[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 52 (Monday, January 1, 2001)]
[Pages 3179-3180]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Signing the Shark Finning Prohibition Act

December 26, 2000

    I have signed H.R. 5461, the ``Shark Finning Prohibition Act.'' 
Shark-finning is the taking of a shark, removing the fin, and returning 
the carcass to the sea. This legislation prohibits shark-finning in all 
U.S. waters; provides for initiation of international negotiations to 
prohibit shark-finning; and authorizes research to conserve shark 
populations.
    The Administration has actively supported the prohibition of shark-
finning because of the harmful impact on sharks and shark populations. 
The practice has been administratively banned in the Atlantic Ocean, the 
Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea. H.R. 5461 will establish the ban 
in law and extend it to the Pacific Ocean.
    The United States has been a leading proponent of international 
shark conservation at the United Nations Food and Agriculture 
Organization and has advocated prohibiting wasteful fishing practices, 
including shark finning. We have also demonstrated considerable 
leadership in other international fora to conserve sharks and ban shark-
finning. In the Eastern Pacific, the United States has been active in 
the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission in dealing effectively with 
issues such as shark management on the high seas. And the United States 
has been participating, along with thirty other countries, in the High-
Level Multilateral Conferences for the Conservation and Management of 
Highly Migratory Species in the Western and Central Pacific. Finally, 
the United States plans to continue in its efforts at the International 
Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas to obtain a proposal 
that would ban shark-finning, as well as implement a variety of 
conservation measures.
    Only through international cooperation can effective management be 
ensured for sharks, especially on the high seas. The United States will 
intensify efforts to convince other countries to join in prohibiting 
shark finning, consistent with the goals of H.R. 5461.
    I note, however, that two provisions of the bill raise 
constitutional concerns. Because the Constitution vests the conduct of 
foreign

[[Page 3180]]

affairs with the President, Congress may not dictate the executive 
branch's negotiations with foreign governments (section 5). Because the 
Constitution preserves to the President the authority to decide whether 
and when the executive branch should recommend new legislation, Congress 
may not require the President or his subordinates to present such 
recommendations (section 6). I therefore direct executive branch 
officials to carry out these provisions in a manner that is consistent 
with the President's constitutional responsibilities.
                                            William J. Clinton
 The White House,
 December 26, 2000.

 Note: H.R. 5461, approved December 21, was assigned Public Law No. 106-
557.