11. Driftnet Impact Monitoring, Assessment, and Control Title IV of Public Law 100-220 [United States-Japan Fishery Agreeme Approval Act of 1987; H.R. 3674], 100 Stat. 1458, approved December

1987

AN ACT To provide congressional approval of the Governing International Fisher Agreements between the United States and Japan; to implement the provis of Annex V to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution fr Ships, 1973; to reauthorize the National Sea Grant College Program Act; to= prove efforts to monitor, assess, and reduce the adverse impacts of driftnets; an for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of t United States of America in Congress assembled,

TITLE IV-DRIFTNET IMPACT MONITORING, ASSESSMENT AND CONTROL

SEC. 4001.1 SHORT TITLE.

This title may be cited as the "Driftnet Impact Monitoring, A sessment, and Control Act of 1987."

SEC. 4002. FINDINGS

The Congress finds that

(1) the use of long plastic driftnets is a fishing technique the may result in the entanglement and death of enormous nu bers of target and nontarget marine resources in the waters: the North Pacific Ocean, including the Bering Sea;

(2) there is a pressing need for detailed and reliable inform tion on the number of marine resources that become entangle and die in actively fished driftnets and in driftnets that a lost, abandoned, or discarded; and

(3) increased efforts are necessary to monitor, assess, and re duce the adverse impacts of driftnets.

SEC. 4003. DEFINITIONS.

As used in this title

(1) DRIFTNET.-The term "driftnet" means a gillnet compose: of a panel of plastic webbing one and one-half miles or more in length.

(2) DRIFTNET FISHING.-The term "driftnet fishing" means & fish-harvesting method in which a driftnet is placed in wate and allowed to drift with the currents and winds for the pur pose of entangling fish in the webbing.

(3) EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OF THE UNITED STATES.-The term "exclusive economic zone of the United States" means the

116 U.S.C. 1822 note. See also sec. 206 of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Manage ment Act, as amended by Public Law 101-627.

zone defined in section 3(6) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1802(b)).

(4) MARINE RESOURCES.-The term "marine resources" includes fish, shellfish, marine mammals, seabirds, and other forms of marine life or waterfowl.

(5) MARINE RESOURCES OF THE UNITED STATES.-The term "marine resources of the United States" means—

(A) marine resources found in, or which breed within, areas subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, including the exclusive economic zone of the United States; and

(B) species of fish, wherever found, that spawn in the fresh or estuarine waters of the United States.

(6) SECRETARY.-The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Commerce.

EC. 4004. MONITORING AGREEMENTS

(a) NEGOTIATIONS.-The Secretary, through the Secretary of tate and in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, shall nmediately initiate, negotiations with each foreign government hat conducts, or authorizes its nationals to conduct, driftnet fishng that results in the taking of marine resources of the United tates in waters of the North Pacific Ocean outside of the exclusive conomic zone and territorial sea of any nation, for the purpose of ntering into agreements for statistically reliable cooperative monoring and assessment of the numbers of marine resources of the United States killed and retrieved, discarded, or lost by the foreign overnment's driftnet fishing vessels. Such agreements shall proide for

(1) the use of a sufficient number of vessels from which scientists of the United States and the foreign governments may observe and gather reliable information; and

(2) appropriate methods of sharing equally the costs associated with such activities.

(b) REPORT.-The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall provide to the Congress not later than 1 year after the late of enactment of this Act a full report on the results of negotiaions under this section.

SEC. 4005. IMPACT REPORT.

(a) IN GENERAL.-The Secretary shall provide to the Congress within 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and at such other times thereafter as the Secretary considers appropriate, a report identifying the nature, extent, and effects of driftnet fishng in waters of the North Pacific Ocean on marine resources of the United States. The report shall include the best available informaion on

(1) the number and flag state of vessels involved;

(2) the areas fished;

(3) the length, width, and mesh size of driftnets used;

(4) the number of marine resources of the United States killed by such fishing;

(5) the effect of seabird mortality, as determined by the Secretary of the Interior, on seabird populations; and

(6) any other information the Secretary considers appropriate.

(b) INFORMATION FROM FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS.-The Secretary, through the Secretary of State, shall

(1) request relevant foreign governments to provide the information described in subsection (a), and

(2) include in a report under this section the information so provided and an evaluation of the adequacy and reliability of such information.

