[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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