[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 18]
[Senate]
[Pages 26510-26511]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



AMENDMENT TO THE MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISHERIES CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT 
                                  ACT

  Mr. HAGEL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now 
proceed to the consideration of H.R. 5461, which is at the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 5461) to amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries 
     Conservation and Management Act to eliminate the wasteful and 
     unsportsmanlike practice of shark finning.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, I rise to make a few remarks on H.R. 
5461, the Shark Finning Prohibition Act, legislation to begin, and I 
stress the word begin, to ensure the conservation of sharks, including 
addressing the causes and consequences of shark finning.
  First, I want to recognize Ms. Snow, our chairman on the Oceans and 
Fisheries Subcommittee on the Commerce Committee, and Mr. Kerry, 
ranking member of the subcommittee, for putting shark conservation 
legislation on the committee agenda this Congress. My colleagues 
recognized the substantial danger international fleets pose to sharks 
around the world, either as a result of direct harvest, high bycatch, 
or practices such as shark finning. As with so many of our highly 
migratory and protected species, we cannot hope to address these 
threats solely through domestic action.
  We are here today because of the growing threats to shark 
populations, which are particularly vulnerable to harvest and bycatch 
mortality. Most attention has been focused specifically on the practice 
of shark finning, which has increased dramatically over the past 
decade, driven by rising demand for fins in the world market. However, 
there are other threats to shark conservation, including directed shark 
fisheries and the use of non-selective fishing gear, that must be given 
further attention, both here and abroad. In addition, the amount of 
finning done by U.S. fishermen pales by comparison to the amount of 
finning done by foreign fleets outside of U.S. waters. The global shark 
fin trade involves at least 125 countries, and the demand for shark 
fins and other shark products has driven dramatic increases in shark 
fishing and shark mortality around the world. In 1998, the National 
Marine Fisheries Service estimated that 120 metric tons of shark fins 
were landed in Hawaii that had been caught by foreign vessels, with a 
value between $2,376,000 and $2,640,000. That is roughly four times the 
amount landed by U.S. vessels in the same year. These figures include 
only figures for shark fins that happen to go through U.S. ports in the 
Pacific; the total amount of finning by foreign fishermen is 
undoubtedly much higher.
  Although I support the legislation before us today, I am disappointed 
that we were not able to convince House Members and others that passage 
of S. 2831, the Shark Conservation Act of 2000, introduced by Senator 
Kerry, and supported by our subcommittee members, was the best course 
of action to take this year. S. 2831 attempted to address threats to 
shark conservation in a holistic manner. It looked beyond domestic 
finning, and provided the administration with tools to address finning 
by foreign nations as well. As a result, the current bill does not 
contain the strong international enforcement measures of the Shark 
Conservation Act. Dr. Andrew Rosenberg of the National Marine Fisheries 
Service, in October 1999 testimony before the House warned of the 
consequences of failing to impose international measures against shark 
finning:

       . . . even with implementation of new U.S. management 
     measures to prohibit shark finning, in all likelihood, 
     foreign-flagged vessels will continue shark finning in 
     international waters. In the absence of strict international 
     measures to prohibit shark finning, the anticipated result of 
     new U.S. prohibitions would be that foreign vessels will 
     develop new shipment routes for shark fins through ports 
     outside Hawaii.

  The administration's warning should be taken seriously. When all the 
press releases and headlines have faded from memory, there is no doubt 
that foreign fleets will silently, and happily, continue--or even 
increase--shark finning, with no adverse repercussions to speak of. We 
sincerely hope that H.R. 5461 will not merely shift shark-finning and 
the resulting profits over to foreign nations and international 
corporations, with no net benefit to shark conservation. The only way 
to prevent this is by applying these rules to everyone. Simply enacting 
H.R. 5461 without addressing shark conservation internationally is 
short-sighted and will not solve the problem. In the next Congress, I 
intend to continue working with my colleagues in the Senate, House, and 
the new administration, whichever administration that may turn out to 
be, to craft a solution that will lead to the eventual cessation of 
finning internationally.
  Although I do believe that the current bill is not as strong as it 
should be, I am glad to report it contains a number of provisions from 
the Senate bill that will lay the foundation for addressing the 
international fishing practices that threaten shark conservation 
efforts, including the practice of finning. H.R. 5461 begins the 
critical process of collecting the information, including data on the 
international

