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into force on June 15, 1988, and in 1992 the United States and the sixteen Pacific 

 Island parties agreed to extend the treaty arrangements through June 15, 2003. As 

 a result of the agreement, we now enjoy close, cooperative fisheries relations with 

 the nations of the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA). In fact, the treaty has come to 

 be much more than a fisheries agreement — it is a fundamental component of U.S. 

 relations with the Pacific Island states. It is not an exaggeration to say that the 

 treaty has become a cornerstone of U.S. relations with the countries of the region. 

 The treaty is also of significant benefit to the U.S. tuna industry, since it provides 

 fishing access on fair terms and conditions to nearly 10 million square miles of 

 ocean. The U.S. fieet has done an excellent job of following the rules and making 

 the treaty work from a practical point of view. 



While the treaty is of great importance to us, it is basically an access agreement. 

 It does not provide for conservation and management of the region's tuna stocks. 

 Also, there is no multilateral forum where fisheries matters can be discussed with 

 the full range of nations involved in the fisheries. So, there is something of an insti- 

 tutional gap which needs to be addressed. In this regard, a high level multilateral 

 fisheries conference is scheduled to take place in Honiara, Solomon Islands in De- 

 cember of this year. This conference will be the first time that all of the coastal 

 states and distant water fishing nations involved in the region have met together 

 to discuss fisheries issues of mutual interest. If the conference is successful, it will 

 establish some region-wide operational requirements in terms of reporting, observ- 

 ers, transshipment, etc. It will also begin a process of multilateral dialogue on fish- 

 eries conservation and management issues. While the islanders are reluctant to es- 

 tablish a formal mechanism Tor this, there is a need to move toward ensuring that 

 the fisheries resources in the region are not overfished. We are prepared to work 

 closely with the FFA and the Pacific Island States to ensure that the conference is 

 a success. 



Thank you very much. I would be happy to try to answer any questions you might 

 have. 



Senator Kerry. Thank you very much, Mr. Ambassador. Mr. Sec- 

 retary, do you have any statement? 



STATEMENT OF WILLIAM E. MARTIN, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SEC- 

 RETARY FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, NATIONAL OCEANIC 

 AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF 

 COMMERCE 



Mr. Marten. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the com- 

 mittee. It is a pleasure to be here today to testify along with Am- 

 bassador Colson and to discuss with you various international fish- 

 eries issues, most especially the United Nations Conference on 

 Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks. 



I would like to second Ambassador Colson's remarks about the 

 good working relations between the State Department and NOAA 

 in international fisheries areas. It has been a joint objective that 

 we have sought, and I think that it has worked very well recently. 



The U.N. conference began in August 1993, and another meeting 

 was held in March of this year. A third session will be held in the 

 last 2 weeks of next month. At the conclusion of the March meeting 

 the countries were split as to the result that they sought. Some fa- 

 vored a nonbinding U.N. resolution or declaration and some fa- 

 vored a binding treaty approach. The current chairman's negotiat- 

 ing text is more oriented toward a nonbinding type of approach. 

 However, in June of this year two informal intersessional meetings 

 were held among some key countries, and as a result of these meet- 

 ings, the U.N. conference has taken a new turn and now is moving 

 toward a binding international treaty. 



Initially, the United States was flexible in supporting the out- 

 come, either as a nonbinding U.N. declaration or as a binding trea- 

 ty. Recently, however, we have moved to a position of favoring a 



