[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1259 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1259

  To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to lift the trade 
   embargoes on dolphin-safe tuna harvested in the eastern tropical 
                 Pacific Ocean, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 9, 1997

     Mr. Miller of California (for himself, Mr. Faleomavaega, Mr. 
Abercrombie, Mr. Olver, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Farr of California, Mr. Smith 
   of New Jersey, Mr. Stark, Ms. Pelosi, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Yates, Mr. 
   Kennedy of Rhode Island, Mr. Brown of California, Mr. Evans, Mr. 
    Lantos, Mr. Dellums, Mr. Delahunt, Ms. Woolsey, and Mr. Towns) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to lift the trade 
   embargoes on dolphin-safe tuna harvested in the eastern tropical 
                 Pacific Ocean, 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; REFERENCES.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Dolphin-Safe 
Fishing Act''.
    (b) References to Marine Mammal Protection Act.--Except as 
otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or 
repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a 
section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to be 
made to a section or other provision of the Marine Mammal Protection 
Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.).

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 
        1972 that impose a ban on imports from nations that fish for 
        tuna in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean and the provisions 
        of that Act that prescribe the conditions under which tuna may 
        be labeled as ``dolphin-safe'' have served as a powerful 
        incentive to reduce the incidence of chasing and netting 
        dolphins and the incidence of dolphin mortalities.
            (2) The American public has come to rely on the integrity 
        of the dolphin-safe labeling regime, and that requirements of 
        that regime have been an effective means of promoting dolphin 
        conservation through education and market mechanisms.
            (3) In response to United States dolphin conservation 
        efforts, in 1993 the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission 
        initiated an international dolphin conservation program that 
        has helped to significantly reduce dolphin mortalities and 
        regulate the harvest of yellowfin tuna in the eastern tropical 
        Pacific Ocean by vessels chasing and netting dolphins.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are the following:
            (1) To recognize that individual tuna fishermen fishing in 
        the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean have made efforts to reduce, 
        and in some cases eliminate, the practice of harvesting 
        yellowfin tuna by chasing and netting dolphins.
            (2) To eliminate the ban on imports of dolphin-safe tuna 
        harvested by vessels in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean that 
        are in compliance with the requirements of the Inter-American 
        Tropical Tuna Commission and the Intergovernmental Agreement on 
        the Conservation of Tunas and Dolphins in the Eastern Pacific 
        Ocean, otherwise known as the ``La Jolla Agreement''.
            (3) To strengthen the effectiveness of the dolphin-safe 
        label to ensure that the label is not being used on tuna 
        products that contain tuna harvested on a voyage in which 
dolphins were chased and netted, killed, or seriously injured.
            (4) To encourage the contracting parties of the Inter-
        American Tropical Tuna Commission to adopt a program to--
                    (A) require that any sea turtles or other 
                threatened species or endangered species harvested in 
                the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean in the course of 
                fishing for tuna be released when alive;
                    (B) reduce the harvest of nontarget species in the 
                yellowfin tuna fishery; and
                    (C) eliminate, to the maximum extent possible, the 
                mortality of nontarget species in the yellowfin tuna 
                fishery.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE I COMPARABILITY EMBARGO PROVISIONS.

