[Senate Treaty Document 108-2]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



108th Congress                                              Treaty Doc.
                                 SENATE                     
 1st Session                                                108-2
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     



 
   AMENDMENTS TO 1987 TREATY ON FISHERIES WITH PACIFIC ISLAND STATES

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

 AMENDMENTS TO THE 1987 TREATY ON FISHERIES BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENTS OF 
 CERTAIN PACIFIC ISLAND STATES AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 
 OF AMERICA, WITH ANNEXES AND AGREED STATEMENTS, DONE AT PORT MORESBY, 
 APRIL 2, 1987 (THE ``TREATY''), DONE AT KOROR, PALAU, MARCH 30, 1999, 
AND AT KIRITIMATI, KIRIBATI, MARCH 24, 2002. ALSO TRANSMITTED, RELATED 
 AMENDMENTS TO THE TREATY ANNEXES, AND THE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

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 February 11, 2003.--Treaty was read the first time, and together with 
the accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 
          and ordered to be printed for the use of the Senate


                         LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                                The White House, February 11, 2003.
To the Senate of the United States:
    With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the 
Senate to ratification, I transmit herewith Amendments to the 
1987 Treaty on Fisheries Between the Governments of Certain 
Pacific Island States and the Government of the United States 
of America, with Annexes and agreed statements, done at Port 
Moresby, April 2, 1987 (the ``Treaty''), done at Koror, Palau, 
March 30, 1999, and at Kiritimati, Kiribati, March 24, 2002. I 
also transmit, for the information of the Senate, the report of 
the Secretary of State with respect to these Amendments, 
related Amendments to the Treaty Annexes, and the Memorandum of 
Understanding regarding provisional application.
    The United States enjoys positive and constructive 
fisheries relations with the Pacific Island Parties through the 
implementation and operation of the Treaty, which is one of the 
cornerstones of our overall foreign relations with the Pacific 
Island Parties. This Treaty, and the good relationships it has 
fostered, has provided new opportunities for collaboration 
between the Pacific Island Parties and the United States on 
fisheries conservation and management issues. The relationships 
established as a result of the Treaty have also helped to 
safeguard U.S. commercial and security interests in the region.
    The Amendments to the Treaty will, among other things, 
allow U.S. longline vessels to fish in high seas portions of 
the Treaty Area; streamline the way amendments to the Treaty 
Annexes are agreed; and allow the Parties to consider the issue 
of capacity in the Treaty Area and, where appropriate, to 
promote consistency between the Treaty and the relevant 
fisheries management convention, which is likely to come into 
force during the duration of the extended operation of the 
Treaty.
    Existing legislation, including the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. 
and the South Pacific Tuna Act of 1988, Public Law 100-330, 
provides sufficient legal authority to implement U.S. 
obligations under the Treaty. Therefore, no new legislation is 
necessary in order for the United States to ratify these 
Amendments. However, minor amendments to section 6 of the South 
Pacific Tuna Act of 1988, Public Law 100-330 will be necessary 
to take account of the Amendment to paragraph 2 of Article 3 
``Access to the Treaty Area,'' which opens the high seas of the 
Treaty Area to fishing by U.S. longline vessels.
    I recommend that the Senate give favorable consideration to 
these Amendments and give its advice and consent to their 
ratification at an early date.

