[House Report 115-1104]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
115th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 115-1104
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LIMITATION ON CERTAIN FISHERIES ENFORCEMENT BASED ON OBSERVER REPORTS
_______
December 21, 2018.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bishop of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted
the following
R E P O R T
together with
DISSENTING VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 5025]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 5025) to amend the Western and Central Pacific
Fisheries Convention Implementation Act to limit the imposition
of penalties against a person fishing on a United States flag
fishing vessel in certain areas of the Pacific Ocean based on a
report by an observer on such a vessel, having considered the
same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend
that the bill do pass.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 5025 is to amend the Western and
Central Pacific Fisheries Convention Implementation Act to
limit the imposition of penalties against a person fishing on
the United States flag fishing vessel in certain areas of the
Pacific Ocean based on a report by an observer on such a
vessel.
Background and Need for Legislation
The coordinated management of shared fishery stocks in
international waters (201 or more miles from U.S. shores) is
accomplished by nations participating in Regional Fisheries
Management Organizations (RFMOs). These international
commissions guide and coordinate the fisheries management
activities of multiple nations in a specific region.\1\ There
are a number of RFMOs that the U.S. is party to, with the five
major RFMOs being the Commission for the Conservation of
Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT), the Inter-American Tropical Tuna
Commission (IATTC), the International Commission for the
Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT), the Indian Ocean Tuna
Commission (IOTC), and the Western and Central Pacific
Fisheries Commission (WCPFC).\2\
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\1\http://www.state.gov/e/oes/ocns/fish/regionalorganizations/.
\2\http://www.fao.org/fishery/topic/12270/en.
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In each case, an RFMO comprised of designees from each
participating country and territory fosters cooperative
management of these shared resources.\3\ Cooperation under such
a convention allows the U.S. to address fisheries resources not
covered under preexisting fisheries management instruments and
helps to prevent destructive fishing practices by other
participating nations that may hurt domestic fisheries.\4\
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\3\Id at 2.
\4\Kelly Welsh letter to Chairman Rob Bishop, September 15, 2015.
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The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention
Implementation Act (Public Law 109-479)\5\ was signed into law
in January 2007 to codify the United States participation in
the Convention and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks
in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.\6\ The Convention
established the WCPFC which, according to its website, is
responsible for overseeing the compliance of the Convention by
signatory nations, as well as supporting three subsidiary
committees: Scientific, Technical and Compliance, and Northern
Committees.\7\
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\5\Public Law 109-479, Signed January 12, 2007.
\6\https://www.wcpfc.int/about-wcpfc.
\7\Id at 6.
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To ensure fair, consistent implementation and enforcement
of the Convention, H.R. 5025 simply states that any U.S.
flagged vessel that is accused of violating the Convention be
afforded the opportunity to see the on-board observer's report
citing the violation within 60 days of the alleged violation
taking place. The legislation also simply states that any
enforcement action taken against a U.S. flagged vessel for a
violation under the Convention be convened within one year of
the violation occurring.
Committee Action
H.R. 5025 was introduced on February 14, 2018,
Congresswoman Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (R-AS). The bill
was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources and within
the Committee to the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans.
On November 15, 2018, the Natural Resources Committee met to
consider the bill. The Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous
consent. No amendments were offered, and the bill was ordered
favorably reported to the House of Representatives by a voice
vote.
Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
Compliance With House Rule XIII and
Congressional Budget Act
1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act.
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
sections 308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974, the Committee has requested but not received a cost
estimate for the bill from the Director of the Congressional
Budget Office.
2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is to amend the Western and Central
Pacific Fisheries Convention Implementation Act to limit the
imposition of penalties against a person fishing on the United
States flag fishing vessel in certain areas of the Pacific
Ocean based on a report by an observer on such a vessel.
Earmark Statement
This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives.
Compliance With Public Law 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
Compliance With H. Res. 5
Directed Rule Making. This bill does not contain any
directed rule makings.
Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was
not included in any report from the Government Accountability
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law
98-169) as relating to other programs.
Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is
printed in italic and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
WESTERN AND CENTRAL PACIFIC FISHERIES CONVENTION IMPLEMENTATION ACT
* * * * * * *
TITLE V--IMPLEMENTATION OF WESTERN AND CENTRAL PACIFIC FISHERIES
CONVENTION
* * * * * * *
SEC. 507. PROHIBITED ACTS.
