[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 26579]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                        CORAL REEF CONSERVATION

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                       HON. ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA

                           of american samoa

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 21, 1999

  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce legislation 
to authorize the Secretary of Commerce, through the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration, to provide financial assistance for 
coral reef conservation projects, and for other purposes.
  Coral reef ecosystems are the marine equivalent of tropical rain 
forests, containing some of the planet's richest biological diversity 
and supporting thousands of species of fish, invertebrates, algae, 
plankton, sea grasses and other organisms. The reef itself is composed 
of the massed calcareous skeletons of millions of sedentary, living 
animals (the corals). Coral reef communities are both exceptionally 
productive and diverse. Although coral reefs cover less than 1 percent 
of the Earth's surface, fully one-fourth of all ocean species live in 
or around the reefs of the world, including 65 percent of marine fish 
species. Southeast Asian reefs alone support an estimated 5 to 15 times 
the number of fish found in the North Atlantic Ocean. Reefs surrounding 
the Pacific island of Palau contain 9 species of sea-grass, more than 
300 species of coral and 2,000 varieties of fish.
  Coral reefs have great commercial, recreational, cultural and 
esthetic value to human communities. They supply shoreline protection, 
areas of natural beauty, and sources of food, pharmaceuticals, jobs and 
revenues through activities such as education, research, tourism and 
fishing. Coral reef ecosystems provide the main source of animal 
protein for more than 1 billion people in Asia.
  Studies indicate that coral reefs in the United States and around the 
world are being degraded and severely threatened by human and 
environmental impacts. Land-based pollution, over-fishing, destructive 
fishing practices, vessel groundings, and climate change all affect 
coral reef ecosystems. Of particular concern is the effect of multiple 
impacts on coral reef health. With increases in ocean temperatures, 
development in coastal areas surrounding coral reefs, and continued 
over-fishing, more and more reef ecosystems are showing signs of 
profound stress. These indicators include widespread bleaching events, 
when corals lose the ability to grow, and evidence that coral diseases 
such as black band disease, white band disease, and aspergillosis are 
increasing in frequency and extent.
  Since 1994, under the United States Coral Reef Initiative, Federal 
agencies, State, local and territorial governments, non-governmental 
organizations, and commercial interests have worked together to design 
and implement management, education, monitoring, research, and 
restoration efforts to conserve coral reef ecosystems.
  The year 1997 was recognized as the Year of the Reef to raise public 
awareness about the importance of conserving coral reefs and to 
facilitate actions to protect coral reef ecosystems. On October 21, 
1997, the 105th Congress agreed to House Concurrent 8, a resolution 
recognizing the significance of maintaining the health and stability of 
coral reef ecosystems by promoting comprehensive stewardship for coral 
reef ecosystems, discouraging unsustainable fisheries or other 
practices harmful to coral reefs, encouraging research, monitoring, 
assessment of, and education on coral reef ecosystems, improving 
coordination of coral reef efforts and activities of federal agencies, 
academic institutions, non-governmental organizations, and industry, 
and promoting preservation and sustainable use of coral reef resources 
worldwide.

  The year 1998 was declared the International Year of the Ocean to 
raise public awareness and increase actions to conserve and use in a 
sustainable manner the broader ocean environment, including coral 
reefs. Also in 1998, President Clinton signed Executive Order 13089 
which recognizes the importance of conserving coral reef ecosystems, 
establishes the Coral Reef Task Force under the joint leadership of the 
Departments of Commerce and Interior, and directs Federal agencies 
whose actions may affect United States coral reef ecosystems to take 
steps to protect, manage, research and restore these ecosystems.
  The bill would make it the policy of the United States to (1) 
conserve and protect the ecological integrity of coral reef ecosystems; 
(2) maintain the health, natural conditions, and dynamics of those 
ecosystems; (3) reduce and remove human stresses affecting reefs; (4) 
restore coral reef ecosystems injured by human activities, and (5) 
promote the long-term sustainable use of coral reef ecosystems.
  The purposes of this legislation are to (1) preserve, sustain, and 
restore the health of coral reef ecosystems; (2) assist in the 
conservation and protection of coral reefs by supporting conservation 
programs; (3) provide financial resources for those programs; and (4) 
establish a formal mechanism for collecting and allocating monetary 
donations from the private sector to be used for coral reef 
conservation projects.
  The bill establishes a Coral Reef Restoration and Conservation 
Program through the Secretary of Commerce. This program will provide 
funding for projects that: (1) restore degraded or injured coral reefs 
and their ecosystems, including developing and implementing cost-
effective methods to restore or enhance degraded or injured coral 
reefs; or (2) for the conservation of coral reefs and their ecosystems 
through mapping and assessment, management, protection, scientific 
research, and monitoring. These projects would be funded 75 percent by 
the Federal Government, and 25 percent by the non-Federal partner. The 
non-Federal partner's share could be an in-kind contribution.
  The bill also authorizes a national program through the Secretary of 
Commerce to further the conservation of coral reefs and their 
ecosystems on a regional, national or international scale, or that 
furthers public awareness of and education about coral reefs on these 
broader scales. The activities under this program should supplement the 
programs under existing federal statutes.
  For the past two centuries, abandoned vessels have damaged coral 
reefs to the detriment of our nation. Often times the owners of the 
vessels are unable or unwilling to pay for the damage these vessels 
cause. Section 8 of this bill is designated to address this problem by 
prohibiting the documentation of vessels the owners of which have 
abandoned vessels on U.S. coral reefs and the vessel either remains on 
a reef, or was removed from the reef using certain Federal funding, 
which has not been re-paid to the United States Government.
  The bill also establishes legal liability to the United States for 
persons who destroy, cause the loss of, or injure any coral reef in the 
United States. The amount of liability is set at the cost to respond to 
the activity, including the costs of seizing and forfeiting the vessel 
causing the damage. The vessel causing the damage to a U.S. coral reef 
may be seized with the amount of liability constituting a maritime lien 
on the vessel. Costs recovered under this section would be used as 
reimbursement for past costs incurred under the section, and to restore 
the damaged coral reef, prevent future threats, or for educational 
purposes.
  The bill directs the Secretary of Commerce to promulgate within 90 
days regulations necessary to implement the provisions of the bill.
  Finally, the bill authorizes $20,000,000 to be appropriated for each 
of the fiscal years 2001 through 2005, and establishes percentages of 
appropriated amounts for the programs contained in the bill.

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