[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 61 (Monday, April 3, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H4044-H4045]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 FISHERMEN'S PROTECTIVE ACT AMENDMENTS

  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 716) to amend the Fishermen's Protective Act.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                H.R. 716

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. AMENDMENT TO THE FISHERMEN'S PROTECTIVE ACT OF 
                   1967.

       (a) Section 3(a) of the Fishermen's Protective Act of 1967 
     (22 U.S.C. 1973(a)) is amended by inserting after ``prompt 
     release of the vessel and crew,'' the following: ``or when a 
     fee regarded by the United States as being inconsistent with 
     international law must be paid for a vessel of the United 
     States to transit the waters of a foreign nation on a voyage 
     between points in the United States (including a point in the 
     exclusive economic zone or an area whose jurisdiction is in 
     dispute),''.
       (b)(1) Section 5 of the Fishermen's Protective Act of 1967 
     (22 U.S.C. 1975) is amended by inserting after ``seizure;'' 
     in the title, the following: ``or imposition of a fee 
     regarded by the United States as inconsistent with 
     international law''.
       (2) Section 5(a)(1)(A) of the Fishermen's Protective Act of 
     1967 (22 U.S.C. 1975(a)) is amended by inserting after ``as a 
     result of the seizure of,'' the following: ``or imposition of 
     a fee regarded by the United States as inconsistent with 
     international law on''.
       (c) Subsections (a) and (b) shall take effect on June 15, 
     1995.
       (d) Section 7 of the Fishermen's Protective Act of 1967 (22 
     U.S.C. 1977) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (c)--
       (A) by striking the third sentence, and
       (B) by inserting after the first sentence the following: 
     ``Fees may be collected regardless of whether needed to carry 
     out the purposes of subsection (a).''; and
       (2) in subsection (e) by striking ``October 1, 1993'' and 
     inserting ``October 1, 1998''.

     SEC. 2. CLEARANCE AND ENTRY OF COMMERCIAL FISHING VESSELS.

       (a) Not later than 15 days after the date of enactment of 
     this Act and at least once each year thereafter, the 
     Secretary of State shall publish a list of those nations that 
     impose fees for transit passage through their waters on 
     commercial fishing vessels registered under the laws of the 
     United States.
       (b) Not later than 15 days after the publication of the 
     list required under subsection (a), the Secretary of the 
     Treasury shall withhold from commercial fishing vessels 
     registered under the laws of a nation listed under subsection 
     (a) the clearance required by section 4197 of the Revised 
     Statutes of the United States (46 U.S.C. App. 91) for entry 
     into the navigable waters of the United States west of 122 
     degrees west longitude.
       (c) Subsection (b) shall not apply to a commercial fishing 
     vessel--
       (1) that enters the navigable waters of the United States 
     pursuant to a bilateral convention governing fishing for 
     Pacific halibut or albacore tuna;
       (2) that enters the navigable waters of the United States 
     due to an emergency; or
       (3) the master of which obtains clearance from the 
     Secretary of the Treasury's designee by physically appearing 
     before the designee at a designated port of entry and paying 
     a fee equal to the fee charged to a commercial fishing vessel 
     of the United States by the nation under whose laws the 
     foreign vessel is registered.
       (d) The owner or master of a vessel which enters the 
     navigable waters of the United States in violation of this 
     section shall be in violation of section 307(1)(A) of the 
     Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 
     1857(1)(A)).

     SEC. 3. TECHNICAL CORRECTION.

