[Senate Executive Report 109-7]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



109th Congress                                              Exec. Rept.
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                      109-7

======================================================================



 
  CONVENTION FOR THE STRENTHENING OF THE INTER-AMERICAN TROPICAL TUNA 
COMMISSION ESTABLISHED BY THE 1949 CONVENTION BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES 
     OF AMERICA AND THE REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA (TREATY DOC. 109-2)

                                _______
                                

               November 14, 2005.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

          Mr. Lugar, from the Committee on Foreign Relations,
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                    [To accompany Treaty Doc. 109-2]

    The Committee on Foreign Relations, to which was referred 
the Convention for the Strengthening of the Inter-American 
Tropical Tuna Commission Established by the 1949 Convention 
between the United States of America and the Republic of Costa 
Rica, with Annexes (Treaty Doc 109-2) (hereafter the ``Antigua 
Convention''), which was adopted on June 27, 2003, in Antigua, 
Guatemala by the parties to the 1949 Convention and which was 
signed by the United States on November 14, 2003, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon and recommends 
that the Senate give its advice and consent to ratification 
thereof, as set forth in this report and accompanying 
resolution of advice and consent.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page

  I. Purpose..........................................................1
 II. Background.......................................................2
III. Summary of Key Provisions of the Agreement.......................2
 IV. Implementing Legislation.........................................4
  V. Committee Action.................................................4
 VI. Committee Recommendation and Comments............................4
VII. Text of Resolution of Advice and Consent to Ratification.........5

                               I. Purpose

    The Antigua Convention sets forth legal obligations and 
establishes cooperative mechanisms for the long-term 
conservation and sustainable use of highly migratory fish 
stocks (such as tuna and swordfish) that range across the high 
seas of the Eastern Pacific Ocean as well as through waters 
under the fishery jurisdiction of numerous coastal nations. 
Upon its entry into force the Antigua Convention will replace 
the original 1949 Convention establishing the Inter-American 
Tropical Tuna Commission (``IATTC''). The Antigua Convention 
reflects changes in international measures governing living 
marine resources since the adoption of the 1949 Convention and 
brings the IATTC current with respect to internationally-
accepted law on the conservation and management of oceanic 
resources, including a mandate to take a more ecosystem-based 
approach to management.

                             II. Background

    Interest in negotiating revisions to the 1949 Convention 
began in 1995, in response to concerns that the 1949 Convention 
should be updated to achieve consistency with more recent 
international fishery management standards. The new Convention 
was adopted on June 27, 2003, in Antigua, Guatemala, by the 
parties to the 1949 Convention. The United States signed the 
Antigua Convention on November 14, 2003, the day it was opened 
for signature. The Antigua Convention modifies the original 
1949 Convention to augment the IATTC's ability to adopt 
measures to reduce catches of juvenile tunas and to avoid, 
reduce and minimize the bycatch of juvenile tunas and non-
target species. The Antigua Convention incorporates elements of 
the existing international legal regime governing living marine 
resources, which has developed considerably since 1949, 
strengthens compliance and enforcement provisions, and enhances 
science, data collection, and monitoring efforts.
    The Convention provides for participation in the IATTC by 
non-state actors, such as the European Community and Taiwan. Of 
22 entities eligible to sign the Convention, 13 have done so, 
including the European Community. Taiwan has also taken the 
first of two steps necessary for it to participate in the 
IATTC. To date, Mexico and El Salvador have ratified the 
Convention, which will enter into force 15 months following the 
date on which seven parties to the 1949 Convention have given 
their consent to be bound.
    The substantive provisions of the Antigua Convention are 
fully consistent with, and incorporate many provisions of, 
other fisheries conservation and management agreements accepted 
by the United States, including the 1995 FAO Code of Conduct 
for Responsible Fisheries and the 1993 Agreement to Promote 
Compliance with International Conservation and Management 
Measures by Fishing Vessels. The Convention is also consistent 
with, and does not affect, the 1998 Agreement on the 
International Dolphin Conservation Program, and the 
implementation thereof. The landed value of the U.S. tuna 
harvest taken from the IATTC Convention area in 2004 was 
approximately $40 million.