    (a) Authorization of Importation.--Section 101(a) (16 U.S.C. 
1371(a)) is amended--
            (1) by striking so much of paragraph (2) as follows 
        subparagraph (A) and as precedes subparagraph (C) and inserting 
        the following:
                    ``(B) in the case of yellowfin tuna harvested with 
                purse seine nets in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, 
                and products therefrom, to be exported to the United 
                States--
                            ``(i) shall require that the government of 
                        exporting nation provide documentary evidence 
                        that--
                                    ``(I) the tuna or products 
                                therefrom do not consist of or contain, 
                                respectively, tuna harvested on a 
                                voyage on which dolphins were chased, 
                                netted, killed, or seriously injured;
                                    ``(II) the tuna was harvested after 
                                the effective date of the Dolphin-Safe 
                                Fishing Act solely by a vessel that, at 
                                the time the tuna was harvested, was 
                                registered in a nation that is party to 
                                the Intergovernmental Agreement on the 
                                Conservation of Tunas and Dolphins in 
                                the Eastern Pacific Ocean (in this 
                                paragraph referred to as the `La Jolla 
                                Agreement'), and was operating in 
                                compliance with that agreement, except 
                                that in lieu of the mortalities 
                                specified in the agreement, dolphin 
                                mortalities shall not exceed the total 
                                observed 1996 mortality; and
                                    ``(III) such vessels have not had 
                                major fines or penalties recommended by 
                                the La Jolla Agreement's 
                                Intergovernmental Review Panel which 
                                were not paid or adjudicated within 6 
                                months after the date of 
                                recommendation; and
                            ``(ii) shall ban the importation of such 
                        tuna and products in a year from a country, 
                        unless the Secretary has certified--
                                    ``(I) for importation in 1998, that 
                                the total observed dolphin mortality in 
                                1997 in fishing operations in the 
                                Eastern Pacific Ocean by vessels 
                                registered in that country did not 
                                exceed the total observed dolphin 
                                mortality in 1996;
                                    ``(II) for importation in each year 
                                thereafter, that the total observed 
                                dolphin mortality in the preceding year 
                                in such fishing operations ensures that 
                                steady progress is being made by the 
                                Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission 
                                to achieve the La Jolla Agreement's 
                                commitment and objective of 
                                progressively reducing observed dolphin 
                                mortality to levels approaching zero 
                                through the setting of annual limits 
                                and the goal of eliminating dolphin 
                                mortality; and
                                    ``(III) that tuna fishing vessels 
                                registered in that county are not 
                                involved in any way in the transport of 
                                illegal drugs.''.
    (b) Acceptance of Evidence of Coverage.--Section 101 (16 U.S.C. 
1371) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(d) Acceptance of Documentary Evidence.--The Secretary shall not 
consider information provided for yellowfin tuna harvested by a vessel 
to be documentary evidence required by subsection (a)(2)(B)(i) if the 
government of the country in which the vessel is registered does not 
provide to the Secretary, or authorize the Inter-American Tropical Tuna 
Commission to provide to the Secretary, complete and accurate 
information necessary to allow the Secretary to determine whether or 
not the vessel is in compliance with the Intergovernmental Agreement 
on the Conservation of Tunas and Dolphins in the Eastern Pacific 
Ocean.''.

SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE III GLOBAL MORATORIUM PROVISIONS.

    (a) Findings.--Section 301(a)(4) (16 U.S.C. 1411(a)(4)) is amended 
to read as follows:
            ``(4) Nations harvesting yellowfin tuna in the eastern 
        tropical Pacific Ocean have demonstrated their willingness to 
        participate in appropriate multilateral agreements to reduce, 
        with the goal of eliminating, dolphin mortality in that 
        fishery. Recognition that persons fishing in the eastern 
        tropical Pacific Ocean have made efforts to reduce, and in some 
        cases eliminate, the practice of harvesting yellowfin tuna by 
        chasing and netting dolphins will assure that the existing 
        trend of reduced dolphin mortality continues and will increase 
        the likelihood that the practice of chasing and netting 
        dolphins is eliminated.''.
    (b) Prohibitions.--Section 307 (16 U.S.C. 1417) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ``intentionally'' and 
        all that follows through ``except--'' and inserting 
        ``intentionally chase and net any dolphin in any tuna fishing 
        operation, except--'';
            (2) by amending subsection (a)(3) to read as follows:
            ``(3) for any person to import any yellowfin tuna or 
        yellowfin tuna product or any other fish or fish product in 
        violation of a ban on importation imposed under section 
        101(a)(2);''; and
            (3) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ``subsection (a)(6)'' 
        and inserting ``subsection (a)(5) and (6)''.
    (c) Dolphin Safe Standard.--Section 307(d) (16 U.S.C. 1417(d)) is 
amended by striking paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) and inserting the 
following:
            ``(2) in the case of a tuna product that contains tuna 
        referred to in paragraph (1)(B), (C), or (D) of section 901(d) 
        of the Dolphin Protection Consumer Information Act, it is 
        dolphin safe under, respectively, paragraph (2), (3), or (4) of 
        that section; or
            ``(3) in the case of tuna referred to in paragraph (1)(B), 
        (C), or (D) of section 901(d) of the Dolphin Protection 
        Consumer Information Act, the export or offering for sale of a 
        tuna product containing that tuna would not, by reason of the 
        presence of the tuna in that product, be a violation under that 
        section.''.

SEC. 5. DOLPHIN SAFE LABELING STANDARDS.

    Section 901(d) of the Dolphin Protection Consumer Information Act 
(16 U.S.C. 1385(d)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(d) Labeling Standard.--(1) It is a violation of section 5 of the 
Federal Trade Commission Act for any producer, importer, exporter, 
distributor, or seller of any tuna product that is exported from or 
offered for sale in the United States to include on the label of that 
product the term `Dolphin Safe' or any other term or symbol that 
falsely claims or suggests that the tuna contained in the product was 
harvested using a method of fishing that is not harmful to dolphins, 
if--
            ``(A) the tuna product contains tuna harvested on the high 
        seas by a vessel engaged in driftnet fishing;
            ``(B) the tuna product contains tuna harvested in the 
        eastern tropical Pacific Ocean by a vessel using purse seine 
        nets, unless the tuna product is dolphin safe under paragraph 
        (2);
            ``(C) the tuna product contains tuna harvested outside the 
        eastern tropical Pacific Ocean by a fishing vessel using purse 
        seine nets, unless the tuna product is dolphin safe under 
        paragraph (3); or
            ``(D) the tuna product contains tuna harvested outside the 
        eastern tropical Pacific Ocean by a fishing vessel not using 
        purse seine nets while engaged in any fishery identified by the 
        Secretary as having a regular and significant incidental 
        mortality or serious injury of marine mammals, unless the tuna 
        product is dolphin safe under paragraph (4).
    ``(2) For purposes of paragraph (1)(B), a tuna product that 
contains tuna referred to in that paragraph is dolphin safe if--
            ``(A) the vessel is of a type and size that the Secretary 
        has determined is not capable of chasing and netting, killing, 
        or seriously injuring dolphins and cannot accommodate an 
        observer on board during a tuna fishing voyage; or
            ``(B)(i) the product is accompanied by a written statement 
        executed by the captain of the vessel which harvested the tuna 
        certifying that no dolphins were netted, killed, or seriously 
        injured on the voyage in which the tuna were harvested;
            ``(ii) the product is accompanied by a written statement 
        executed by--
                    ``(I) the Secretary or the Secretary's designee, or
                    ``(II) a representative of the Inter-American 
                Tropical Tuna Commission,
        which states that there was an approved observer on board the 
        vessel during the entire voyage and that no dolphins were 
        chased and netted, killed, or seriously injured on the voyage 
        in which the tuna was harvested; and
            ``(iii) the statements referred to in clauses (i) and (ii) 
        are endorsed in writing by each exporter, importer, and 
        processor of the product.
    ``(3) For purposes of paragraph (1)(C), a tuna product that 
contains tuna referred to in that paragraph is dolphin safe if--
            ``(A) it is accompanied by a written statement executed by 
        the captain of the vessel certifying that no dolphins were 
        chased and netted, killed, or seriously injured during the 
        particular voyage on which the tuna was harvested; or
            ``(B) in the case of a tuna product that contains tuna 
        harvested in a fishery in which the Secretary has determined 
        that a regular and significant association occurs between 
        marine mammals and tuna, it is accompanied by a written 
        statement executed by the captain of the vessel and an 
        observer, certifying that no dolphins were chased and netted, 
        killed, or seriously injured on the particular voyage on which 
        the tuna was harvested.
    ``(4) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(D), a tuna product that 
contains tuna referred to in that paragraph is dolphin safe if it is 
accompanied by a written statement executed by the captain of the 
vessel and, where determined to be practicable by the Secretary, an 
observer participating in a national or international program 
acceptable to the Secretary certifying that no marine mammals were 
killed or seriously injured in the course of the fishing operation or 
operations in which the tuna were caught.
    ``(5) The Secretary shall on a regular basis identify and publish a 
list of tuna fisheries that have a regular and significant incidental 
mortality or serious injury of marine mammals.''.

SEC. 6. REDUCTION OF BYCATCH IN EASTERN TROPICAL PACIFIC OCEAN.

    The Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of 1975 (16 U.S.C. 951 et seq.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

        ``reduction of bycatch in eastern tropical pacific ocean

    ``Sec. 13. The Secretary of State, acting through the 
Commissioners, shall immediately take the necessary actions to ensure 
that the Commission adopts a bycatch reduction program for those 
vessels fishing for yellowfin tuna in the eastern tropical Pacific 
Ocean. Such program shall include, at a minimum--
            ``(1) that all sea turtles and other threatened species and 
        endangered species are released alive;
            ``(2) measures to reduce, to the maximum extent possible, 
        the harvest of nontarget species; and
            ``(3) measures to eliminate, to the maximum extent 
        possible, the mortality of nontarget species.''.

SEC. 7. EQUITABLE FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO INTER-AMERICAN TROPICAL 
              TUNA COMMISSION.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that each 
nation participating in the International Dolphin Conservation Program 
should contribute an equitable amount for payment of the expenses of 
the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, and that currently, the 
United States is paying an inequitable share of the Inter-American 
Tropical Tuna Commission's budget and expenses.
    (b) Determination of Amount.--In determining the amount to be paid 
by the United States as its contribution toward the expenses of the 
Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, the Secretary of State shall 
take into account the number of vessels participating in the eastern 
tropical Pacific Ocean yellowfin tuna fishery, the consumption within 
the United States of tuna and tuna products from the eastern tropical 
Pacific Ocean, and other relevant factors as determined by the 
Secretary.

SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect upon 
promulgation by the Secretary of Commerce implementing the provisions 
of this Act.
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