[[Page 26511]]

shark fin trade, that is so lacking at the present time by: (1) 
directing the administration to initiate or continue discussions with 
other countries to ban shark finning; (2) requiring the collection of 
information on trade in shark fins and directing the Secretary to 
report the findings to Congress; and (3) establishing a research 
program to help improve shark stock assessments, reduce incidental 
catch, and better utilize sharks captured legally.
  Let me conclude by stating that I rise in support of this legislation 
and urge its adoption, but I cannot help but think of what we may have 
been able to accomplish with passage of Mr. Kerry's bill, S. 2831. H.R. 
5461 does take an important first step to end the practice of finning, 
but it is only the first step--the real work is yet to come.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I rise to make a few remarks in support of 
H.R. 5461, the Shark Finning Prohibition Act, which will the Senate has 
passed today and which will be forwarded to President Clinton for his 
signature.
  H.R. 5461 is identical to a provision I authored, along with Senator 
Snowe, in Senate Amendment 4320. That provision was then introduced in 
the House by Representative Cunningham as a stand alone bill and passed 
the House on October 30, 2000. I want to thank Senators Hollings and 
Snowe, who helped move this legislation through the Commerce Committee 
and the Senate. And, I thank Representative Cunningham for his work.
  Shark finning is the practice of catching a shark, removing its fins 
and returning the remainder of the shark to the sea. It is highly 
wasteful practice since only a very small portion of the shark is 
consumed and the rest is dumped back into the sea. The National Marine 
Fisheries Service already prohibits shark finning in the Atlantic and 
Gulf of Mexico. This legislation would expand that ban into the Pacific 
and create a consistent national policy by amending the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
  Sharks are among the most biologically vulnerable species in the 
ocean. Their slow growth, late maturity and small number of offspring 
leave them exceptionally vulnerable to over fishing and slow to recover 
from depletion. At the same time, sharks, as top predators, are 
essential to maintaining the balance of life in the sea. While many of 
our other highly migratory species such as tunas and swordfish are 
subject to rigorous management regimes, sharks have largely been 
overlooked until recently. By ending the wasteful practice of finning, 
we will, I hope, protect shark populations.
  However, it is important that the passage of this legislation is only 
the beginning of national efforts to protect sharks and their marine 
ecosystems. There are other threats to sharks in addition to finning in 
domestic waters. These include directed fisheries, by-catch and the use 
of non-selective gear. And, importantly, we must recognize that shark 
finning takes place in foreign and international waters, not just the 
United States waters. The global shark fin trade involves at least 125 
countries, and the demand for shark fins and other shark products has 
driven dramatic increases in shark fishing and shark mortality around 
the world. We must tackle these issues, as well.
  I want to note that in the Commerce Committee we tried to address the 
issue of international shark finning more aggressively and, I believe, 
more appropriately. Senator Hollings and I introduced S. 2831, the 
Shark Conservation Act of 2000. This proposal would have (1) mandated 
that the Secretary of Commerce report to Congress on progress being 
made domestically and internationally to reduce shark finning; (2) 
established a procedure to certify whether governments have adopted 
shark conservation measures; (3) banned the import of sharks or shark 
parts from countries that do not meet these certification procedures; 
and (4) provided technical assistance to foreign nations in an attempt 
to promote compliance.
  Unfortunately, this comprehensive proposal was rejected by the House. 
We therefore sought the middle ground of the proposal in H.R. 5461. The 
legislation we will pass today (1) calls on the Administration to 
initiate or continue discussions with other countries to ban shark 
finning; (2) requires the collection of information on trade in shark 
fins and directing the Secretary of Commerce to report the findings to 
Congress; and (3) establishes a research program to help improve shark 
stock assessments, reduce incidental catch, and better utilize shark 
captured legally. This is a start, but only a start. I hope that my 
colleagues and the advocacy groups that advocated for this proposal 
will continue to work for additional international conservation 
measures.
  Finally, my bill would authorize a Western Pacific longline fisheries 
cooperative research program to provide information for shark stock 
assessments, identify fishing gear and practices that prevent or 
minimize incidental catch of sharks and ensure maximum survivorship of 
released sharks, and provide data on the international shark fin trade.
  Mr. President, the United States is a global leader in fisheries 
conservation and management. I believe this legislation provides us the 
opportunity to further this role, and take the first step in addressing 
an international fisheries management issue. In addition, I believe the 
U.S. should continue to lead efforts at the United Nations and 
international conventions to achieve coordinated international 
management of sharks, including an international ban on shark-finning. 
I look forward to working with Committee members on this important 
legislation.
  Mr. HAGEL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be 
read the third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon 
the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in 
the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (H.R. 5461) was read the third time and passed.

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