North Pacific Fisheries Convention Implementation Act
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North Pacific Fisheries Convention Implementation Act
This bill authorizes the Department of Commerce to promulgate regulations to implement the Convention on the Conservation and Management of the High Seas Fisheries Resources in the North Pacific Ocean for the United States, which was adopted in Tokyo, Japan, on February 24, 2012. (The Convention establishes a regional fisheries management organization to ensure the long-term conservation and sustainable use of the fisheries resources while protecting the marine ecosystems in the Convention Area.)
The United States has to be represented on the North Pacific Fisheries Commission by five commissioners that are selected in accordance with the requirements of the bill.
Commerce must develop a memorandum of understanding with the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council, the Pacific Fishery Management Council, and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to clarify the role of each Council with respect to participating in or working with U.S. delegations to international fishery organizations and making recommendations related to fishery resources in the Convention Area.
The Department of State's authority and responsibilities with respect to the Commission is established.
Any regulation promulgated by Commerce to implement a measure adopted by the Commission that would govern a straddling stock under the authority of a Council must be approved by the Council. A straddling stock is a stock of fisheries resources which migrates between, or occurs in, the economic exclusion zone of one or more parties to the Convention and the Convention Area.
Commerce and the Department of Homeland Security have to administer and enforce the bill, except to the extent otherwise provided for in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
Certain fishing and shipping acts in the Convention Area are prohibited.
Commercial fishing vessels must meet certain notification requirements before entering or transiting the exclusive economic zone of the Convention Area, if the vessels do not carry vessel monitoring systems capable of communicating with U.S. enforcement authorities.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on July 28, 2015. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on August 31, 2015: Referred to the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 114th Congress (2015-16), 329 of the 10,233 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.2 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
DON YOUNG (R-AK) introduced it on July 28, 2015. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on July 28, 2015, 4062 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4028 days ago, on August 31, 2015.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 114th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2017 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers