16 U.S.C. § 8003

Current through P.L. 118-106 (published on www.congress.gov on 10/04/2024)

Section 8003 - Statement of policy

It is the policy of the United States__¹

(1) to take action to curtail the global trade in seafood and seafood products derived from IUU fishing, including its links to forced labor and transnational organized illegal activity;

(2) to develop holistic diplomatic, military, law enforcement, economic, and capacity-building tools to counter IUU fishing;

(3) to provide technical assistance to countries in priority regions and priority flag states to combat IUU fishing, including assistance-

(A) to increase local, national, and regional level capacities to counter IUU fishing through the engagement of law enforcement and security forces;

(B) to enhance port capacity and security, including by supporting other countries in working toward the adoption and implementation of the Port State Measures Agreement;

(C) to combat corruption and increase transparency and traceability in fisheries management and trade;

(D) to enhance information sharing within and across governments and multilateral organizations through the development and use of agreed standards for information sharing; and

(E) to support effective, science-based fisheries management regimes that promote legal and safe fisheries and act as a deterrent to IUU fishing;

(4) to promote global maritime security through improved capacity and technological assistance to support improved maritime domain awareness;

(5) to engage with priority flag states to encourage the use of high quality vessel tracking technologies where existing enforcement tools are lacking;

(6) to engage with multilateral organizations working on fisheries issues, including Regional Fisheries Management Organizations and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, to combat and deter IUU fishing;

(7) to advance information sharing across governments and multilateral organizations in areas that cross multiple jurisdictions, through the development and use of an agreed standard for information sharing;

(8) to continue to use existing and future trade agreements to combat IUU fishing;

(9) to employ appropriate assets and resources of the United States Government in a coordinated manner to disrupt the illicit networks involved in IUU fishing;

(10) to continue to declassify and make available, as appropriate and practicable, technologies developed by the United States Government that can be used to help counter IUU fishing;

(11) to recognize the ties of IUU fishing to transnational organized illegal activity, including human trafficking and illegal trade in narcotics and arms, and as applicable, to focus on illicit activity in a coordinated, cross-cutting manner;

(12) to recognize and respond to poor working conditions, labor abuses, and other violent crimes in the fishing industry;

(13) to increase and improve global transparency and traceability along the seafood supply chain as-

(A) a deterrent to IUU fishing; and

(B) an approach for strengthening fisheries management and food security; and

(14) to promote technological investment and innovation to combat IUU fishing.

¹So in original. Probably should be "States-".

16 U.S.C. § 8003

Pub. L. 116-92, div. C, title XXXV, §35343534,, 133 Stat. 2000.

IUU fishing: The term "IUU fishing" means illegal fishing, unreported fishing, or unregulated fishing (as such terms are defined in paragraph 3 of the International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter, and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, adopted at the 24th Session of the Committee on Fisheries in Rome on March 2, 2001).
Port State Measures Agreement: The term "Port State Measures Agreement" means the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter, and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing set forth by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, done at Rome, Italy November 22, 2009, and entered into force June 5, 2016, which offers standards for reporting and inspecting fishing activities of foreign-flagged fishing vessels at port.
food security: The term "food security" means access to, and availability, utilization, and stability of, sufficient food to meet caloric and nutritional needs for an active and healthy life.
transnational organized illegal activity: The term "transnational organized illegal activity" means criminal activity conducted by self-perpetuating associations of individuals who operate transnationally for the purpose of obtaining power, influence, or monetary or commercial gains, wholly or in part by illegal means, while protecting their activities through a pattern of corruption or violence or through a transnational organizational structure and the exploitation of transnational commerce or communication mechanisms.