Foreign Large-Scale High Seas Driftnet Fishing

Section 206(e) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act requires annually that the Secretary of Commerce, after consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives a report describing and evaluating the steps taken by the United States to carry out the provisions of Section 206 regarding foreign large-scale high seas driftnet fishing.  The annual report describes actions taken by the United States each calendar year to implement the global driftnet moratorium called for by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 46/215 and to secure a permanent ban on the use of large-scale driftnets by persons or vessels fishing beyond the exclusive economic zone of any nation.  The National Marine Fisheries Service Office of International Affairs has produced the annual driftnet report since 1989.   

For additional information on large-scale high seas driftnet fishing, please contact Paul Niemeier (paul.niemeier@noaa.gov).