SEC. 4006. ENFORCEMENT AGREEMENTS.

(a) NEGOTIATIONS.-The Secretary shall immediately initiate, through the Secretary of State and in consultation with the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating negotiations with each foreign government that conducts, or authorizes its nationals to conduct, driftnet fishing that results in the taking of marine resources of the United States in waters of the North Pacific Ocean outside of the exclusive economic zone and territorial sea of any nation, for the purpose of entering into agreements for effective enforcement of laws, regulations, and agreements applicable to the location, season, and other aspects of the operations of the foreign government's driftnet fishing vessels. Such agreements shall include measures for

(1) the effective monitoring and detection of violations;

(2) the collection and presentation of such evidence of violations as may be necessary for the successful prosecution of such violations by the responsible authorities;

(3) reporting to the United States of penalties imposed by the foreign governments for violations; and

(4) appropriate methods for sharing equally the costs associated with such activities.

(b) CERTIFICATION FOR PURPOSES OF FISHERMEN'S PROTECTIVE ACT OF 1967.-If the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State, determines that a foreign government has failed, within 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, to enter into and implement an agreement under subsection (a) or section 4004(a) that is adequate, the Secretary shall certify such fact to the President, which certification shall be deemed to be a certification for the purposes of section 8(a) of the Fishermen's Protective Act of 1967 (22 U.S.C. 1978(a)).

SEC. 4007. EVALUATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

(a) MARKING, REGISTRY, AND IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM.-The Secretary shall evaluate, in consultation with officials of other Federal agencies and such other persons as may be appropriate, the feasibility of and develop recommendations for the establishment of a driftnet marking, registry, and identification system to provide a reliable method for the determination of the origin by vessel, of lost, discarded, or abandoned driftnets and fragments of driftnets. In conducting such evaluation, the Secretary shall consider the adequacy of existing driftnet identification systems of foreign nations and the extent to which these systems achieve the objectives of this title.

(b) ALTERNATIVE DRIFTNET MATERIALS.-The Secretary, in consultation with suther persons as may be appropriate, shall

evaluate the feasibility of, and develop appropriate recommendations for, the use of alternative materials in driftnets for the purpose of increasing the rate of decomposition of driftnets that are discarded or lost at sea.

(c) DRIFTNET BOUNTY SYSTEM.-The Secretary, in consultation with such other persons as may be appropriate, shall evaluate the feasibility of and develop appropriate recommendations for the implementation of a driftnet bounty system to pay persons who retrieve from the exclusive economic zone and deposit with the Secretary lost, abandoned, and discarded driftnet and other plastic fishing material.

(d) DRIFTNET FISHING VESSEL TRACKING SYSTEM.-The Secretary, in consultation with such other persons as may be appropriate, shall evaluate the feasibility of, and develop appropriate recommendations for, the establishment of a cooperative driftnet fishing vessel tracking system to facilitate efforts to monitor the location of driftnet fishing vessels.

(e) REPORT.-The Secretary shall transmit to the Congress not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act a report setting forth

(1) the evaluations and recommendations developed under subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d);

(2) the most effective and appropriate means of implementing such recommendations;

(3) any need for further research and development efforts and the estimated cost and time required for completion of such efforts; and

(4) any need for legislation to provide authority to carry out such recommendations.

SEC. 4008. CONSTRUCTION WITH OTHER LAWS.

This title shall not serve or be construed to expand or diminish the sovereign rights of the United States, as stated by Presidential Proclamation Numbered 5030, dated March 10, 1983, and reflected in existing law on the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4009. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Commerce and the Department of State, such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this title.

12. Wildlife Sanctuary for Humpback Whales 1

Public Law 99–630 [H.J. Res. 67], 100 Stat. 3514, approved November 7, 1986 JOINT RESOLUTION Calling for a wildlife sanctuary for humpback whales in the West Indies.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President shall, in concert with the International Whaling Commission, seek a treaty or other appropriate international agreement establishing a wildlife sanctuary for humpback whales in the West Indies, in the area encompassing the Turks Islands, Mouchoir Passage, Silver Bank Passage, Navidad Bank, and such additional areas in the West Indies as may be necessary to ensure the protection of the breeding grounds of the humpback whales.

116 U.S.C. 916 note.