[House Document 118-54]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
118th Congress, 1st Session--------------------HOUSE DOCUMENT 118-54
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NOTIFICATION TO THE CONGRESS CONSISTENT WITH SUBSECTION (b) OF THE
PELLY AMENDMENT TO THE FISHERMAN'S PROTECTIVE ACT OF 1967
__________
COMMUNICATION
from
THEPRESIDENTOFTHEUNITEDSTATES
transmitting
A LETTER REGARDING CERTIFICATION BY THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR THAT
NATIONAL OF MEXICO ARE ENGAGING THE TRADE OR TAKING OF TOTOABA AND
VAQUITA THAT DIMINISHES THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE CONVENTION ON
INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN ENDANGERED SPECIES OF WILD FAUNA AND FLORA,
PURSUANT TO 22 U.S.C. 1978(b); AUG. 27, 1954, CH. 1018, SEC. 8(b) (AS
AMENDED BY PUBLIC LAW 95-376, SEC. 2); (92 STAT. 714)
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
July 18, 2023.--Referred jointly to the Committees on Foreign Affairs
and Natural Resources, and ordered to be printed
The White House,
Washington, July 17, 2023.
Hon. Kevin McCarthy,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Speaker: On May 18, 2023, the Secretary of the
Interior certified under section 8 of the Fisherman's
Protective Act of 1967, as amended (the ``Pelly Amendment'')
(22 U.S.C. 1978), that nationals of Mexico are engaging in
trade or taking of totoaba and vaquita that diminishes the
effectiveness of the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This letter
constitutes my notification to the Congress consistent with
subsection (b) of the Pelly Amendment.
In 1975, Mexico recognized totoaba as a protected species
and prohibited all fishing for the species. However, illegal
fishing for totoaba has continued. Nets set to catch totoaba
also take non-target species, including the vaquita, a small
porpoise that is the most endangered marine mammal in the
world. Both vaquita and totoaba were listed in CITES Appendix I
in the 1970s, and both are considered to be facing extremely
high risk of extinction.
Despite international protections and Mexico's domestic ban
on totoaba fishing, the illegal harvest and international trade
in totoaba has continued in response to the ongoing demand in
the People's Republic of China (PRC). With the price of a
single totoaba swim bladder estimated at thousands of dollars,
the incentive for illegal harvest and trade is high. Many of
these illegally harvested swim bladders are trafficked from
Mexico through the United States to the PRC. As the illegal
harvest of totoaba has continued, the vaquita population has
plummeted. Recent estimates suggest there are fewer than 15
individual vaquitas remaining in the wild. Despite these low
numbers, scientists believe that the vaquita can survive and
recover if the threats to its survival are reduced or
eliminated.
Several efforts to protect totoaba and vaquita are ongoing.
The United States has been engaged in a diplomatic dialogue
with Mexico about the vaquita through the United States-Mexico-
Canada Agreement environment consultation process. In March
2023, the CITES Secretariat recommended that all parties to
CITES suspend trade with Mexico in CITES-listed species because
of Mexico's failure to comply with its obligations to CITES.
Mexico submitted a CITES Compliance Action Plan to the CITES
Secretariat in April 2023, outlining a set of steps they will
take to improve enforcement and monitoring of illegal fishing
in the Gulf of California. The Secretariat subsequently
withdrew the recommendation the following month upon Mexico's
submission of a compliance action plan.
The Mexican government has also entered into a partnership
with the non-governmental organization Sea Shepherd
Conservation Society to remove gillnets from a small priority
region (the ``Zero Tolerance Area'' or ZTA). On June 26, 2023,
Sea Shepherd reported that the ZTA of the Gulf of California is
``functionally gillnet free.''
These steps are important, but insufficient to ensuring the
recovery of the vaquita. In a certification on May 18, 2023,
the Secretary of the Interior expressed my Administration's
concerns about the ongoing trafficking of totoaba and
inadequate conservation outcomes to date. The Government of
Mexico must do more to prevent this illegal trade, enforce
against illegal totoaba fishing across its full range, and
protect these species, or it is likely that the totoaba
population will continue to decline and the vaquita will soon
become extinct.
To ensure that this issue continues to receive the highest
level of attention, I have directed:
(1) relevant executive departments and agencies
(agencies) to convene a high-level dialogue with the
Government of Mexico to discuss the steps it will take
to reduce illegal trafficking of totoaba and enhance
conservation of the vaquita. Through this dialogue, the
United States will encourage Mexico to strengthen and
implement its CITES compliance action plan and comply
with all relevant CITES decisions regarding totoaba and
vaquita, including expansion of enforcement efforts
beyond the ZTA. The United States will also establish a
schedule of at least quarterly meetings with the
Government of Mexico to review its CITES Compliance
Action Plan implementation, with a focus on enhanced
monitoring and enforcement actions to prevent and deter
totoaba fishing and trafficking, including seizures,
arrests, and prosecutions. The United States will also
include totoaba and vaquita enforcement matters on the
agenda for the next High Level Security Dialogue with
Mexico;
(2) relevant agencies to coordinate efforts to assist
and support Mexico's compliance, anti-trafficking,
anti-corruption, and other measures as appropriate. If
requested by the Government of Mexico, the United
States will assist Mexico with relevant training and
capacity building; and
(3) the Secretary of the Interior, in coordination
with the Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of State, and
the United States Trade Representative, among other
agencies as appropriate, to develop an assessment by
July 2024, of Mexico's enforcement actions and
implementation of its CITES Compliance Action Plan.
I am not directing the Secretary of the Treasury to impose
trade measures on Mexican products for the activities that led
to the certification by the Secretary of the Interior at this
time because the actions outlined above are the appropriate
means to address this issue. However, to ensure that this issue
continues to receive the highest level of attention, the
Secretary of the Interior, in coordination with the Secretary
of Commerce, Secretary of State, and the United States Trade
Representative, and other agencies as appropriate, will monitor
Mexico's enforcement actions and progress and provide me with a
report not later than 1 year from the date of this notification
on whether these actions have reduced the illegal harvest and
trafficking of totoaba and enhanced the conservation of
vaquita. The report will be used as the basis for assessing
whether additional steps, including potential trade
restrictions, will be necessary.
I believe that continued focus is required to curtail the
illegal taking of and commercial trade in totoaba and to
support conservation efforts. These actions hold the most
promise of reducing illegal trade in totoaba and instituting
effective conservation of the vaquita.
Sincerely,
Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
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