Saving Seafood

Hillary Clinton Reveals Her Ocean Policies

August 30, 2016 — In response to a letter sent by 115 ocean leaders to the leading presidential candidates, Secretary Clinton has released a two-page response on what she will do to protect our coast and ocean. With just over two months until the election this marks the first time in the campaign where a candidate has fully addressed the daunting issues confronting America’s public seas.

In her letter on August 27 she lays out a range of solutions she says she will act on if elected including growing the “Blue Economy,” supporting coastal adaptation to climate change, ending international pirate fishing, expanding sustainable and transparent U.S. fishing and seafood practices and ratifying the Law of the Seas Convention that has been held up by the U.S. Senate for over 20 years.

Read the full story and letter at Blue Frontier

President Obama signs new IUU fishing law

November 8, 2015 — Pirate fishing legislation signed into law by President Obama on Nov. 5 opens access to better protection for domestic fishermen from illegal competition from illegally harvested fish entering U.S. ports and markets.

A statement issued from the White House said that the United States will now join in a global effort to ratify and implement the Port State Measures Agreement, which will prevent vessels carrying fish caught illegally from entering American ports, keep illegal product out of domestic markets and demonstrate America’s continued leadership in the global fight against IUU fishing.

Of the 25 countries needed for the treaty to enter into force, more than half have signed and the U.S. will continue to work closely with its partners around the world to finalize this treaty, the statement said.

President Obama signed H.R. 774, the Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing Enforcement Act of 2015, in the wake of congressional approval of the legislation several years in the making.

Secretary of State John Kerry on Oct. 23 hailed the U.S. Senate’s unanimous approval of the bill, saying that he would continue to urge them to join the Port State Measures Agreement as well. 
”And because we know that no single nation can possibly police the entire sea, we’ll also begin to implement Sea Scout, an initiative I announced earlier this month at the Our Ocean conference in Chile,” he said.

“Sea Scout is aimed at enhancing global coordination, information sharing, and ultimately enforcement on IUU fishing from pole to pole and across the equator, to help ensure that no patch of it is beyond the law.”

Read the full story at The Cordova Times