[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 156 (Tuesday, November 13, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11727-S11728]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 180--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE 
    POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES AT THE 17TH REGULAR MEETING OF THE 
  INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION FOR THE CONSERVATION OF ATLANTIC TUNAS IN 
                             MURCIA, SPAIN

  Mr. KERRY (for himself, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Hollings, and Mr. Helms) 
submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 180

       Whereas certain marine species including Atlantic tunas, 
     swordfish, marlins, sailfishes, and pelagic sharks migrate 
     through broad oceanic expanses and traverse the coastal 
     waters of many nations;
       Whereas, of these highly migratory species, tuna and 
     swordfish stocks in particular support major fisheries and 
     are among the most highly valued of marine species;
       Whereas due to the transboundary nomadic nature of these 
     highly migratory species, effective efforts to conserve and 
     manage these stocks require international cooperation and 
     coordination;
       Whereas the International Convention for the Conservation 
     of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) was established in 1966 to provide 
     international management of highly migratory species;
       Whereas the highly migratory species managed by ICCAT 
     support extremely important commercial and recreational 
     fisheries in the United States which are vital sources of 
     income to United States fishing communities;
       Whereas repeated violations of ICCAT conservation quotas 
     and minimum size requirements, circumvention of compliance 
     penalties and other actions have undermined the ability of 
     ICCAT to establish, maintain and enforce conservation and 
     rebuilding plans for overfished species of fish under ICCAT's 
     management authority;
       Whereas the latest scientific information suggests there is 
     extensive mixing of bluefin tuna harvested in the eastern 
     Atlantic and Mediterranean region with bluefin tuna harvested 
     in the western Atlantic;
       Whereas the current level of harvest of bluefin tuna 
     harvested in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean is 
     excessive and must be reduced, and that due to mixing, 
     management measures in the east directly affect the west;
       Whereas a failure of ICCAT member nations to enforce 
     quotas, size limits and other conservation measures adversely 
     affects United States commercial and recreational fishermen: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) the United States should make full use of all 
     appropriate diplomatic mechanisms, relevant international 
     laws and agreements, and other appropriate mechanisms to 
     ensure ICCAT member compliance with ICCAT conservation 
     measures and quotas, for all species under ICCAT management 
     authority, including bluefin tuna;
       (2) the United States should press for improved monitoring, 
     recording and reporting of harvesting and compliance 
     information by contracting and non-contracting nations to 
     ICCAT, including systems that will increase transparency of 
     such reporting information, in order to provide the 
     scientific information necessary for effective management of 
     these stocks;
       (3) the United States should encourage the Commission to 
     identify nations that engage in actions that diminish the 
     effectiveness of the Commission's fishery conservation 
     program, including those engaged in illegal, unreported, or 
     unregulated fishing for these stocks; and
       (4) the United States should encourage the Commission to 
     adopt recommendations authorizing the use of enforceable 
     measures, including World Trade Organization-consistent trade 
     measures, to prevent such nations from taking actions that 
     would undermine the effectiveness of conservation and 
     management recommendations of the Commission.

  Mr. KERRY. Madam President, I rise today to submit a resolution along 
with my colleague Ms. Snowe of Maine, that calls on the United States 
to make full use of all appropriate diplomatic mechanisms, relevant 
international laws and agreements, and other appropriate mechanisms to 
ensure international compliance with the International Commission for 
the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, ICCAT, conservation measures for 
all managed species.
  This week a group of committed fishery managers, scientists and 
industry representatives began travel overseas to represent our nation 
at the 17th regular meeting of the ICCAT in Murcia, Spain.
  This multinational fishery conservation and management body of over 
40 nations has a mandate to ensure the sustainability of all Atlantic 
fisheries for swordfish, billfish and a number of tuna species. Such 
multinational cooperation is necessary to effectively conserve and 
manage these species, which migrate widely on the high seas and through 
jurisdictions of many coastal Atlantic nations. Effective unilateral 
management of species that migrate through multiple jurisdictions is 
simply not possible, as was specifically recognized under the 1995 U.N. 
Agreement on Straddling Stocks and Highly Migratory Species.
  I am sad to report that many ICCAT member nations have failed to 
comply with basic ICCAT quota and minimum size regulations for several 
important species. The magnitude of these violations is so great that 
it could render useless all of the conservation plans that ICCAT have 
put in place to date. I find this very troubling, particularly given 
the tremendous burdens placed on U.S. fishermen to improve conservation 
of these species. They rightly object to being disadvantaged in the 
marketplace by nations who can sell fish more cheaply because their 
costs of compliance with the law are essentially zero.
  Furthermore, it is my understanding that some ICCAT member nations 
have undermined essential conservation plans from the outset for 
several ICCAT species, by simply setting a quota that is in flagrant 
disregard of the best advice of the scientific community. These species 
include bluefin tuna and swordfish. Both of these species are extremely 
important to fishermen along the East Coast.
  As I stated earlier compliance to basic conservation measures is 
absolutely essential to rebuilding our highly valuable stocks of 
swordfish and tuna. American fishermen have made great sacrifices for 
the conservation of bluefin tuna and swordfish in order to rebuild 
these stocks to their maximum sustainable yield. Nothing infuriates 
law-abiding U.S. fishermen more than having their future conservation 
gains squandered by nations that openly flout ICCAT's scientifically-
based conservation standards. This simply cannot continue.

