[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 142 (Tuesday, October 21, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H8866-H8867]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONCURRING IN THE SENATE AMENDMENTS TO H. CON. RES. 8, REGARDING CORAL 
                            REEF ECOSYSTEMS

  Mr. SAXTON. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in 
the Senate amendments to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 8) 
recognizing the significance of maintaining the health and stability of 
coral reef ecosystems.
  The Clerk read as follows:
       Senate Amendments:
       Strike out all after the resolving clause and insert:
       That the Congress recognizes the significance of 
     maintaining the health and stability of coral reef 
     ecosystems, by--
       (1) promoting comprehensive stewardship for coral reef 
     ecosystems;
       (2) discouraging unsustainable fisheries or other practices 
     that are harmful to coral reefs and human health;
       (3) encouraging research, monitoring, and assessment of and 
     education on coral reef ecosystems;
       (4) improving the coordination of coral reef efforts and 
     activities of Federal agencies, academic institutions, 
     nongovernmental organizations, and industry; and
       (5) promoting preservation and sustainable use of coral 
     reef resources worldwide.
       Strike out the preamble and insert:
       Whereas coral reefs are among the world's most biologically 
     diverse and productive marine habitats, and are often 
     described as the tropical rain forest of the oceans;
       Whereas healthy coral reefs provide the basis for 
     subsistence, commercial fisheries, and coastal and marine 
     tourism and are of vital economic importance to coastal 
     States and territories of the United States including 
     Florida, Hawaii, Georgia, Texas, Puerto Rico, the Virgin 
     Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the 
     Northern Mariana Islands;
       Whereas healthy coral reefs function as natural, 
     regenerating coastal barriers, protecting shorelines and 
     coastal areas from high waves, storm surges, and accompanying 
     losses of human life and property
       Whereas the scientific community has long established that 
     coral reefs are subject to a wide range of natural and 
     anthropogenic threats;
       Whereas a wide variety of destructive fishing practices, 
     including the use of cyanide, other poisons, surfactants, and 
     explosives, are contributing to the global decline of coral 
     reef ecosystems;
       Whereas the United States has taken measures to protect 
     national coral reef resources through the designation and 
     management of several marine protected areas, containing 
     reefs of the Flower Garden Banks in the Gulf of Mexico, the 
     Florida Keys in south Florida, and offshore Hawaii, Puerto 
     Rico, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa;
       Whereas the United States, acting through its agencies, has 
     established itself as a global leader in coral reef 
     stewardship by launching the International Coral Reef 
     Initiative and by maintaining professional networks for the 
     purposes of sharing knowledge and information on coral reefs, 
     furnishing near real-time data collected at coral reef sites, 
     providing a repository for historical data relating to coral 
     reefs, and making substantial contributions to the general 
     fund of coral reef knowledge; and
       Whereas 1997 has been declared the ``International Year of 
     the Reef'' by the coral reef research community and over 40 
     national and international scientific, conservation, and 
     academic organizations: Now, therefore, be it

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey [Mr. Saxton] and the gentleman from Hawaii [Mr. Abercrombie] 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Saxton].
  Mr. SAXTON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. SAXTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. SAXTON. Madam Speaker, on April 23rd, the House of 
Representatives unanimously approved House Concurrent Resolution 8, a 
resolution that I introduced along with my colleague, the gentleman 
from Hawaii [Mr. Abercrombie].
  This measure expresses strong support for research, monitoring, and 
education related to the coral reef ecosystems. Healthy coral reefs 
help provide numerous benefits to the United States and other nations. 
For example, coral reefs support important commercial and recreational 
fisheries, as well as a large tourism and vacation industry, provide 
natural storm protection in coastal communities, and have recently 
become an important frontier for biomedical research.
  The other body has now approved an amended version of House 
Concurrent Resolution 8. The amendment takes note of the alarming 
damage to coral reefs caused by destructive fishing practices, as 
unbelievable as the use of cyanide and dynamite in fishing in some 
areas of the globe. It further expresses the sense of Congress that 
international action to eliminate these unbelievably harmful practices 
is much needed.
  I believe that this amendment is not only acceptable, but strengthens 
the resolution, and I am sorry that I did not think about it to begin 
with.
  Madam Speaker, I urge the House to approve this measure as amended, 
and complete Congressional recognition of the importance of the coral 
reef ecosystems and the need to conserve them. I urge my colleagues to 
vote ``aye''.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, before I rise in strong support of the Senate 
amendments to House Concurrent Resolution No. 8, I want to assure the 
gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Saxton] that in the statement of the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Miller], that I submitted on the Asian 
elephant resolution, that it did not contain a statement, as rumored, 
that while he was in favor of increasing the number of Asian elephants 
in South Asia, that he was for decreasing the number of elephants on 
the Committee on Resources.
  Madam Speaker, this resolution brings much-needed attention to the 
crisis that coral reefs are facing worldwide. I commend yet once again 
the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Saxton] for his leadership in 
introducing and passing House Concurrent Resolution No. 8, and for 
focusing on the subcommittee's attention on the value of and threats to 
coral reefs.
  I also want to praise the efforts of the ranking member, the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Miller] for his concern over cyanide 
fishing and the need to promote sustainable coral reef fisheries, ideas 
incorporated in the Senate amendments to the resolution.
  Coral reefs, as I have every opportunity to observe, being from 
Hawaii, Madam Speaker, are vital to the environment and the economy of 
many islands and coastal States, territories, and nations. They are 
among the most biologically diverse and productive ecosystems on Earth, 
rivaling the tropical rain forests on land. The hard structure of the 
reef is built up over thousands of years by the secretions of tiny 
living coral animals, so a coral reef is truly a living structure. As a