                                                    George W. Bush.
                          LETTER OF SUBMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                                    The Secretary of State,
                                     Washington, December 28, 2002.
The President,
The White House.
    The President: I have the honor to submit to you, with a 
view to transmission to the Senate for advice and consent to 
ratification, Amendments to the 1987 Treaty on Fisheries 
Between the Governments of Certain Pacific Island States and 
the Government of the United States of America, with annexes, 
(``the Treaty''), done at Koror, Palau March 30, 1999 and at 
Kiritimati, Kiribati March 24, 2002. The Treaty was ratified by 
the United States on December 21, 1987 and it entered into 
force on June 15, 1988. The Amendments to the Treaty will, 
among other things, allow U.S. longline vessels to fish in 
high-seas portions of the Treaty Area; streamline the way 
amendments to the Treaty Annexes are agreed; and allow the 
Parties to consider the issue of fishing capacity in the Treaty 
Area and ways to promote consistency, where appropriate, 
between the Treaty and the Convention for the Conservation and 
Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and 
Central Pacific Ocean (the ``WCPFC Convention''), done at 
Honolulu, Hawaii September 4, 2000. The Amendments to the 
Treaty Text are briefly described below. Related amendments to 
the Treaty Annexes and the Memorandum of Understanding 
regarding provisional application are also included for the 
information of the Senate.
    The United States enjoys positive and constructive 
fisheries relations with the Pacific Island Parties through the 
implementation and operation of the Treaty. Since it entered 
into force in 1988, the Treaty has become the cornerstone of 
the economic and political relationship between the United 
States and these Pacific Island Parties. This good relationship 
on fisheries issues, as well as a common desire to conserve and 
manage fisheries resources in the South Pacific, has carried 
over into the multilateral effort to establish a conservation 
and management regime in the Western and Central Pacific. Under 
the Treaty, the U.S. industry pays an annual license fee of $4 
million per year--a figure which will be reduced to $3 million 
under the Treaty extension, due to a decrease in the number of 
vessels to be licensed to fish in the Treaty Area.
    To date, the Treaty has provided considerable economic 
benefits to the United States. The tuna harvested by U.S. 
vessels under the Treaty contributes an estimated $250 to $400 
million annually to the U.S. economy. Nearly all of this fish 
is landed at the two canneries in American Samoa, one owned by 
U.S. interests, which are the territory's largest employers.
    Associated with the Treaty is the Economic Assistance 
Agreement between the United States and the South Pacific Forum 
Fisheries Agency. Under the current terms of the Agreement, the 
United States provides $14 million per year in Economic Support 
Funds (ESF) to the Pacific Island States to be used solely for 
economic stability and security. The payments under the 
associated Agreement are now the only significant source of 
U.S. economic support for the stability and security of the 
region outside the assistance provided to the Freely Associated 
States. The strong economic and political relationship with the 
Pacific Island States made possible by this Agreement also 
helps further U.S. Foreign policy goals through support from 
the Pacific Island States in international fora.
    The Agreement expires June 14, 2003. To serve U.S. 
interests and to maintain the stability of this successful 
regime, in conjunction with the amendments to the Treaty and 
Annexes, the Agreement will be amended and extended for a term 
of 10 years. The United States and the Pacific Island parties 
have agreed that for the next term of the Agreement, the annual 
level of economic assistance provided by the U.S. Government 
under the Economic Assistance Agreement associated with the 
Treaty would be $18 million. It is anticipated that the United 
States and the South Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency will sign 
the new Economic Assistance Agreement in early 2003.
    The amendments to the Treaty are non-controversial and are 
widely supported by U.S. domestic constituent interests.
    The first amendment, which was initially agreed to in 1999, 
modifies paragraph 2 of Article 3 ``Access to the Treaty Area'' 
to allow U.S. longline vessels to fish in high-seas portions of 
the area covered by the Treaty. The current Treaty excludes 
U.S. fishing vessels other than purse-seine vessels from 
operating in the Treaty Area, except for albacore troll vessels 
that may operate on the high seas within the Treaty Area. At 
the time the Treaty was negotiated in the late 1980s, the 
United States did not have a large distant-water longline fleet 
in the Pacific Ocean and thus no similar exception was included 
for these vessels. However, in recent years, a large U.S. 
longline fleet has developed and would like to fish in the 
high-seas portion of the Treaty Area. This amendment would 
accomplish that goal and is strongly supported by U.S. fishing 
interests in Hawaii and elsewhere in the region.
    The second amendment adds a new preambular paragraph that 
notes with satisfaction the successful conclusion of the WCPFC 
Convention which, once in force, will establish the legal 
framework and an organization to conserve and manage highly 
migratory fish stocks in the same region covered by the Treaty. 
The WCPFC Convention will provide for conservation and 
management of the fisheries resources in the region, thereby 
helping to ensure the long-term sustainability of the resource 
for the U.S. tuna purse-seine fleet. The United States actively 
participated in negotiation of the WCPFC Convention and signed 
it on September 9, 2000. The WCPFC Convention is strongly 
supported by the U.S. tuna industry and the environmental 
community. Entry into force of the WCPFC Convention for the 
United States is dependent on Senate advice and consent to 
ratification, and the Department of State is preparing for its 
submission to the President for transmittal to the Senate.
    The third amendment adds a new paragraph in Article 1 
(``Definitions and Interpretation'') defining the term 
``Convention'' as referring to the WCPFC Convention.
    The fourth amendment adds three new paragraphs to Article 7 
