12 2 STA T . 1 570PUBLIC LA W 110 – 2 43—J U NE 3 , 200 8Wher e asint ernati o na lf ishin g treaties an d agree m ents p ro v ide a frame w or k for esta b lishing r u les to guide sustainable fishing a c tivities among those nations that are parties to the agreement , and regional fisheries management organi z ations provide inter - national fora for implementing these agreements and facilitating international cooperation and collaboration
Whereas under its authorities in the M agnuson- S tevens F isher yC onservation and Management A ct, the N orth P acific Fishery Management Council has proposed that the U nited States close all Federal waters in the Chukchi and B eaufort Seas to commer- cial fishing until a fisheries management plan is fully developed; and Whereas future commercial fishing and fisheries management activities in the Arctic O cean should be developed through a coordinated international framework, as provided by international treaties or regional fisheries management organizations, and this framework should be implemented before significant commercial fishing activity e x pands to the high seas
Now, therefore, be it Resolv e dbyth e S e na te and H o u seo f Re pr esentat i ves of the U nited States of Am eri c ain C on g ress assembled ,T hat (1) the United States should initiate international discus- sions and take necessary steps with other Arctic nations to negotiate an agreement or agreements for managing migratory, transboundary, and straddling fish stocks in the Arctic Ocean and establishing a new international fisheries management organization or organizations for the region; ( 2 ) the agreement or agreements negotiated pursuant to paragraph (1) should conform to the re q uirements of the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement and contain mechanisms, inter alia, for establishing catch and bycatch limits, harvest alloca- tions, observers, monitoring, data collection and reporting, enforcement, and other elements necessary for sustaining future Arctic fish stocks; ( 3 ) as international fisheries agreements are negotiated and implemented, the United States should consult with the North Pacific R egional Fishery Management Council and Alaska Native subsistence communities of the Arctic; and ( 4 ) until the agreement or agreements negotiated pursuant to paragraph (1) come into force and measures consistent with the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement are in effect, the United States should support international efforts to halt the
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