    [Senate Treaty Document 115-3]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

    115th Congress }                                            { Treaty Doc.
    SENATE
     2d Session    }                                            {  115-3

    _______________________________________________________________________

       AMENDMENTS TO THE TREATY ON FISHERIES BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENTS OF
     CERTAIN PACIFIC ISLAND STATES AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES
                                   OF AMERICA

                                   __________

                                    MESSAGE

                                      from

                         THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                                  transmitting

       AMENDMENTS TO THE TREATY ON FISHERIES BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENTS OF
     CERTAIN PACIFIC ISLAND STATES AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES
                                   OF AMERICA

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    August 28, 2018.--Treaty was read the first time, and together with the
    accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations and
                 order to be printed for the use of the Senate

                                _________

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

     79-118                 WASHINGTON : 2018

                             LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

                                  ----------

                                      The White House, August 28, 2018.
    To the Senate of the United States:
        With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the
    Senate to ratification, I transmit herewith the Amendments to
    the Treaty on Fisheries between the Governments of Certain
    Pacific Island States and the Government of the United States
    of America, done at Port Moresby April 2, 1987, as amended (the
    ``Treaty''), done at Nadi, Fiji, December 3, 2016. I also
    transmit, for the information of the Senate, the amendments to
    the Annexes to the Treaty and report of the Department of State
    with respect to the Treaty and a Memorandum of Understanding
    reflecting the parties' intent to provisionally apply certain
    amendments.
        The objective of the Treaty is to provide United States
    purse seine vessels with fishing access to waters under the
    jurisdiction of 16 Pacific Island parties, and to provide a
    platform for broader cooperation between the parties. The
    Amendments update the Treaty's terms and conditions to promote
    more effective cooperation between parties and United States
    private-sector stakeholders. The Senate gave its advice and
    consent to prior amendments to the Treaty in 2003, but those
    amendments never entered into force. The Amendments my
    Administration is now submitting include some of those prior
    amendments.
        The Treaty and its Amendments serve United States
    diplomatic and economic interests by promoting positive
    relations with the Pacific Island parties and allowing for the
    continued operation of the United States-flagged fishing fleet
    in the region. The Amendments are supported by both Pacific
    Island parties and United States industry stakeholders.
        The recommended changes to the Treaty's implementing
    legislation, the South Pacific Tuna Act of 1988, to reflect the
    Amendments to the Treaty and its Annexes, will be submitted
    separately to the Congress.
        I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable
    consideration to the Amendments to this Treaty, and give its
    advice and consent to ratification.

                                               Donald J. Trump.
                              LETTER OF SUBMITTAL

                                  ----------

                                           Department of State,
                                             Washington, July 26, 2017.
    The President,
    The White House.
        The President: I have the honor to submit to you, with a
    view to its 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, as amended (the
    ``Treaty''), done at Nadi on December 3, 2016. The Treaty was
    ratified by the United States on December 21, 1987, and entered
    into force on June 15, 1988. It was later amended May 14, 1992.
    Further amendments were submitted to the President on December
    28, 2002, and transmitted to the Senate on February 11, 2003,
    but those amendments never entered into force.
        The Treaty has been a cornerstone of our relations with the
    Pacific Island region for approximately three decades, and is
    often referred to domestically as the South Pacific Tuna
    Treaty. It provides fishing access for U.S. purse seine vessels
    to the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of 16 Pacific Island
    parties (PIPs), and promotes broader cooperation between the
    parties and relevant stakeholders.
        The United States and the PIPs had been renegotiating the
    Treaty and its Annexes since 2009 to update the text and extend
    the terms of fishing access for U.S. vessels. In June 2016,
    after the U.S. notified that it planned to withdraw from the
    Treaty, the parties agreed in principle on a revised ``business
    model'' under the Treaty. The Annexes include the terms and
    conditions for a more viable framework for U.S. industry
    fishing access through 2022. The parties formally adopted the
    agreed amendments to the Treaty and its Annexes on December 3,
    2016, in Nadi, Fiji.
        The agreement reached to amend the Treaty is consistent
    with the Administration's foreign policy objectives to ensure
    the United States engages in international negotiations to
    support commercial, as well as diplomatic interests. The Treaty
    supports significant economic activity; according to previous
    estimates, the value of tuna caught by vessels operating under
    the Treaty could approach $500 million annually. It is
    especially important to the economy of American Samoa, which is
    heavily dependent on the operation of fishing vessels and an
    associated tuna cannery.
        An overview of the Treaty Amendments, including a detailed
    article-by-article analysis, is enclosed with this report. Also
    included, for the information of the Senate, are the amendments
    to the Annexes to the Treaty, which do not require advice and
    consent, and a Memorandum of Understanding stating the parties'
    intent to implement certain amendments provisionally as of
    January 1, 2017. The Memorandum of Understanding has allowed
    U.S. fishing vessels to continue operating in the region
    without interruption. Recommended amendments to the South
    Pacific Tuna Act of 1988, the implementing legislation for the
    Treaty, will be submitted separately to Congress.
        The relevant U.S. fishing industry supports the Amendments.
    The Treaty Amendments are also strongly supported by the
    Government of American Samoa. The U.S. Department of Commerce
    and the U.S. Coast Guard join the Department of State in
    recommending that the proposed Agreement be transmitted to the
    Senate as soon as possible for its advice and consent to
    ratification.
        Respectfully submitted,
                                              Rex W. Tillerson.
        Enclosures: As stated.

        [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]