[[Page H8867]]

living structure, thousands, perhaps millions, of individual coral 
animals are dying, and others are taking their place on the reef at any 
one time.
  The problem now is that human activities have shifted that balance, 
and coral reefs are dying off at an alarming rate worldwide. Coral is 
very sensitive to water pollution, sedimentation, damage from boat 
groundings, or even simple physical contact by divers. These largely 
inadvertent injuries are a significant cause of the well-documented 
decline of coral reefs worldwide. Coral reefs are, in a sense, the 
canary in the coal mine of the ocean.
  A great deal of injury is also being inflicted on coral reefs, mainly 
in Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific through largely illegal fishing 
techniques. Cyanide and other elements, such as dishwashing liquids, 
are being used to stun fish for capture for the aquarium trade and for 
the live food fish trade.
  The demand for live food fish, fueled by increasing affluence in 
Asia, has resulted in widespread depletion of stocks of the preferred 
species. As a result, the live-capture boats are moving into even more 
remote and thus more pristine reefs. Most of the aquarium fish captured 
by these techniques end up in hobby tanks in the United States, I am 
sorry to say. Most of the live food fish end up on plates in the homes 
and restaurants of Southeast Asia.
  More damaging than the depletion of coral reef fisheries, these 
chemicals kill nearby coral, and divers scrambling to get fish out of 
the nooks and crannies of the reef often cause substantial physical 
damage to the reef. In fact, research has shown that cyanide kills 
reef-building corals at concentrations many thousands of times less 
than that used by live-capture divers. While depletion of certain fish 
species threatens the ecological balance of the reef by removing key 
predators and grazers, the destruction of the reef building corals 
themselves tears at the very fabric of the ecosystem.
  Although the State Department, NOA, the Department of the Interior 
and other agencies are working through the international coral reef 
initiative to identify and reduce threats to coral reefs, they need our 
help. Thus, this resolution before us today.
  These kinds of unsustainable fishing practices would not be occurring 
if powerful market forces were not at work. The U.S. and Asian consumer 
demands for reef fish is, in part, driving its destruction of coral 
reefs. Yet, how many aquarium hobbyists would purchase a wild-caught 
reef fish if they truly understood that in doing so they were 
contributing to the destruction of the reef environment that they 
sought to reproduce in their tank?
  Furthermore, if affordable alternatives to wild-caught fish were 
available, would the educated consumer not choose them? This has worked 
very well in the exotic bird trade, and we can do the same for reef 
aquarium species and specimens.
  Many of the countries where the reefs are being destroyed, Indonesia, 
Malaysia, the Philippines, and others, have laws on the books that 
protect the reefs, but there is little money for enforcement, and the 
more lucrative the market, the more people are willing to risk the 
penalties in any case.
  So the keys are information and education. Only by identifying these 
destructive practices and consumer demands that drive them can we begin 
to eliminate or modify them, and only through the development of 
sustainable coral reef fisheries can reefs be saved.
  This concurrent resolution before us today, Madam Speaker, No. 8, 
brings the global plight of coral reefs before Congress. It is intended 
to raise the level of awareness of policymakers and asks us to do more.
  The scientific and environmental communities have declared 1997 the 
International Year of the Reef. We cannot stop ships from running 
aground on reefs, and we may not be able to stop global warming at this 
stage, but what better time for us to pay attention to the many 
problems plaguing coral reefs and seek practical solutions to those 
threats that we can address? If we do not do something soon, there may 
not be any reefs left to save.
  With these thoughts in mind, Madam Speaker, and again thanking the 
gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Saxton] for his leadership on this 
issue, I urge the House to adopt the resolution.
  Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. SAXTON. Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the ranking member, 
the gentleman from Hawaii, for his great cooperation and his leadership 
in helping to bring this coral reef bill to the floor today.
  Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Saxton] that the House suspend the rules 
and concur in the Senate amendments to House Concurrent Resolution 8.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate amendments were 
concurred in.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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