The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bipartisan South Pacific Tuna Treaty Act sponsored by Rep. Aumua Amata (R-American Samoa). 

The U.S. Senate will now consider HR1792, co-sponsored by Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawaii), which implements the South Pacific Tuna Treaty, already negotiated between the U.S. and Pacific nations. 

“As the representative of the beautiful islands of American Samoa in the South Pacific, a marine economy which depends on fishing, I welcome broad support in Congress for implementing our treaty with our regional friends and neighbors in the South Pacific,” Amata said during remarks on the floor. “This bill implements U.S. international diplomacy to help ensure that our tuna agreements improve operations and flexibility for our fleet – America’s last true distant water fishing fleet.”

The bill “revises federal requirements for U.S. commercial fishing vessels operating in the South Pacific” to match the amendments made to the original treaty in 2016. The Senate gave bipartisan support for the ratification in 2022. 

Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) voiced his approval of the bill, saying it “will give more flexibility to the U.S. fishing industry and benefit all Americans.”