       (a) Section 15(a) of Public Law 103-238 is amended by 
     striking ``April 1, 1995,'' and inserting ``May 1, 1994.''.
       (b) The amendment made by subsection (a) shall be effective 
     on and after April 30, 1994.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey [Mr. Saxton] will be recognized for 20 minutes, and the 
gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Studds] will be recognized for 20 
minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Saxton].
  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. SAXTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 716, to 
reauthorize and improve the Fishermen's Protective Act. Originally 
enacted in 1967, this law established a system of economic safeguards 
for U.S. fishermen against illegal or unjustified seizure by a foreign 
government. One of these safeguards is the Fishermen's Guaranty Fund--
which is a voluntary self-insurance program administered by the State 
Department. The fund compensates fishermen for vessels and catch 
confiscated by a foreign nation under claims of jurisdiction not 
recognized by the United States.
  The amount of money each vessel owner pays into the program is based 
on the gross tonnage of the vessel. For example, during the history of 
the program the fees have ranged from $16 to $30 per vessel ton with 
participation ranging from 8 to 30 vessels, depending on the year. 
Disbursements or claims paid out from the fund have averaged less than 
$1 million each year. The largest claim occurred in 1984 for $5.5 
million for a vessel that had been seized and ransacked off the Solomon 
Islands.
  In 1986, a Federal court in the Brenda Jolene versus United States 
case decided that fees collected under the act must equal the amount 
Congress appropriates. Since historically, the President has not 
requested an appropriation, the State Department has been unable to 
collect additional fees. While there is approximately $2.9 million in 
the fund, there is a large settlement case pending from the seizure of 
four tuna boats off the coast of Costa Rica in 1992, and any further 
claims would deplete the assets of the fund.
  The passage of this legislation is sorely needed due to unfair and 
illegal actions by the Canadian Government. Last year, the Canadian 
Government charged U.S. fishermen $1,100 each to access the Inside 
Passage. The Canadians stopped the charge, but not before many U.S. 
fishermen were subjected to it to the amount of $285,000. We must amend 
the Fishermen's Protective Act so these American fishermen can be 
compensated for the unfair charge.
  During this crisis last year, the former Merchant Marine and 
Fisheries Committee was quick to act. Similar legislation was adopted 
by the committee and passed the House as part of a larger bill on 
October 7, 1994.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation 
and thank the chairman of the full committee, Don Young, for 
introducing this bill, and the ranking minority member on the 
Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans Subcommittee, Gerry Studds, for his 
support of this legislation.

