A federal measure pending in the U.S. House will identify new
Sponsored by Congressman Faleomavaega Eni the measure (H.R. 3669) was introduced Sept. 26 in the U.S. House and assigned to the House committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
If enacted into law, the bill, also known as the South Pacific Tuna Fleet Act of 2007, will amend provisions of federal law “to promote the
In particular the bill amends provisions dealing with fishing in the South Pacific Tuna Treaty Convention Area by adding a new subsection, which states that “a fishery endorsement is not required for a United States documented purse seine tuna fishing vessel home ported in American Samoa while fishing exclusively for highly migratory species under a license issued pursuant to the 1987 Treaty on Fisheries Between the Governments of Certain Pacific Island States and the Government of the United States of America in the treaty area or in United States exclusive economic zones bordering the treaty area.â€
This bill goes into effect immediately once it is signed into law.
Responding to Samoan press inquiries, Faleomavaega informed from
The vessels are foreign built so they are not eligible for a fishing endorsement. But the bill will allow our vessels to fish in the
The lack of an endorsement prevents our ships from fishing in the South Pacific Tuna Treaty convention area - around
â€So the bill tries to correct this and allows our boats to fish in these locations,†Faleomavaega said.