[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 229 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 229

Expressing the sense of the Congress that the United States should seek 
a review of compliance by all nations with the International Commission 
  for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas' conservation and management 
recommendations for Atlantic bluefin tuna and other species, and should 
pursue strengthened conservation and management measures to facilitate 
   the recovery of the Atlantic bluefin tuna, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 9, 2007

  Mr. Pallone (for himself, Mr. Saxton, Mr. Gilchrest, Mr. Farr, Mr. 
    Allen, and Mr. Brown of South Carolina) submitted the following 
 concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Congress that the United States should seek 
a review of compliance by all nations with the International Commission 
  for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas' conservation and management 
recommendations for Atlantic bluefin tuna and other species, and should 
pursue strengthened conservation and management measures to facilitate 
   the recovery of the Atlantic bluefin tuna, and for other purposes.

Whereas Atlantic bluefin tuna are a valuable commercial and recreational fishery 
        of the United States and many other countries;
Whereas the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas 
        (hereinafter referred to as ``the Convention'') was signed in 1966;
Whereas the Convention established the International Commission for the 
        Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (hereinafter referred to as ``the 
        Commission'') to coordinate international research and develop 
        conservation and management recommendations on Atlantic bluefin tuna and 
        other highly migratory species in the Atlantic Ocean and the adjacent 
        seas, including the Mediterranean Sea;
Whereas, in 1974, the Commission adopted its first conservation and management 
        recommendation to ensure the sustainability of Atlantic bluefin tuna 
        throughout the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, while allowing for 
        the maximum sustainable catch for food and other purposes;
Whereas, in 1981, for management purposes, the Commission adopted a working 
        hypothesis of two Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks, with one occurring west 
        of 45 degree west longitude (hereinafter referred to as the ``western 
        Atlantic stock'') and the other occurring east of 45 degree west 
        longitude (hereinafter referred to as the ``Eastern Atlantic and 
        Mediterranean stock'');
Whereas total allowable catches for the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean stock 
        have been consistently set at levels significantly above scientific 
        recommendations intended to maintain bluefin tuna populations at levels 
        that will permit the maximum sustainable catch;
Whereas, despite the establishment by the Commission of fishing quotas based on 
        total allowable catch levels for the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean 
        bluefin tuna fishery that exceed scientific recommendations, compliance 
        with such quotas by parties to the Convention that harvest that stock 
        has been very poor, most recently with harvests exceeding such total 
        allowable catch levels by over 50 percent for each of the last 4 years;
Whereas poor data reporting has frequently thwarted efforts by the Commission to 
        assign quota overharvests to specific countries;
Whereas many Commission members fishing east of 45 degree west longitude do not 
        comply with other Commission recommendations to control Eastern Atlantic 
        and Mediterranean bluefin tuna fisheries and conserve this overfished 
        resource and, more generally, lack of compliance with Commission 
        recommendations is an ongoing problem;
Whereas the Commission's Standing Committee on Research and Statistics 
        (hereinafter referred to as ``SCRS'') noted in its 2006 report that the 
        fishing mortality rate for the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean stock 
        may be more than three times the level that would permit the stock to 
        stabilize at the maximum sustainable catch level, and continuing to fish 
        at the level of recent years ``is expected to drive the spawning biomass 
        to a very low level'' giving ``rise to a high risk of fishery and stock 
        collapse'';
Whereas the SCRS has recommended that the annual harvest levels for Eastern 
        Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna be reduced from 32,000 metric 
        tons to approximately 15,000 metric tons to halt decline of the resource 
        and initiate recovery;
Whereas, in 2006, the Commission adopted the ``Recommendation by ICCAT to 
        Establish a Multi-Annual Recovery Plan for Bluefin Tuna in the Eastern 
        Atlantic and Mediterranean'' (hereinafter referred to as the ``Recovery 
        Plan'') containing a wide range of management and monitoring and control 
        measures designed to facilitate the recovery of the Eastern Atlantic and 
        Mediterranean bluefin tuna stock;
Whereas the Recovery Plan is inadequate and allows overfishing and stock decline 
        to continue;
Whereas, since 1981, the Commission has adopted additional and more restrictive 
        conservation and management recommendations for the western Atlantic 
        bluefin tuna stock, and these recommendations have been implemented by 
        nations fishing west of 45 degree west longitude;
Whereas, despite adoption and full implementation of a science-based rebuilding 
        program for the western Atlantic bluefin tuna stock by countries fishing 
        west of 45 degree west longitude, catches and catch rates remain very 
        low; and
Whereas poor management and compliance with recommendations for the Eastern 
        Atlantic and Mediterranean stock are of grave concern because the 
        condition of the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean stock could 
        adversely affect recovery of the western Atlantic bluefin tuna due to 
        mixing between the two stocks: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that the United States, through 
the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas 
(hereinafter in this concurrent resolution the ``Commission''), 
should--
            (1) pursue a review and assessment of compliance with 
        conservation and management measures adopted by the Commission 
        and in effect for the 2006 Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean 
        bluefin tuna fishery, occuring east of 45 degree west 
        longitude, and other fisheries that are subject to the 
        jurisdiction of the Commission, including data collection and 
        reporting requirements;
            (2) seek to address noncompliance by nations with such 
        measures through appropriate actions, including, as 
        appropriate, deducting a proportion of a future quota for a 
        country to compensate for such country exceeding its quota in 
        prior years;
            (3) pursue a meaningful discussion of the implementation 
        and effectiveness of the Commission recomendation entitled 
        ``Recommendation by ICCAT to Establish a Multi-Annual Recovery 
        Plan for Bluefin Tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and 
        Mediterranean'' (Recommendation 06-05), including seeking 
        detailed explanations from Commission members that have failed 
        to fully implement the terms of the recommendation; and
            (4) seek to strengthen the conservation and management of 
        the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna by making 
        recommendations to halt the decline of the stock and begin to 
        rebuild it.
                                 <all>