Number: 1991-15
WHEREAS, large-scale pelagic drift net fishing is a method of fishing with a net or combination of nets intended to be held in a vertical position by floats and weights, whose purpose is to enmesh squid and fish by drifting on the surface of or in the water, and is a highly indiscriminate and wasteful method of fishing; and
WHEREAS, in addition to the targeted species of fish, non-targeted species of fish, seabirds and marine mammals, along with other marine resources of the world’s oceans and seas, become entangled and die in large-scale pelagic drift nets, either by those in active use or by those that have been lost or discarded; and
WHEREAS, there are more than one thousand fishing vessels, primarily from Japan, Korea and Taiwan, using this type of large-scale drift net in the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean and other areas of the high seas; and
WHEREAS, this style of net is fished at various depths and may reach or exceed 30 miles in length; and
WHEREAS, scientific data is now available from the National Marine Fisheries Service which was collected by a joint U. S., Canadian and Japanese observer program, resulting from three bilateral agreements the U. S. successfully negotiated in 1989 in accordance with the “Driftnet Monitoring and Control Act” passed in 1987 regarding the collection of data from high seas drift net fishing; and
WHEREAS, the data collected produced statistically reliable estimates of incidentally killed fish, seabirds and marine mammals, supporting the world-wide concern for the severe impacts of large-scale drift net fishing on the world’s ocean resources; and
WHEREAS, with such alarming waste, the number of marine animals that are destroyed using this type of fishing methodology reaches into the millions; and
WHEREAS, in accordance with the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea, there is a responsibility of all members of the international community to ensure the conservation and management of the living marine resources along with the protection and preservation of the biodiversity existing within the marine systems of their exclusive economic zones; and
WHEREAS, there is serious concern, particularly of coastal states with high fishing interests, that when living marine resources are overexploited in the high seas adjacent to the exclusive economic zones of the coastal states, it is likely to have adverse impacts on the same resources within such zones, and in this regard, there must be responsibility for cooperation in accordance with the relevant articles of the Convention on the Law of the Sea; and
WHEREAS, even though many countries in the South Pacific have already implemented a stop to large-scale drift net fishing and developed effective management programs, the North Pacific is now one of the major focal points for the fishing effort; and
WHEREAS, the U. S. has been the major supporter behind the U.N. resolution 44-255 banning the use of large-scale pelagic drift net fishing by 1992; and
WHEREAS, even though the U. S. Government, through recent passage of the drift net provisions of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act, is supportive of a ban on this type of fishing, there has not been an effective effort made from the State Department to act on the urgency of this issue;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation in annual meeting assembled March 21-24, 1991, in Memphis, Tennessee, urges the United States, acting through the Secretary of State, to press for an immediate moratorium on the world-wide practice of large-scale, high seas, pelagic drift net fishing; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation urges the Secretary of State to prioritize this issue and develop an international strategy that will be strong and effective in eliminating the practice of this method of fishing world-wide; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation urges advocacy efforts world-wide to unify and strengthen the call for the global ban on this fishing practice.