[Senate Document 116-29]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




116th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - - - - Senate Document 116-29
 
                              VETO--S. 906

                                (PM 63)

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  from

                     THEPRESIDENTOFTHEUNITEDSTATES

                               returning

  WITHOUT MY APPROVAL S. 906, THE DRIFTNET MODERNIZATION AND BYCATCH 
                             REDUCTION ACT










[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]











                January 1, 2021.--Ordered to be printed 
                
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                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
                 
42-842                   WASHINGTON : 2021                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
To the Senate of the United States:
    I am returning, without my approval, S. 906, the Driftnet 
Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act. America's fishermen 
have made great sacrifices to ensure that our Nation's marine 
fisheries are a sustainable economic engine for coastal 
communities. Under my Administration, the number of United 
States fish stocks subject to overfishing is at a historic low. 
This achievement is the result of a transparent and 
collaborative regulatory process that is supported by regional 
fishery management councils. At council meetings, fishermen 
work with Federal Government and State government 
representatives to meet their statutory obligations under the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
    In passing S. 906, the Congress has ignored the fact that 
the regional fishery management process has had strong, 
bipartisan support since its creation. By forcing the West 
Coast drift gillnet fishery to use alternative gear that has 
not been proven to be an economically viable substitute for 
gillnets, the Congress is effectively terminating the fishery. 
As a result, an estimated 30 fishing vessels, all of which are 
operated by family-owned small businesses, will no longer be 
able to bring their bounty to shore. At a time when our Nation 
has a seafood trade deficit of nearly $17 billion, S. 906 will 
exacerbate this imbalance.
    Further, S. 906 will not achieve its purported conservation 
benefits. The West Coast drift gillnet fishery is subject to 
robust legal and regulatory requirements for environmental 
protection that equal or exceed the environmental protections 
that apply to foreign fisheries. Without this fishery, 
Americans will import more swordfish and other species from 
foreign sources that frequently have more bycatch than our own 
fisheries. If the Congress wants to address bycatch, it should 
insist on a level playing field for imported seafood instead of 
crushing American fishing families.
    My Administration has done more for American fishermen than 
any President before me. On May 7, 2020, I signed an Executive 
Order on Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and 
Economic Growth to bolster our domestic seafood industry while 
curbing illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing abroad. On 
June 5, 2020, I issued a Proclamation on Modifying the 
Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument to 
open it to commercial fishing that is conducted in accordance 
with the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other applicable laws, 
regulations, and requirements. And as fishermen struggled to 
stay on the water during the pandemic, I issued a Memorandum on 
Protecting the United States Lobster Industry and later made 
approximately $530 million available, through the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture's Seafood Trade Relief Program, to 
support the United States seafood industry and fishermen 
affected by retaliatory tariffs from foreign governments.
    My Administration would support provisions of the enrolled 
bill, if passed separately, which would authorize fee 
collection in a different fishery--the Pacific Halibut fishery. 
This authority is needed to implement a provision of the 
International Pacific Halibut Commission Convention, to which 
the United States is a party. However, for the sake of American 
fishermen nationwide, I will not let the Congress circumvent 
the fisheries management process by effectively terminating a 
fishery without appropriate consultation and input from fishery 
management councils. If this occurred, it would increase our 
reliance on imported seafood and take away the livelihoods of 
hard-working Americans and their family businesses. It is my 
duty to return S. 906 to the Senate without my approval.

                                                   Donald J. Trump.
    The White House, January 1, 2021.

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