(``Review of the Treaty''). The first two amendments (the 
addition of new paragraphs 2 and 3) pertain to linkages between 
the Treaty and the WCPFC Convention. New paragraph 2 provides 
that parties to the Treaty shall, where appropriate, consider 
the extent to which adjustments to the Treaty or any measures 
adopted pursuant to it may be necessary to promote consistency 
with measures adopted under the WCPFC Convention. New paragraph 
3 provides that parties to the Treaty may cooperate to address 
matters of common concern under the Convention. The U.S. is 
supportive of conservation and management of the fish stocks of 
this region and pushed hard for an effective WCPFC Convention. 
The Convention will likely come into force within the term of 
the extended operation of the Treaty. Therefore, these 
amendments provide for cooperation and, where appropriate, the 
promotion of consistency between the operation of this Treaty 
and any management measures to be taken under the WCPFC. They 
do so, however, without binding the United States to the 
Convention or any future measures adopted thereunder until the 
United States becomes a Party to the WCPFC Convention.
    The third modification to Article 7 adds a new paragraph 4 
providing that the parties to the Treaty shall, where 
appropriate, consider the issue of capacity in the Treaty Area. 
The issue of ``over-capacity'' of the fishing fleets in the 
region is important for the United States and the U.S. tuna 
industry, because ``over-capacity'' can undermine management 
efforts and affect the economic viability of the fishery for 
all participants. The inclusion of a provision on fishing 
capacity was a key goal of the United States in these 
negotiations.
    The fifth and final amendment to the Treaty text concerns 
Article 9 (``Amendments to the Annexes''). Article 9 would be 
amended in its entirety to provide for a more streamlined and 
efficient procedure to amend the annexes of the Treaty. Unlike 
the United States, where the Congress has authorized the 
Secretary of State to approve amendments to the Annexes on 
behalf of the United States Government (South Pacific Tuna Act 
of 1988, P.L. 100-330), nearly all of the Pacific Island 
Parties to the Treaty must submit any amendments to the Annexes 
to their legislative bodies for approval. This reality has 
resulted in substantial delays in the entry into force of 
important technical amendments to the Annexes desired by the 
United States and the U.S. tuna industry. The revisions to 
Article 9 would allow amendments to the Annexes to take effect 
more quickly. Specifically, any party may propose amendments by 
notifying the depositary at least 120 days before the annual 
meeting. Amendments will be adopted by consensus. After 
adoption, each party is to act expeditiously to accept the 
amendment, and parties will, to the extent possible for them, 
apply adopted amendments provisionally. This establishes a more 
streamlined procedure, while providing time and opportunity for 
the United States to undergo our internal procedures to develop 
our position on any proposed amendment.
    The Amendments to the Treaty text do not have final clauses 
detailing their entry into force. Article 8 of the Treaty, 
however, provides for the Parties' consideration and adoption 
of amendments. Specifically, Article 8(e) provides: ``Any 
amendment to this Treaty shall be adopted by the approval of 
all the parties, and shall enter into force upon receipt by the 
depositary of instruments of ratification, acceptance or 
approval by the parties.'' Accordingly, these Amendments will 
enter into force once all the Parties to the Treaty have 
consented to be bound by them.
    Like the Treaty Amendments themselves, the related 
Amendments to the Treaty Annexes, which will be concluded as 
executive agreements in accordance with the Treaty and P.L. 
100-330, also lack final clauses detailing their entry into 
force. Article 9 of the Treaty, however, provides for their 
entry into force upon the date of notification that all Parties 
have accepted the Annex amendments, unless the Parties agree on 
a different date. A copy of these amendments is enclosed for 
the information of the Senate.
    The United States and the Parties also agreed on the text 
of a non-legally binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that 
will have the effect of provisionally applying from June 15, 
2003 (1) the Amendments to the Treaty (except for the 
amendments to Article 9) agreed in Kiritimati, Kiribati on 
March 24, 2002; (2) the Amendments to the Annexes agreed in 
Kiritimati, Kiribati on March 24, 2002; (3) the Treaty 
Amendment previously agreed in Koror, Palau on March 30, 1999 
that opens the high seas of the Treaty Area to U.S. longline 
vessels; and (4) two Amendments to the Annexes agreed in Koror, 
Palau on March 30, 1999 that close Papua New Guinea's 
archipelagic waters and open the waters of the Solomon Islands 
to U.S. vessels, if these amendments have not yet been approved 
by all Parties by June 15, 2003. This MOU is an important 
political commitment that will allow the U.S., among other 
things, to ensure that as of June, 2003, U.S. longline vessels 
will be able to fish in the high seas portions of the Treaty 
Area and that the waters of the Solomon Islands will be open 
even if every Party has not yet approved those amendments. Both 
of these issues have long been goals for the U.S. industry. A 
copy of the Memorandum of Understanding, done at Kiritimati, 
Kiribati March 24, 2002, is also enclosed for the information 
of the Senate.
    Existing legislation, including the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act, 16 U.S.C. Sec. 1801 et 
seq. and the South Pacific Tuna Act of 1988, P.L. 100-330, 
provides sufficient legal authority to implement U.S. 
obligations under the Treaty. Therefore, no new legislation is 
necessary in order for the United States to ratify these 
amendments to the Treaty. However, minor amendments to Section 
6 of the South Pacific Tuna Act of 1988, P.L. 100-330 will be 
necessary to take account of the Amendment to paragraph 2 of 
Article 3 ``Access to the Treaty Area.''
    The Department of Commerce joins me in supporting 
ratification of these Amendments.
    Accordingly, I recommend that the Amendments to the Treaty 
text be transmitted to the Senate as soon as possible for its 
early and favorable advice and consent to ratification.
    Respectfully submitted.
                                                   Colin L. Powell.
    Enclosures: as mentioned.

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