[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 150 (Thursday, October 4, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12826-S12827]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     AGREEMENT FOR MANAGING MIGRATORY AND TRANSBOUNDARY FISH STOCKS

                                 ______
                                 

SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE FOR ROAD CRASH 
                                VICTIMS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed, en bloc, to the consideration of Calendar No. 407, S.J. Res. 
17; and Calendar No. 408, S. Con. Res. 39.
  The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A joint resolution (S.J. Res. 17) directing the United 
     States to initiate international discussions and take 
     necessary steps with other nations to negotiate an agreement 
     for managing migratory and transboundary fish stocks in the 
     Arctic Ocean.
       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 39) supporting the 
     goals and ideals of a world day of remembrance for road crash 
     victims.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolutions en bloc.

[[Page S12827]]

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the concurrent 
resolution be agreed to, the joint resolution be read the third time, 
and passed; that the preambles be agreed to, en bloc, and the motions 
to reconsider laid upon the table; that consideration of these items 
appear separately in the Record; and that any statements relating 
thereto be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 39) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The concurrent resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 39

       Whereas 40,000 people in the United States, and 1,200,000 
     people globally, die in road crashes each year;
       Whereas another 20,000,000 to 50,000,000 people globally 
     are injured each year as a result of speeding motor vehicles, 
     the increasing use of motor vehicles, and rapid urbanization;
       Whereas the World Health Organization has predicted that by 
     the year 2020 the annual number of deaths from motor vehicle 
     crashes is likely to surpass the annual number of deaths from 
     AIDS;
       Whereas the current estimated cost of motor vehicle crashes 
     worldwide is $518,000,000,000 annually, representing between 
     3 and 5 percent of the gross domestic product of each nation;
       Whereas over 90 percent of motor vehicle-related deaths 
     occur in low- and middle-income countries;
       Whereas, according to the World Health Organization, motor 
     vehicle-related deaths and costs continue to rise in these 
     countries due to a lack of appropriate road engineering and 
     injury prevention programs in public health sectors; and
       Whereas the United Nations General Assembly adopted a 
     resolution designating the third Sunday of November as a day 
     of remembrance for road crash victims and their families, and 
     called on nations globally to improve road safety: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) supports the goals and ideals of a world day of 
     remembrance for road crash victims; and
       (2) encourages the people of the United States to 
     commemorate a world day of remembrance for road crash victims 
     with appropriate ceremonies, programs, and other activities.

  The joint resolution (S.J. Res. 17) was ordered to be engrossed for a 
third reading, was read the third time, and passed.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The joint resolution, with its preamble, is as follows:

                              S.J. Res. 17

       Whereas the decline of several commercially valuable fish 
     stocks throughout the world's oceans highlights the need for 
     fishing nations to conserve fish stocks and develop 
     management systems that promote fisheries sustainability;
       Whereas fish stocks are migratory throughout their 
     habitats, and changing ocean conditions can restructure 
     marine habitats and redistribute the species dependent on 
     those habitats;
       Whereas changing global climate regimes may increase ocean 
     water temperature, creating suitable new habitats in areas 
     previously too cold to support certain fish stocks, such as 
     the Arctic Ocean;
       Whereas habitat expansion and migration of fish stocks into 
     the Arctic Ocean and the potential for vessel docking and 
     navigation in the Arctic Ocean could create conditions 
     favorable for establishing and expanding commercial fisheries 
     in the future;
       Whereas commercial fishing has occurred in several regions 
     of the Arctic Ocean, including the Barents Sea, Kara Sea, 
     Beaufort Sea, Chukchi Sea, and Greenland Sea, although 
     fisheries scientists have only limited data on current and 
     projected future fish stock abundance and distribution 
     patterns throughout the Arctic Ocean;
       Whereas remote indigenous communities in all nations that 
     border the Arctic Ocean engage in limited, small scale 
     subsistence fishing and must maintain access to and 
     sustainability of this fishing in order to survive;
       Whereas many of these communities depend on a variety of 
     other marine life for social, cultural and subsistence 
     purposes, including marine mammals and seabirds that may be 
     adversely affected by climate change, and emerging fisheries 
     in the Arctic should take into account the social, economic, 
     cultural and subsistence needs of these small coastal 
     communities;
       Whereas managing for fisheries sustainability requires that 
     all commercial fishing be conducted in accordance with 
     science-based limits on harvest, timely and accurate 
     reporting of catch data, equitable allocation and access 
     systems, and effective monitoring and enforcement systems;
       Whereas migratory fish stocks traverse international 
     boundaries between the exclusive economic zones of fishing 
     nations and the high seas, and ensuring sustainability of 
     fisheries targeting these stocks requires management systems 
     based on international coordination and cooperation;
       Whereas international fishing treaties and agreements 
     provide a framework for establishing rules to guide 
     sustainable fishing activities among those nations that are 
     parties to the agreement, and regional fisheries management 
     organizations provide international fora for implementing 
     these agreements and facilitating international cooperation 
     and collaboration;
       Whereas under its authorities in the Magnuson-Stevens 
     Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the North Pacific 
     Fishery Management Council has proposed that the United 
     States close all Federal waters in the Chukchi and Beaufort 
     Seas to commercial fishing until a fisheries management plan 
     is fully developed; and
       Whereas future commercial fishing and fisheries management 
     activities in the Arctic Ocean should be developed through a 
     coordinated international framework, as provided by 
     international treaties or regional fisheries management 
     organizations, and this framework should be implemented 
     before significant commercial fishing activity expands to the 
     high seas: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
     United States of America in Congress assembled, That--
       (1) the United States should initiate international 
     discussions and take necessary steps with other Arctic 
     nations to negotiate an agreement or agreements for managing 
     migratory, transboundary, and straddling fish stocks in the 
     Arctic Ocean and establishing a new international fisheries 
     management organization or organizations for the region;
       (2) the agreement or agreements negotiated pursuant to 
     paragraph (1) should conform to the requirements of the 
     United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement and contain mechanisms, 
     inter alia, for establishing catch and bycatch limits, 
     harvest allocations, observers, monitoring, data collection 
     and reporting, enforcement, and other elements necessary for 
     sustaining future Arctic fish stocks;
       (3) as international fisheries agreements are negotiated 
     and implemented, the United States should consult with the 
     North Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council and Alaska 
     Native subsistence communities of the Arctic; and
       (4) until the agreement or agreements negotiated pursuant 
     to paragraph (1) come into force and measures consistent with 
     the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement are in effect, the 
     United States should support international efforts to halt 
     the expansion of commercial fishing activities in the high 
     seas of the Arctic Ocean.

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