[Senate Executive Report 109-8]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
109th Congress Exec. Rept.
SENATE
1st Session 109-8
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CONVENTION ON THE CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE HIGHLY MIGRATORY
FISH STOCKS IN THE WESTERN AND CENTRAL PACIFIC OCEAN (TREATY DOC. 109-
1)
_______
November 16, 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. 109-1]
The Committee on Foreign Relations, to which was referred
the Convention on the Conservation and Management of the Highly
Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean,
with Annexes (Treaty Doc 109-1) (the ``WCPF Convention''),
which was adopted at Honolulu, Hawaii on September 5, 2000, by
the Multilateral High Level Conference on the Highly Migratory
Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean and signed
by the United States on that date, 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.........................................5
V. Committee Action.................................................5
VI. Committee Recommendation and Comments............................5
VII. Text of Resolution of Advice and Consent to Ratification.........6
I. Purpose
The WCPF Convention sets forth legal obligations and
establishes the cooperative mechanisms necessary 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 western and central Pacific Ocean as well as
through waters under the fishery jurisdiction of numerous
coastal nations. The Convention creates a regional fisheries
management organization for the western and central Pacific
Ocean, the last major area with extensive fishing for highly
migratory species that lacks such an organization.
II. Background
The fisheries for tuna in the western and central Pacific
are the largest and most valuable in the world. Discussions
leading to the development of the WCPF Convention began in
December 1994, at the Multilateral High Level Conference on the
Conservation and Management of the Highly Migratory Fish Stocks
in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean in Honiara, Solomon
Islands, in response to increasing interest in managing a
sustainable harvest of fish stocks that migrate through coastal
waters and high seas where many nations fish competitively. The
WCPF Convention was adopted on September 5, 2000, in Honolulu,
Hawaii, and the United States signed the Convention on that
date. Of 25 entities eligible to sign the Convention, 22 have
done so (all but Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the United
Kingdom). In addition, at least 17 nations have ratified or
acceded to the Convention, and Taiwan has completed
requirements to participate in the Convention as a ``fishing
entity.'' The WCPF Convention entered into force on June 19,
2004, six months after deposit of the thirteenth instrument of
ratification.
The WCPF Convention seeks to balance the interests of
coastal nations in protecting fishery resources off their
shores, and those of distant water fishing nations. As both the
coastal nation with the largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
in the Convention area (relative to Hawaii, American Samoa,
Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands), and a major distant-
water fishing nation, the United States played a key role in
shaping the negotiations.
III. Summary of Key Provisions of the Agreement
A detailed article-by-article discussion of the WCPF
Convention 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 Convention is set forth below.
Article 1 of the Convention defines the term ``highly
migratory fish stocks'' to include all fish stocks of the
species listed in Annex I of the 1982 U.N. Convention on the
Law of the Sea and occurring in the Convention area, as well as
any other fish species as determined by the Commission
established under the Convention.
Article 3(1) defines the Convention area to include all
waters of the Pacific Ocean north and west of specified lines
delineating the southern and eastern limits. In the east, the
Convention Area slightly overlaps waters subject to regulation
by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC). The
southern limits of the Convention area follow the northern
limits of the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic
Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), while the northern limit of
the Convention area is self-defining. Intractable disputes over
maritime boundaries in the South China Sea and elsewhere
complicated efforts to denote the western limit of the
Convention area. Therefore, in this regard, the Convention
provides only that the conservation and management measures
will be applied throughout the range of the stocks, or to
specific areas within the WCPF Convention area as determined by
the Commission. Article 3(2) confirms that nothing in the
Convention will constitute recognition of the claims or
positions of any members of the Commission with regard to
maritime boundary disputes. The Convention area covers waters
under U.S. jurisdiction around the State of Hawaii and the U.S.
Pacific territories. However, measures adopted under the
Convention will not affect U.S. law with respect to foreign
fishing activities within the U.S. EEZ.
Article 5 contains the general principles and measures for
conservation and management of the fish stocks covered by the
Convention. It provides that conservation and management
measures adopted by members of the Commission are to be based
on the best scientific information available and designed to
maintain or restore stocks at levels capable of producing
maximum sustainable yield, as qualified by relevant
environmental and economic factors, and are to apply the
precautionary approach. Provisions are also included related to
assessing the impact of fishing, other human activities and
environmental factors on target stocks; adopting measures to
minimize waste, discards, and catch by lost or abandoned gear;
protecting biodiversity in the marine environment; taking
measures to prevent or eliminate over-fishing; and collecting
and sharing data concerning fishing activities. Under Article
7, these principles and measures are also to be applied by
coastal states in areas under their national jurisdiction
within the Convention area.
Article 9 of the Convention provides for establishment of
the Commission and deals with a number of organizational
issues, including meetings, election of officers, the
Commission's legal capacity, privileges and immunities of the
Commission and its officers, and adoption of Commission rules
of procedure. Article 9(2) permits Taiwan to participate in the
work of the Commission as a ``fishing entity'' whose vessels
fish for highly migratory stocks in the Convention area. Annex
I sets forth the procedures under which a fishing entity must
give its consent to be bound by the regime established by the
Convention.
