Sec. 3295. Report on countering illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in Oceania
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It is the sense of Congress that— many countries of the Oceania region depend on commercial tuna fisheries as a critical component of their economies; the Government of the People’s Republic of China has used its licensed fishing fleet to exert greater influence in Oceania, but at the same time, its licensed fishing fleet is also a major contributor to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (in this section referred to as IUU fishing ) activities; the sustainability of Oceania’s fisheries is threatened by IUU fishing, which depletes both commercially important fish stocks and non-targeted species that help maintain the integrity of the ocean ecosystem; in addition, IUU fishing puts pressure on protected species of marine mammals, sea turtles, and sea birds, which also jeopardizes the integrity of the ocean ecosystem; further, because IUU fishing goes unrecorded, the loss of biomass compromises scientists’ work to assess and model fishery stocks and advise managers on sustainable catch levels; beyond the damage to living marine resources, IUU fishing also contributes directly to illegal activity in the Oceania region, such as food fraud, smuggling, and human trafficking; current approaches to IUU fishing enforcement rely on established methods, such as vessel monitoring systems, logbooks maintained by government fisheries enforcement authorities to record the catches landed by fishing vessels, and corroborating data on catches hand-collected by human observer programs; such established methods are imperfect because— vessels can turn off monitoring systems and unlicensed vessels do not use them; and observer coverage is thin and subject to human error and corruption; maritime domain awareness technology solutions for vessel monitoring have gained credibility in recent years and include systems such as observing instruments deployed on satellites, crewed and uncrewed air and surface systems, aircraft, and surface vessels, as well as electronic monitoring systems on fishing vessels; maritime domain awareness technologies hold the promise of significantly augmenting the current IUU fishing enforcement capacities; and maritime domain awareness technologies offer an avenue for addressing key United States national interests, including those interests related to— increasing bilateral diplomatic ties with key allies and partners in the Oceania region; countering illicit trafficking in arms, narcotics, and human beings associated with IUU fishing; advancing security, long-term growth, and development in the Oceania region; supporting ocean conservation objectives; reducing food insecurity; and countering attempts by the Government of the People’s Republic of China to grow its influence in the Oceania region.
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Commandant of the Coast Guard, and the Secretary of Defense, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report assessing the use of advanced maritime domain awareness technology systems to combat IUU fishing in Oceania. The report required by paragraph
(1)shall include— a review of the effectiveness of existing monitoring technologies, including electronic monitoring systems, to combat IUU fishing; recommendations for effectively integrating effective monitoring technologies into a Oceania-wide strategy for IUU fishing enforcement; an assessment and recommendations for the secure and reliable processing of data from such monitoring technologies, including the security and verification issues; the technical and financial capacity of countries of the Oceania region to deploy and maintain large-scale use of maritime domain awareness technological systems for the purposes of combating IUU fishing and supporting fisheries resource management; a review of the technical and financial capacity of regional organizations and international structures to support countries of the Oceania region in the deployment and maintenance of large-scale use of maritime domain awareness technology systems for the purposes of combating IUU fishing and supporting fisheries resource management; an evaluation of the utility of using foreign assistance, security assistance, and development assistance provided by the United States to countries of the Oceania region to support the large-scale deployment and operations of maritime domain awareness systems to increase maritime security across the region; and an assessment of the role of large-scale deployment and operations of maritime domain awareness systems throughout Oceania to supporting United States economic and national security interests in the Oceania region, including efforts related to countering IUU fishing, improving maritime security, and countering malign foreign influence.