            III. Summary of Key Provisions of the Agreement

    A detailed article-by-article discussion of the Agreement 
may be found in the Letter of Submittal from the Secretary of 
State to the President, which is reprinted in full in Treaty 
Document 109-2. A summary of the key provisions of the 
Agreement is set forth below.
    Article I(1) defines the ``fish stocks covered by this 
Convention'' to include all species of fish taken by vessels 
fishing for tunas and tuna-like species in the Convention Area. 
This is understood to mean both target fish stocks such as 
yellowfin, skipjack, and bigeye tunas, as well as non-target 
species such as sharks, mahi-mahi and numerous other species 
taken in the tuna fisheries in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
    Article III defines the geographic scope of the Antigua 
Convention as the area bordered on the east by the coastline of 
the Americas, to the south by the 50 S parallel, to the west 
by the 150 W meridian, and to the north by the 50 N parallel, 
ensuring full coverage for certain temperate species such as 
albacore and bluefin tuna. The Antigua Convention area overlaps 
with areas governed by two other regional fisheries management 
organizations. The area of application of the Agreement on the 
International Dolphin Conservation Program (AIDCP) is located 
entirely within the confines of the Antigua Convention area. 
The Antigua Convention area also overlaps the area of 
application of the Convention on the Conservation and 
Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and 
Central Pacific Ocean between the 50 S and the 4 S parallels, 
and between the 150 W and the 130 W meridians. The United 
States is a party to the former agreement, and the Committee 
has recommended that the Senate advise and consent to the 
ratification of the latter. Recognizing these overlaps, Article 
XXIV(3) of the Antigua Convention requires the IATTC to 
cooperate with these other regional fisheries management 
organizations to either ensure that the objectives of the 
Convention are reached and that the measures adopted by the 
IATTC and these other organizations are harmonized and 
compatible, or to avoid taking measures with regard to species 
in or migrating through the areas of overlap that are regulated 
by the other organizations.
    Articles VI and XXXI provide for the continuity of the 
IATTC. Under Article VI(1), IATTC members agree to maintain and 
strengthen the IATTC established by the 1949 Convention. In 
particular, Article XXXI(4) provides that, upon entry into 
force of the Antigua Convention, all decisions of the IATTC 
adopted under the 1949 Convention remain in force until they 
expire, are terminated by a consensus decision of the 
Commission, or are replaced by another decision adopted 
pursuant to the Convention. Further, in accordance with Article 
XXXI(5), parties to the 1949 Convention that have not yet 
become party to the Antigua Convention will be deemed to remain 
members of the IATTC under the Antigua Convention unless they 
elect otherwise in writing.
    Article VII of the Antigua Convention spells out the 
functions of the IATTC. It mandates that conservation and 
management measures adopted by the Commission are to be based 
on the best scientific information available and designed to 
ensure the long-term conservation and sustainable use of the 
fish stocks covered by the Convention. Provisions are included 
with respect to, inter alia, overfishing and stocks that are 
overfished, fishing capacity, minimizing waste and discards, 
and allocations of fishing opportunities. It also provides for 
conservation and management measures for associated and 
dependent species and species belonging to the same ecosystem. 
In addition to non-target fish stocks, Article VII (1)(f) 
expands the scope of the 1949 Convention by authorizing the 
Commission to take action with respect to such species as sea 
turtles and sea birds. Article VII(1)(i) also broadens the 
mandate of the IATTC contained in the 1949 Convention by 
requiring development of a ``comprehensive program for data 
collection and monitoring.''
    Article XI establishes a Scientific Advisory Committee, 
comprised of representatives of each member of the Commission, 
to review the scientific work of the Commission staff and 
provide such advice and recommendations as may be appropriate 
to enhance the quality of the Commission's scientific work, 
thereby formalizing the current practice of the Commission.
    The Antigua Convention also strengthens the compliance and 
enforcement capabilities of the IATTC. For example, Article X 
requires the establishment of a committee to review 
implementation of measures adopted by the Commission. This 
committee will review and monitor compliance with agreed 
measures and report to the Commission on the results of such 
reviews. Each member of the Commission is required to provide 
the information necessary to carry out this review and to 
ensure that vessels operating under their jurisdiction comply 
with agreed rules and measures set forth in Article XVIII.
    The Antigua Convention provides for participation by the 
European Community and Taiwan in the work of the Commission, 
thus ensuring that vessels operating under the jurisdiction of 
these entities would be bound by the conservation and 
management measures adopted by the Commission. Under Article 
XXVII, the European Community, as a ``regional economic 
integration organization,'' may become a party to the 
Convention; Article XXVIII permits Taiwan, as the ``fishing 
entity'' of Chinese Taipei, to become a member of the 
Commission, and commit to abide by the terms of the Convention, 
through a separate instrument to this effect.

                      IV. Implementing Legislation

    Legislation will be needed to implement this Agreement. The 
executive branch has indicated that it will soon provide 
proposed legislation to the appropriate congressional 
committees.

                          V. Committee Action

    The Committee on Foreign Relations held a public hearing on 
the Agreement on September 29, 2005, at which it heard 
testimony from a representative of the Department of State. (A 
hearing print of this session will be forthcoming.) On November 
1, 2005, the committee considered the Agreement and ordered it 
favorably reported by voice vote, with the recommendation that 
the Senate give its advice and consent to its ratification.

               VI. Committee Recommendation and Comments

    The Committee on Foreign Relations believes that the 
proposed Agreement is in the interest of the United States and 
urges the Senate to act promptly to give advice and consent to 
its ratification. The committee believes the Convention is of 
direct and important interest to United States fishing 
concerns, including the U.S. tuna industry, as well as U.S. 
conservation organizations, U.S. consumers, and those who 
reside in U.S. states bordering the Convention area, all of 
whom have an important stake in the health of the oceans and 
the fisheries resources protected by the Convention.

                   VII. Text of Resolution of Advice
                      and Consent to Ratification

    Resolved (two-thirds of the Senators present concurring 
therein),

    The Senate advises and consents to the ratification of the 
Convention for the Strengthening of the Inter-American Tropical 
Tuna Commission Established by the 1949 Convention Between the 
United States of America and the Republic of Costa Rica, with 
Annexes, adopted on June 27, 2003, in Antigua, Guatemala, and 
signed by the United States on November 14, 2003 (Treaty Doc. 
109-2).