[[Page S11728]]

  I strongly urge the U.S. delegation to this year's ICCAT to demand 
full compliance with all conservation measures, including sound, 
scientifically based quotas for all managed species. We have learned 
the hard way that the alternative to pro-active conservation is 
overfished and depleted stocks. These impacts go beyond financial costs 
to the fishing industry, and can place severe strains on local 
communities, national economies, and critical food supply chains. I do 
not need to remind you, of the devastating impacts overfishing caused 
in New England. In the 1980s our fishermen, like those of many ICCAT 
nations do today, believed that our oceans contained unlimited amounts 
of cod, haddock and yellowtail flounder. But by the early 1990s our 
stocks crashed causing severe economic harm to fishermen and their 
coastal communities. U.S. fishermen know firsthand what a fishery crash 
will mean and they are more than willing to do their part to ensure the 
same fate does not befall our international fisheries. The truth of the 
matter is, without compliance by all of ICCAT member nations, 
rebuilding these species is a sisyphean feat, an endless uphill battle. 
The U.S. cannot lift this boulder alone, we are but a small component 
of the total fishery. Sound, pro-active conservation works, one need 
only look at Georges Bank today and see how far we have come with cod, 
haddock and yellowtail flounder.
  The truth, is that the fishermen of the United States cannot carry 
the conservation load by themselves for highly migratory species. But 
even here in the United States we have shown that it is possible to 
revive multi-jurisdictional species through coordinated but mandatory 
conservation measures, the Atlantic states worked together to bring 
striped bass back from the edge, and the resulting striped bass 
population has exceeded all expectations. We must ensure that this is a 
model we successfully export to other nations, and ICCAT is the place 
we need to do it. The U.S. must demand from our fellow ICCAT members 
what we already demand from ourselves: use the best science when 
setting quotas and comply with quotas once they have been set. It is a 
simple rule, and it works.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleague, Senator 
Kerry, to submit a resolution expressing the sense of the Senate 
regarding the policy of the United States at the 17th Regular Meeting 
of the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, 
ICCAT.
  We are submitting this resolution today as our delegates prepare for 
the upcoming ICCAT meeting in Murcia, Spain which begins on November 
12, 2001. At this meeting the ICCAT will set international quotas for 
highly migratory species and recommend conservation and sustainable 
management measures. The ICCAT is an international body and only has 
the authority to make recommendations to its member nations. As such, 
the effective management of highly migratory species, such as bluefin 
tuna, requires the cooperation of the member nations in this voluntary 
regime. The sustainable harvest and longterm viability of U.S. bluefin 
tuna fisheries depends on the compliance with management measures by 
all member nations. Unfortunately, several member nations routinely 
take actions that undermine the convention.
  In some cases, the conservation efforts of other countries do not 
directly affect the United States and its fishing industry. That is not 
the case with highly migratory species, such as the ones managed 
through ICCAT. Recent scientific studies conducted cooperatively with 
U.S. fishermen have shown that bluefin tuna caught off the coast of the 
United States migrate to and from the Eastern Atlantic and the 
Mediterranean Sea. This means that the traditional notion of the 
Eastern Atlantic stock being separate and independent from the Western 
Atlantic stock is not accurate and the data indicate it is one mixed 
stock of fish. Therefore, overharvesting of bluefin tuna in the Eastern 
Atlantic has a direct effect on United States fisheries.
  This resolution expresses the Senate's belief that the United States 
needs to push for improved monitoring, reporting, and compliance with 
all ICCAT management plans. This will help all nations to identify 
those that have routinely acted counter to the recommendations of the 
ICCAT and aid enforcement efforts. It is important for the 
international community to understand which nations are undermining the 
recovery efforts of the ICCAT and take action to correct this problem. 
The United States should push for the necessary changes to create 
transparency in the conservation and management efforts of all members 
of the ICCAT. We need to know who is a dedicated partner in these 
efforts to conserve and sustainably manage highly migratory species.
  As chair and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Oceans, 
Atmosphere, and Fisheries, Senator Kerry and I have been dedicated to 
improving fisheries management. This resolution is a critical step in 
ensuring that the international management plan approved by the ICCAT 
in 1998 meets the sustainable harvest goals that we all fought for. I 
urge my colleagues to join us and support this resolution.

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