(a) In General.--It is unlawful for any person--
(1) to violate any provision of this title or any
regulation or permit issued pursuant to this title;
(2) to use any fishing vessel to engage in fishing
after the revocation, or during the period of
suspension, on an applicable permit issued pursuant to
this title;
(3) to refuse to permit any officer authorized to
enforce the provisions of this title to board a fishing
vessel subject to such person's control for the
purposes of conducting any search, investigation, or
inspection in connection with the enforcement of this
title or any regulation, permit, or the Convention;
(4) to forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede,
intimidate, or interfere with any such authorized
officer in the conduct of any search, investigations,
or inspection in connection with the enforcement of
this title or any regulation, permit, or the
Convention;
(5) to resist a lawful arrest for any act prohibited
by this title;
(6) to ship, transport, offer for sale, sell,
purchase, import, export, or have custody, control, or
possession of, any fish taken or retained in violation
of this title or any regulation, permit, or agreement
referred to in paragraph (1) or (2);
(7) to interfere with, delay, or prevent, by any
means, the apprehension or arrest of another person,
knowing that such other person has committed any
chapter prohibited by this section;
(8) to knowingly and willfully submit to the
Secretary false information (including false
information regarding the capacity and extent to which
a United States fish processor, on an annual basis,
will process a portion of the optimum yield of a
fishery that will be harvested by fishery vessels of
the United States), regarding any matter that the
Secretary is considering in the course of carrying out
this title;
(9) to forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede,
intimidate, sexually harass, bribe, or interfere with
any observer on a vessel under this title, or any data
collector employed by the National Marine Fisheries
Service or under contract to any person to carry out
responsibilities under this title;
(10) to engage in fishing in violation of any
regulation adopted pursuant to section 506(a) of this
title;
(11) to ship, transport, purchase, sell, offer for
sale, import, export, or have in custody, possession,
or control any fish taken or retained in violation of
such regulations;
(12) to fail to make, keep, or furnish any catch
returns, statistical records, or other reports as are
required by regulations adopted pursuant to this title
to be made, kept, or furnished;
(13) to fail to stop a vessel upon being hailed and
instructed to stop by a duly authorized official of the
United States;
(14) to import, in violation of any regulation
adopted pursuant to section 506(a) of this title, any
fish in any form of those species subject to regulation
pursuant to a recommendation, resolution, or decision
of the Commission, or any tuna in any form not under
regulation but under investigation by the Commission,
during the period such fish have been denied entry in
accordance with the provisions of section 506(a) of
this title.
(b) Entry Certification.--In the case of any fish described
in subsection (a) offered for entry into the United States, the
Secretary of Commerce shall require proof satisfactory to the
Secretary that such fish is not ineligible for such entry under
the terms of section 506(a) of this title.
(c) Limitation on Enforcement Based on Observer Reports.--No
person fishing on a United States flag fishing vessel in the
Convention Area shall be subject to any penalty under this Act
or any other law or regulation applicable to such vessels based
on a report by an observer on such a vessel, unless--
(1) the observer report is provided to the captain
and the owner of the vessel within 60 days after the
end of the fishing trip; and
(2) any enforcement action based on such report is
brought within one year after the end of the fishing
trip.
* * * * * * *
DISSENTING VIEWS
H.R. 5025 amends the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries
Convention Implementation Act to make it more difficult to
penalize a person for violating the Act. Specifically, H.R.
5025 limits the ability of NOAA law enforcement to bring
charges against a person fishing on a United States flagged
fishing vessel in the Convention area based on a report by a
fisheries observer.
Fishery observers play an integral role in managing our
nation's robust fisheries. They are highly trained biological
scientists who gather data to support fishery conservation,
management, and ensure compliance with fishing and safety
regulations.
H.R. 5025 would only allow a penalty to apply if the
observer report is provided to the captain and the owner of the
vessel within 60 days after the end of the fishing trip and any
enforcement action based on the report is brought within one
year after the end of the fishing trip.
This bill is problematic because it often takes more than a
year to bring enforcement action due to the lack of resources
and the amount of time it takes to conduct a thorough
investigation considering the international and transnational
nature of the fleet. In addition, the information provided by
the observer could not be used for a repeat offender if
violations occur more than a year apart making it more
difficult to go after the worst offenders. For these reasons,
we oppose the bill as reported.
Raul M. Grijalva,
Ranking Member, Committee on
Natural Resources.
Alan Lowenthal.
Grace F. Napolitano.
Jared Huffman.
[all]