Article 10 outlines the functions of the Commission in
monitoring and managing fish stocks, including the
determination of total allowable catches, criteria for
allocating harvest, and the adoption of measures relating to
quantity of species caught and size of fish taken.
Article 11 establishes supporting bodies for the
Commission, including a Scientific Committee and a Technical
and Compliance Committee. It also establishes a special
Northern Committee that will recommend conservation and
management measures for the Commission area north of the 20 N
parallel; it will be composed of members of the Commission
located in or fishing in that area. Commission rules of
procedure, adopted following the Convention's entry into force,
clarify that the Commission is not to adopt measures specific
to northern area species without a recommendation by the
Northern Committee. Articles 12 and 14 lay out the functions of
the Scientific Committee and the Technical and Compliance
Committee, respectively. The purpose of the Scientific
Committee is to ensure that the Commission obtains the best
scientific information available. The Technical and Compliance
Committee is to provide the Commission with information and
technical advice on the implementation of, and compliance with,
conservation and management measures; monitor and review
compliance with such measures; and review the implementation of
monitoring, control, surveillance and enforcement measures
adopted by the Commission and make recommendations.
Article 15 provides for the establishment of a permanent
Secretariat, with an Executive Director as the chief
administrative officer, and sets forth its functions.
Article 18 requires the Commission budget to be adopted by
consensus, with assessed contributions for Commission members.
The assessed fee is to be based on several criteria, including
an ``equal basic fee,'' a fee based upon national wealth, and a
variable fee based upon total catch taken in the Convention
area.
Article 20 outlines how the Commission will make its
decisions. It is designed to ensure that distant-water fishing
nations will not be bound by measures to which they do not
agree, while also ensuring that failure to reach a consensus
will not prevent the adoption of necessary measures for the
conservation and management of fish stocks. Differing
majorities are required for different decisions. For example,
consensus is required for key issues such as allocation of
total allowable catch and adoption of the budget and the
formula for contributions. Decisions on other matters are to be
made by a three-fourths majority, after efforts to achieve
consensus have been exhausted. The three-fourths majority must
include three-fourths of Commission members that are also
members of the Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency (comprised of the
island states of the western and central Pacific) and three-
fourths of the other members of the Commission, provided that
no measure is to be defeated by two or fewer votes of either
group.
Article 23 sets forth the duty of Commission members to
promptly implement the provisions of the Convention and the
measures agreed to under the Convention, and to provide certain
information to the Commission. It also requires each member, to
the greatest extent possible, to take measures to ensure that
its nationals, and the fishing vessels owned or controlled by
them, comply with the Convention's provisions. Article 24
contains a similar requirement for Commission members with
respect to fishing vessels flying their flag.
Articles 25 through 27 address matters pertaining to
compliance and enforcement. Members of the Commission are
required to implement the provisions of the WCPF Convention and
conservation and management measures adopted pursuant to it.
Each member of the Commission is to fully and promptly
investigate alleged violations by vessels flying its flag, and
to take expeditious action to punish offenders. Sanctions are
to be adequate in severity to discourage further violations and
to deprive the offenders of the benefits of their illegal
activities. When a member of the Commission has established, in
accordance with its laws, that a fishing vessel flying its flag
has committed a serious violation, that member shall ensure
that the vessel in question ceases all fishing activities until
any resulting sanctions imposed by the flag State have been
complied with. Article 26 provides that the Commission
establish procedures for the boarding and inspection of fishing
vessels on the high seas of the WCPF Convention area. Article
27 sets forth the right and duty of port States to take
measures, in accordance with international law, to promote the
effectiveness of conservation and management measures.
Article 28 calls upon the Commission to develop a regional
observer program to collect verified catch data, other
scientific data and information on fishing activities in the
WCPF Convention area and to monitor the implementation of
conservation and management measures adopted by the Commission.
The confidentiality of the catch data is to be protected. The
program is to be coordinated by the Secretariat and is to
consist of independent and impartial observers authorized by
the Secretariat.
Article 43 provides for participation in the work of the
WCPF Convention by territories located in the Convention area,
including the right to be present and to speak at the meetings
of the Commission and its subsidiary bodies, subject to the
appropriate authorization of the party having responsibility
for their respective international affairs. In response to a
question from the committee, the executive branch has confirmed
its intention to authorize such participation by the U.S.
Pacific island areas of American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern
Mariana Islands.
IV. Implementing Legislation
Legislation will be needed to implement this Convention.
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 WCPF Convention 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 October
25, 2005, the committee considered the Convention 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 Convention 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, as well as U.S. conservation organizations, U.S.
consumers, and those who reside in Hawaii and the U.S. Pacific
Island areas of Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana
Islands, 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 on the Conservation and Management of the Highly
Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean,
with Annexes, adopted at Honolulu on September 5, 2000, by the
Multilateral High Level Conference on the Highly Migratory Fish
Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, and signed by
the United States on that date (Treaty Doc. 109-1).