following:

                            ``annual report

    ``Sec. 11. Not later than April 1, 1996, and annually thereafter, 
the Secretary shall prepare and transmit to the Committee on Resources 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate a report, that--
            ``(1) details for the previous 10-year period the catches 
        and exports to the United States of highly migratory species 
        (including tunas, swordfish, marlin, and sharks) from nations 
        fishing on Atlantic stocks of such species that are subject to 
        management by the Commission;
            ``(2) identifies those fishing nations whose harvests are 
        inconsistent with conservation and management recommendations 
        of the Commission;
            ``(3) describes reporting requirements established by the 
        Secretary to ensure that imported fish products are in 
        compliance with all international management measures, 
        including minimum size requirements, established by the 
        Commission and other international fishery organizations to 
        which the United States is a party; and
            ``(4) describes actions taken by the Secretary under 
        section 12.

                            ``certification

    ``Sec. 12. (a) If the Secretary determines that vessels of any 
nation are harvesting fish which are subject to regulation pursuant to 
a recommendation of the Commission and which were taken from the 
convention area in a manner or under circumstances which would tend to 
diminish the effectiveness of the conservation recommendations of the 
Commission, the Secretary shall certify such fact to the President.
    ``(b) Such certification shall be deemed to be a certification for 
the purposes of section 8 of the Fishermen's Protective Act (22 U.S.C. 
1978).
    ``(c) Upon certification under subsection (a), the Secretary shall 
promulgate regulations under section 6(c)(4) with respect to a nation 
so certified.''.
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