For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 16, 2005
Message to the United States Senate Regarding Antigua Convention
TO THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES:
With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate to
ratification, I transmit herewith the Convention for the Strengthening
of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission established by the 1949
Convention between the United States of America and the Republic of
Costa Rica, with Annexes, (the "Antigua Convention"), which was adopted
on June 27, 2003, in Antigua, Guatemala, by the Parties to the 1949
Convention. The United States signed the Antigua Convention on
November 14, 2003. I also transmit, for the information of the Senate,
the report of the Secretary of State with respect to the Antigua
Convention, with an enclosure.
The Antigua Convention sets forth the legal obligations and
establishes the cooperative mechanisms necessary for the long term
conservation and sustainable use of the highly migratory fish stocks
(such as tuna and swordfish) of the Eastern Pacific Ocean that range
across extensive areas of the high seas as well as through waters under
the fisheries jurisdiction of numerous coastal States. Once in force,
the Antigua Convention will replace the original 1949 Convention
establishing the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC).
Revisions to the 1949 Convention will strengthen the mandate of the
IATTC to reflect changes in the law governing living marine resources
since the adoption of the original Convention more than 50 years ago.
The highly migratory fish stocks governed by the Antigua Convention
constitute an important economic resource for the countries of the
region and vital components of the marine ecosystem of the Eastern
Pacific Ocean requiring careful conservation and management. Early
entry into force and implementation of the Antigua Convention will
offer the opportunity to strengthen conservation and management of
these resources in important ways, including through enhanced efforts
to ensure compliance and enforcement of agreed conservation and
management measures.
The Antigua Convention draws upon relevant provisions of the 1982
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (the "LOS Convention")
and the 1995 United Nations Agreement on the Conservation and
Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks
(the "U.N. Fish Stocks Agreement"). The Antigua Convention gives
effect to the provisions of the LOS Convention and U.N. Fish Stocks
Agreement that recognize as essential, and require cooperation to
conserve highly migratory fish stocks through regional fishery
management organizations, by those with direct interests in them -
coastal States with authority to manage fishing in waters under their
jurisdiction and those nations and entities whose vessels fish for
these stocks.
The United States, which played an instrumental role in negotiation
of the revised Convention, has direct and important interests in the
Antigua Convention and its early and effective implementation. United
States fishing concerns, including the U.S. tuna industry, U.S.
conservation organizations, and U.S. consumers, as well as those people
who reside in those U.S. States bordering the Convention Area, have
crucial stakes in the health of the oceans and their resources as
promoted by the Antigua Convention.
I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration
to the Antigua Convention and give its advice and consent to
ratification.
GEORGE W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE,
May 16, 2005.
# # #
|