COOPERATION IN FISHERIES AND SURVEILANCE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT The Honorable Wesley W. Simina Speaker, Nineteenth Congress Federated States of Micronesia Fifth Regular Session, 2016 Dear Mr. Speaker: Your Committee on Resources and Development, to which was referred C.R. No. 19-121, entitled: A RESOLUTION TO RATIFY THE AGREEMENT ON STRENGTHENING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NIUE TREATY ON COOPERATION IN FISHERIES AND SURVEILLANCE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC REGION (THE AGREEMENT )., begs leave to report as follows: The intent and purpose of the resolution are expressed in its title. Congressional Resolution No. 19-121 is a resolution to ratify the Niue Treaty Subsidiary Agreement (NTSA) to further strengthen the implementation of the Niue Treaty on cooperation in fisheries and surveillance and law enforcement in the South Pacific Region. This subsidiary agreement is called the Agreement on Strengthening Implementation of the Niue Treaty on Cooperation in Fisheries Surveillance and Law Enforcement in the South Pacific.
Historical background of the NTSA The Pacific Islands Forum leaders recognized the ongoing challenge in combating illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing (IUU fishing) in the Pacific region and the need to strengthen the current surveillance and enforcement mechanisms in the region. In this regard, the leaders and ministers, during the 2009 Pacific Islands Forum, directed fisheries experts, law enforcement officers, and justice ministers to come up with new legal arrangements for strengthened monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) mechanisms to protect the IUU fishing in the Pacific region. In July 2010, the Parties to the Niue Treaty formed the Niue Treaty Drafting Group to develop a Multilateral Subsidiary Agreement under the Niue Treaty on Cooperation in Fisheries Surveillance and Law Enforcement in the region. After a series of tedious work of the Niue Treaty Drafting Group (from 2010 to mid-2014), the NTSA was developed. The text of the NTSA addresses both of the issues requested by leaders and ministers: (i) the cross-vesting of enforcement powers to enable cooperative surveillance and enforcement activities the cross vesting of enforcement powers is explained in the text of the NTSA, which provides for flexible cooperation in conducting a broad range of cooperative surveillance and enforcement activities, ranging from at-sea patrols and aerial surveillance to the provision of investigation and follow-up assistance, and the conduct of port inspections. The NTSA establishes the Niue Treaty Information System (NTIS), which contains the authority and information received from the Parties, which are necessary to conduct -2-
cooperative fisheries surveillance and law enforcement activities. (ii) the exchange of fisheries law enforcement data and the use of fisheries data for broader law enforcement purposes the NTSA establishes a minimum standard of data and intelligence that is to be exchanged for fisheries purposes. Also the NTSA establishes optional mechanisms which the Parties may use to share fisheries data and intelligence for broader law enforcement purposes and to receive relevant information from broader law enforcement agencies or organizations. The NTSA was finalized in November 2012, and adopted by the Parties to the Niue Treaty and opened for signature and ratification. On Monday, September 26, 2016, your Committee on Resources and Development held a public hearing on the said resolution. Witnesses included the Executive Director of the National Oceanic Resource Management Authority (NORMA), the Chief of Compliance of NORMA and one of the Assistant Attorney Generals from the Department of Justice. Your Committee inquired who were the members that have already ratified the NTSA. According to the witnesses, Cook Islands, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu have ratified the NTSA. An additional seven parties have signed and are awaiting ratification (Australia, the FSM, New Zealand, Niue, PNG, RMI and the Solomon Islands). The FSM signed the NTSA on February 1, 2013. Three nations did not sign the NTSA (Fiji, Kiribati and Tokelau). -3-
There were no clear justifications as to why Fiji, Kiribati and Tokelau did not sign the NTSA. Comments received during the hearing indicated that the issue with Tokelau may be its limited capacity. For Kiribati, it is a nation that often zealously guards its fisheries activities. Fiji, according to witnesses, may have issues with Australia and New Zealand. The NTSA came into force on July 30, 2014, and there is ongoing work towards its implementation. Once the FSM ratifies the NTSA, appropriate in-country training would need to take place. NORMA already has a Cooperative Service Level Agreement with the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA). By virtue of this agreement, the FFA will provide training to the relevant officials in using the NTIS database. Your Committee further inquired what if the FSM failed to ratify this NTSA. If a member does not ratify the NTSA, then it may not access the sharing of information of the data base. NORMA supports the ratification of the NTSA in order to better streamline ongoing MCS work in the region and not to further delay or circumvent MCS effectiveness in the region. The NTSA gives stronger implementation weight to the original treaty. Your Committee wishes to offer a technical amendment to the resolution as follows: 1. Page 2, line 14, delete Second, and insert Fifth and delete 2015 and insert 2016 in lieu thereof. -4-
CONCLUSION Your Committee on Resources and Development is in accord with the intent and purpose of C.R. No. 19-121, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as C.R. No. 19-121,C.D.1. Respectfully submitted, /s/ David W. Panuelo David W. Panuelo, chairman /s/ Alik L. Alik Alik L. Alik, vice chairman /s/ Victor V. Gouland Victor V. Gouland, member Florencio S. Harper, member /s/ Berney Martin Berney Martin, member /s/ Joseph J. Urusemal Joseph J. Urusemal, member /s/ Robson U. Romolow Robson U. Romolow, member -5-