Sec. 3. Caribbean and Latin America Maritime Security Initiative
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The Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of State, and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies shall cooperate to carry out a program, to be known as the Caribbean and Latin America Maritime Security Initiative , in support of strengthening maritime security partnerships in the Caribbean and Latin America using assets of the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and other relevant Federal departments and agencies, as determined necessary. The goals of the program required under subsection
(a)shall be, to the extent practicable— to enhance cooperation between personnel of the Coast Guard, the Department of Defense, other relevant Federal departments and agencies, and, where appropriate, the maritime forces of countries that are allies and partners of the United States in the Caribbean and Latin America; to strengthen the participation and coordination of the Coast Guard and, where appropriate, the Department of Defense and other relevant Federal departments and agencies, in regional organizations dedicated to coordination and cooperation in support of the fisheries policies that align with customary international law and United States standards, ocean conservation, maritime security, and related initiatives of the Caribbean and Latin America; to enhance partner country— maritime domain awareness; capability to perform fisheries management and law enforcement activities within their exclusive economic zones, including through international coordination; and legal capacity to develop and enforce effective domestic laws and regulations, including those necessary to implement international legal commitments, effectively protect the marine environment, and combat IUU fishing; to increase the capabilities of the Coast Guard personnel and other relevant Federal departments and agencies authorized to address IUU fishing to support law enforcement, maritime protection, and capacity-building initiatives in the Caribbean and Latin America; to support partner country access to, or acquisition of, capabilities to improve maritime domain awareness, improve the ability to monitor fisheries and other marine resources, and strengthen natural disaster warning and response; to encourage Caribbean and Latin American flag states to mandate the use of vessel tracking technologies, including vessel monitoring systems, automatic identification systems, or other vessel movement monitoring technologies on fishing vessels and transshipment vessels flagged by these countries and foreign vessels authorized to operate in their exclusive economic zones at all times, as appropriate, while at sea as a means to identify IUU fishing activities and the shipment of illegally caught fish products; and to document instances of private commercial entities or government owned fishing vessels fishing without authorization in the exclusive economic zones of countries in the Caribbean and Latin America. Under the program required by subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies shall jointly assess opportunities to combat IUU fishing by expanding, as appropriate, the use of the following mechanisms with respect to countries in the Caribbean and Latin America: The systematic inclusion of counter-IUU fishing as a mission in existing maritime law enforcement agreements concerning operational cooperation to suppress illicit transnational maritime activity to which the United States is a party. Entering into such agreements that include counter-IUU fishing as an objective with countries with which the United States has not already entered into such an agreement. The inclusion of counter-IUU fishing as part of the mission of the Combined Maritime Forces. The inclusion of Coast Guard-led counter-IUU fishing exercises in the annual Department of Defense-led at-sea exercises conducted with partner countries in the Caribbean and Latin America, including, if appropriate, participation by other relevant United States agencies. The Secretary of Defense may designate the program required by subsection
(a)under section 331(b) of title 10, United States Code, as an operation for which support may be provided under such section to countries in the Caribbean and Latin America Security Initiative, if the support will be provided solely to governmental organizations of recipient countries for which maritime security is among their functional responsibilities. Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Secretary of Commerce shall jointly submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that includes the following: A review of the ongoing efforts of the United States to develop the institutional capacity of partner countries in the Caribbean and Latin America to prosecute cases involving IUU fishing under their existing laws or through relevant international legal instruments, guidance, and institutions governing environmental protection, territorial sovereignty, and maritime law. An estimate of the number of vessels flying flags of convenience in the Caribbean and Latin America, the scope of the problems caused by the flying of such flags, and an analysis of actions that could be taken by the United States in conjunction with partner countries to deter the flying of such flags. An assessment of the authorities and resources needed to support the institutional capacity building of partner countries to mitigate the flying of flags of convenience. An assessment of actions that could be taken by the Department of State with other relevant Federal departments and agencies to partner with relevant international organizations to mitigate IUU fishing, including international legal coordination and data sharing, enforcement practices, and holding flag States responsible for IUU fishing practices. An assessment of actions that could be taken by the United States to partner with relevant nongovernmental organizations to promote awareness of the ramifications of IUU fishing and to work with Caribbean and Latin American states to build legal authorities needed to prosecute cases involving IUU fishing and enforce fishery conservation and management measures. An assessment of actions that could be taken by the United States to highlight the IUU fishing behavior of vessels flagged to countries, including China, and the harm caused by IUU fishing to partner countries and to the environment. A review of ongoing efforts by the United States to promote maritime security, environmental protection, and fisheries sustainability in the Caribbean and Latin America. For each maritime law enforcement agreement or other agreement relevant to international cooperation and law enforcement on fisheries issues entered into with any country in the Caribbean or Latin America— an identification of the countries party to the agreement; an identification of the fiscal year during which the agreement was entered into; and a description of the contents of the agreement. A review of institutional barriers, including authorities to enter into maritime law enforcement agreements and funding needed to execute maritime law enforcement agreements, within Federal departments. An assessment of how many interdictions and high seas boarding and inspections of fishing vessels for suspected IUU fishing activities occurred during the 12-month period preceding the date of the enactment of this Act in the geographic areas of responsibility of United States Northern Command and United States Southern Command. The number of counter-IUU fishing missions completed by allies and partners in the Caribbean and Latin America with support from the Department of Defense or the Coast Guard during the 12-month period preceding the date of the enactment of this Act. A review of the total number of vessels engaged in suspected IUU fishing detected in the Caribbean and Latin America by the United States or its allies and partners and the country of origin for each such vessel during the calendar year preceding the date of the enactment of this Act. An assessment of any additional authorities necessary, including the expansion or modification of international cooperation agreements, treaties, and other legal vehicles, to enhance the efficacy of the Caribbean and Latin America Maritime Security Initiative. In this section: The term appropriate congressional committees means— the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Natural Resources, the Committee on Financial Services, the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the Committee on Banking, the Committee on Armed Services, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate. The term the Caribbean and Latin America means any of the following countries, territories, and bodies of water: The Gulf of Mexico. The Bahamas. Antigua and Barbuda. Argentina. Barbados. Belize. Bolivia. Brazil. Chile. Colombia. Costa Rica. Dominica. Dominican Republic. Ecuador. El Salvador. Grenada. Guatemala. Guyana. Haiti. Honduras. Jamaica. Nicaragua. Panama. Paraguay. Peru. Saint Kitts and Nevis. Saint Lucia. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Suriname. Trinidad and Tobago. Turks and Caicos. Uruguay. The term exclusive economic zone means, with respect to a country, the zone contiguous to the territorial sea, as designated by the country— that extends a maximum distance of 200 nautical miles from the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured, in accordance with international law; and where the country has, to the extent permitted by international law— sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring, exploiting, conserving, and managing natural resources, both living and non-living, of the seabed and subsoil and the superjacent waters and with regard to other activities for the economic exploitation and exploration; and jurisdiction with regard to the establishment and use of artificial islands, and installations and structures having economic purposes, and the protection and preservation of the marine environment. The term illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing or IUU fishing means the activities described as IUU fishing in paragraph 3 of the 2001 Food and Agriculture Organization International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing. The term marine protected area means any area of intertidal or subtidal terrain, together with its overlying water and associated flora, fauna, historical and cultural features, that has been reserved by law or other effective means to protect part or all of the enclosed environment. The term fly a flag of convenience with respect to a vessel means the registry of the vessel under the flag of a nation other than the nation of citizenship or incorporation of the beneficial owner of the vessel in order to profit from less restrictive regulations.