Agreement with Canada on Pacific hake/whiting : message from the President of the United States transmitting agreement between the government of the United States of America and the government of Canada on Pacific hake/whiting (the "agreement"), done at Seattle, November 21, 2003 Page: v
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LETTER OF SUBMITTAL
DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
Washington, April 19, 2004.
The PRESIDENT,
The White House.
THE PRESIDENT: I have the honor to submit to you, with a view
to its transmission to the Senate for advice and consent to ratifica-
tion, the Agreement between the Government of the United States
of America and the Government of Canada on Pacific Hake/Whiting
done at Seattle November 21, 2003 (the "Agreement").
The Agreement establishes, for the first time, agreed percentage
shares of the transboundary stock of Pacific whiting, also known as
Pacific hake. It also creates a process through which U.S. and Ca-
nadian scientists and fisheries managers will determine the total
catch of hake each year, to be divided by the percentage formula.
Stakeholders from both countries will have significant input into
this process.
Since the late 1970s, scientists from the United States and Can-
ada have generally reached informal agreement on an annual over-
all total allowable catch (TAC) for the transboundary stock of Pa-
cific hake. The two countries have conducted joint stock assess-
ments every three years, and have agreed informally on certain
stock management measures, but not the most important one: how
to divide the TAC between U.S. and Canadian fisheries. The
United States has generally claimed 80% of the allowable catch,
while Canada has taken 30%. This situation, coupled with other
factors, led to a decline in the stock. In 2002, for the first time, the
Department of Commerce declared the stock to be "overfished."
U.S. and Canadian officials have been attempting since the early
1990s to reach agreement on a percentage share. Following re-
sumed talks in 2002, both sides agreed in principle in April 2003
to the text of a new long-term management and sharing arrange-
ment.
The new agreement formalizes past scientific and stock assess-
ment collaboration through the creation of two new science bodies:
a Joint Technical Committee, charged with producing an annual
stock assessment, and a Scientific Review Group to provide peer re-
view of the technical committee's work. These groups will include
scientists appointed by each Party, as well as independent mem-
bers referred by a panel of private sector advisors. A third body,
the Joint Management Committee, will consider the scientific ad-
vice and recommend to the Parties each year an overall total allow-
able catch.
Most importantly, the agreement establishes a default harvest
policy and assigns 73.88% of the TAC to the United States and
(V)
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United States. President (2001-2009 : Bush) & Powell, Colin L. Agreement with Canada on Pacific hake/whiting : message from the President of the United States transmitting agreement between the government of the United States of America and the government of Canada on Pacific hake/whiting (the "agreement"), done at Seattle, November 21, 2003, text, Date Unknown; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc31106/m1/5/: accessed May 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .