[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 610 Introduced in Senate (IS)]


109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 610

   Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should 
    promote the adoption of, and the United Nations should adopt, a 
 resolution at its October meeting to protect the living resources of 
 the high seas from destructive, illegal, unreported, and unregulated 
                           fishing practices.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

           September 30 (legislative day, September 29), 2006

   Mr. Stevens (for himself, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Warner, Ms. 
Murkowski, Mr. Chafee, Mr. DeMint, Mr. McCain, Ms. Snowe, Ms. Collins, 
  Mr. Smith, Mr. Lautenberg, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Menendez, Ms. 
 Cantwell, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. 
 Kerry, and Mrs. Feinstein) submitted the following resolution; which 
           was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should 
    promote the adoption of, and the United Nations should adopt, a 
 resolution at its October meeting to protect the living resources of 
 the high seas from destructive, illegal, unreported, and unregulated 
                           fishing practices.

    Whereas it is of paramount importance to the United States and all 
            nations to ensure the protection, conservation, and 
            sustainable management of high seas living marine 
            resources;
    Whereas fisheries of the high seas annually generate hundreds of 
            millions of dollars in economic activity and support 
            thousands of jobs in the United States and its territories 
            as well as nations throughout the world;
    Whereas the high seas constitute a globally significant reservoir 
            of marine biodiversity, and compounds derived from 
            organisms found on the high seas show promise for the 
            treatment of deadly diseases such as cancer and asthma;
    Whereas the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization 
            reports that a growing number of high seas fish stocks 
            important to the United States and the world are overfished 
            or depleted;
    Whereas the United Nations has called for urgent action to address 
            the impact of high seas fishing practices that have adverse 
            impacts on vulnerable marine species and habitats;
    Whereas destructive, illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing 
            by vessels flying non-United States flags threatens high 
            seas fisheries and the habitats that support them;
    Whereas nations whose fleets conduct destructive, illegal, 
            unreported, and unregulated high seas fishing enjoy an 
            unfair competitive advantage over United States fishermen, 
            who must comply with the rigorous conservation and 
            management requirements of the Magnuson Stevens Fishery 
            Conservation and Management Act and other laws in order to 
            conserve exhaustible natural resources; and
    Whereas international cooperation is necessary to address 
            destructive, illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing 
            which harms the sustainability of high seas living marine 
            resources and the United States fishing industry: Now, 
            therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) the United States should continue to demonstrate 
        international leadership and responsibility regarding the 
        conservation and sustainable use of high seas living marine 
        resources by vigorously promoting the adoption of a resolution 
        at this year's 61st session of the United Nations General 
        Assembly calling on all nations to protect vulnerable marine 
        habitats by prohibiting their vessels from engaging in 
        destructive fishing activity in areas of the high seas where 
        there are no applicable conservation or management measures or 
        in areas with no applicable international fishery management 
        organization or agreement, until such time as conservation and 
        management measures consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 
        the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement, and other relevant 
        instruments are adopted and implemented to regulate such 
        vessels and fisheries; and
            (2) the United States calls upon the member nations of the 
        United Nations to adopt a resolution at its October meeting to 
        protect the living resources of the high seas from destructive, 
        illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing practices.
                                 <all>