The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“THE FAIRNESS TO UNITED STATES DISTANT WATER FISHERMEN ACT OF 2016” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E84 on Feb. 1, 2016.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE FAIRNESS TO UNITED STATES DISTANT WATER FISHERMEN ACT OF 2016
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HON. DUNCAN HUNTER
of california
in the house of representatives
Monday, February 1, 2016
Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, for 28 years the United States has been a party to the Treaty on Fisheries Between the Governments of Certain Pacific Island States and the Government of the United States of America. At the time of its development, the Treaty resolved maritime boundary disputes and secured access for United States fishermen to tuna stocks wherever they migrated beyond the coastal waters of Pacific Island nations. To provide such access, multi-year fishing agreements were established, where vessel owners could pay for a license to access the Treaty area, roughly ten million square miles of the South Pacific Ocean.
In addition to the industry license payments, the Treaty includes a related Economic Assistance Agreement between the United States and the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency. The economic assistance usually ran in conjunction with the multi-year fishing agreement. Up until 2013, when a 10-year Economic Assistance Agreement of $21 million a year was adopted. It is important to stress that the economic assistance does not occur on its own; it has always been tied to United States fishermen fishing in the Treaty area.
Multi-year fishing agreements were fairly stable under the Treaty for the first 25 years, with the last 10-year agreement expiring in 2013. Since then, the United States and the Island nations have only been able to agree on annual agreements, the last few being detrimental to United States-flag vessels due to lower tuna prices and payment for unused fishing days causing economic hardship. The most recent nonbinding agreement was developed in August 2015, and has been under month's long discussion between the Department of State and the Pacific Island Forum Fisheries Agency regarding the final number of fishing days the United States and its industry will be paying for in 2016.
Since January 1, 2016, United States-flag vessels have been banned from the Treaty fishing area, even though the United States Government paid $21 million in economic assistance in June 2015, which covers through June 2016. Thirty-seven United States-flag vessels are impacted by the ban and are losing money every day the vessels are tied up. The impact on the United States-flag fleet cannot be minimized. The viability of these United States companies and American jobs are at stake.
For that reason, I am introducing the Fairness to United States Distant Water Fishermen Act of 2016. The bill would prohibit the United States Government from providing economic assistance payments to the Pacific Island Forum Fisheries Agency, when there is no Treaty agreement allowing United States-flag vessels access to the Treaty area.
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