Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Convention Amendments Act

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Convention Amendments Act

(Sec. 2) This bill permanently reauthorizes and amends the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Convention Act of 1995, which provides for: (1) the implementation of the Convention on Future Multilateral Cooperation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries, done in Ottawa on October 24, 1978 (1978 Convention); and (2) the management and conservation of fish in the convention area (specified waters in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean). The Convention on Cooperation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries, which was adopted in Lisbon on September 28, 2007, is implemented as well. The 2007 Convention amends the 1978 Convention.

(Sec. 8) The bill applies to all fish, mollusks, and crustaceans within the convention area, excluding: (1) sedentary species over which coastal states may exercise sovereign rights consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 (1982 Convention), and (2) anadromous and catadromous stocks and highly migratory species managed under other international treaties and listed in the 1982 Convention.

The bill also applies to vessels engaged in fishing activities, including fish harvesting vessels, fish processing vessels, vessels engaged in transshipment of fishery resources, and vessels engaged in experimental or exploratory fishing activities.

(Sec. 10) The bill repeals provisions requiring the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish and report on a new quota allocation practice.