                              {time}  1430

  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. STUDDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. STUDDS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. STUDDS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 716. The 
Fishermen's Protective Act of 1967 provides a mechanism for assisting 
U.S. fishermen by reimbursing them for fines and other costs incurred 
when their vessels are seized by a foreign nation, in violation of 
international law.
  [[Page H4045]] H.R. 716 reauthorizes this important act for an 
additional 2 years. The legislation also amends the statute to 
reimburse our fishermen for transit fees considered by our Government 
to be inconsistent with international law, and to assess a similar fee 
on vessels from the offending nation. These amendments are intended to 
address what was, in my opinion, an illegal move by Canada last year to 
charge U.S. vessels transiting Canadian waters en route to Alaska. 
While that fee was finally lifted, many fishermen were forced to pay 
and deserve reimbursement.
  While I support these amendments, I want to be very clear that this 
legislative action should not be interpreted by the Canadian Government 
as a sign that we are willing to accept--or forget--this outrageous 
action taken against our fishermen purportedly in the name of 
conservation. The Canadian-Spanish shootout in the Northwest Atlantic 
last month, combined with last year's illegal transit fees, 
demonstrates a worrisome trend toward the use of unilateral actions to 
resolve international fisheries disputes on the high seas. Some of 
these actions are based on a conservation concern, others--such as the 
transit fees--are simply taken out of frustration over the slow pace of 
negotiations.
  Regardless of the reason, unilateral actions such as these are not 
the answer. Instead, the Canadians, and all coastal nations, should 
seek to address these problems multilaterally through international 
agreements. The drastic, unilateral actions of one country cannot 
protect and restore our marine resources. All countries with a stake in 
the fishery must participate if we are to be successful, and they must 
be willing to agree to multilateral enforcement mechanisms to ensure 
that the terms of such agreements are not violated.
  This Congress has passed several pieces of legislation in the past 
few weeks that will strengthen the U.S. resolve toward multilateral, 
cooperative management, and we will continue to encourage these 
efforts. In the meantime, this bill will protect U.S fishermen from 
those countries that choose to take matters into their own hands, and I 
urge Members to support it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Alaska [Mr. Young].
  (Mr. YOUNG of Alaska asked and was given permission to revise and 
extend his remarks.)
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. I thank the gentleman for yielding this time to 
me.
  Mr. Speaker, as the author of H.R. 716, I rise in strong support of 
this measure to reauthorize and improve the Fishermen's Protective Act 
of 1967.
  Mr. Speaker, one of the major motivations for this legislation was an 
incident that occurred last year when 258 United States fishermen were 
unfairly charged $1,100 each by the Canadian Government to sail through 
the Inside Passage. While we were successful in convincing the 
Canadians to stop collecting these illegal transit fees, the 
Fishermen's Protective Act [FPA] must be amended to allow these 
Americans to be compensated for their financial loss.
  My bill would reauthorize the FPA for the next 3 years; allow money 
to be deposited in the Fishermen's Guaranty Fund, regardless of whether 
Congress appropriates any money; expand the compensation provision to 
cover those Americans who paid the illegal fee assessed by the 
Canadians; and prohibit port entry to the vessels of any nation that 
assesses illegal fees on our vessels in the future.
  Furthermore, we are making it clear that we will fully protect the 
rights of U.S. fishermen. We will not allow Canada, or any nation, to 
violate international maritime law or fishing treaties without a swift 
response.
  I fully expect the United States State Department to vigorously seek 
reimbursement of these fees from the Canadians and not to simply make 
some weak or half-hearted effort because it may be inconvenient to our 
relationship with Canada. They broke the law and I want the more than 
$285,000 the Canadians collected paid back to our fishermen.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge an ``aye'' vote on H.R. 716 and thank Jim Saxton 
and Gerry Studds for their bipartisan subcommittee support in joining 
with me in this important legislative effort.
  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Washington [Mr. Metcalf].
  Mr. METCALF. I thank the gentleman for yielding this time to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 716, the 
Fishermen's Protective Act. While this is an important piece of 
legislation to fishermen across the country, the provisions of H.R. 716 
are particularly vital to the salmon fishermen in the State of 
Washington. The United States and Canada have been engaged in 
negotiations, almost unending negotiations, since the Pacific Salmon 
Treaty was negotiated. Last summer, fishermen from my district in 
Washington State left for the annual trip north to fish in Alaskan 
waters. This 500 mile journey is usually a pleasant passage, I have 
made the round trip 3 times, incredibly scenic, mostly through calm, 
inside passage channels and bays. But in 1994, our fishermen were 
stopped by the Canadian Government, and forced to pay an illegal 
transit fee of approximately $1,100 per vessel, just for passing 
through Canadian waters. The U.S. fishermen had to pay the fee, or make 
the transit in the rough, open waters of the Pacific Ocean.
  Mr. Speaker, for 500 years, the British have supported freedom of the 
seas and open waterways for trade. It seems ridiculous that in 1994, 
Canada no longer believes in this principle. But with the salmon treaty 
differences still not resolved, the prospect of this happening again 
this spring is very real.
  The provisions of H.R. 716 will allow for the repayment of these fees 
to the fishermen involved, and provide the financial protections 
required to make the transit this year, should the Canadians impose 
this fee again. Mr. Speaker, it is my hope that the United States and 
Canada can reach agreement on a new Pacific Salmon Treaty before the 
start of this year's salmon season. If we should not, then the Congress 
must provide this method so the fishermen can establish the program 
contained in H.R. 716.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support our fishermen by 
supporting H.R. 716.
  Mr. STUDDS. Mr. Speaker, I am as surprised as the gentleman from New 
Jersey [Mr. Saxton] to learn that there will be a recorded vote on this 
measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no requests for time, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. SAXON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would just conclude by saying that on most issues, 
almost every issue with which we deal having to do with fishing and 
fisheries is complicated, contentious, confusing, confounding, and many 
other words that we could express that would indicate anything less 
than simple. This is one of the more simple issues that we deal with, 
but one that is very timely and one that is much needed.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further request for time, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Barrett of Nebraska). The question is on 
the motion offered by the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Saxton] that 
the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 716.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 5, rule 
I, and the Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this 
motion will be postponed.

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