[Senate Executive Report 109-7]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
109th Congress Exec. Rept.
SENATE
1st Session 109-7
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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)
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November 14, 2005.--Ordered to be printed
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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).