Message to the Senate Transmitting Amendments to the 1987 Treaty on Fisheries Between the Governments of Certain Pacific Island States and the Government of the United States of America, With Annexes

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 Amendments to the Treaty on Fisheries between the Governments of Certain Pacific Island States and the Government of the United States of America, done at Port Moresby April 2, 1987, as amended (the "Treaty"), done at Nadi, Fiji, December 3, 2016. I also transmit, for the information of the Senate, the amendments to the Annexes to the Treaty and report of the Department of State with respect to the Treaty and a Memorandum of Understanding reflecting the parties' intent to provisionally apply certain amendments.

The objective of the Treaty is to provide United States purse seine vessels with fishing access to waters under the jurisdiction of 16 Pacific Island parties, and to provide a platform for broader cooperation between the parties. The Amendments update the Treaty's terms and conditions to promote more effective cooperation between parties and United States private-sector stakeholders. The Senate gave its advice and consent to prior amendments to the Treaty in 2003, but those amendments never entered into force. The Amendments my Administration is now submitting include some of those prior amendments.

The Treaty and its Amendments serve United States diplomatic and economic interests by promoting positive relations with the Pacific Island parties and allowing for the continued operation of the United States-flagged fishing fleet in the region. The Amendments are supported by both Pacific Island parties and United States industry stakeholders.

The recommended changes to the Treaty's implementing legislation, the South Pacific Tuna Act of 1988, to reflect the Amendments to the Treaty and its Annexes, will be submitted separately to the Congress.

I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration to the Amendments to this Treaty, and give its advice and consent to ratification.

DONALD J. TRUMP

The White House,

August 28, 2018.