§8031 Interagency Working Group on IUU fishing

Summary

Creates a federal working group to fight illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing around the world. The group has a rotating chair who changes every 3 years between the Department that runs the Coast Guard (through the Commandant), the Secretary of State, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (through the Administrator). There are 2 deputy chairs from different departments than the chair, chosen from the Coast Guard, State, and NOAA. Twelve members are appointed from these agencies: Department of Defense, U.S. Navy, USAID, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Justice, Department of the Treasury, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Federal Trade Commission, Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, and Department of Labor. One or more intelligence community members are appointed by the Director of National Intelligence. Five members are appointed by the President from the National Security Council, Council on Environmental Quality, Office of Management and Budget, Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the U.S. Trade Representative. The group must coordinate a whole-of-government response to IUU fishing. It must help agencies identify, stop, investigate, prosecute, and dismantle IUU fishing operations and those who knowingly benefit. It must improve and standardize information sharing and import data, set maritime information standards, and figure out how military assets and intelligence can help enforcement. It must increase maritime awareness, support other countries in using the Port State Measures Agreement and assess their training needs, promote shiprider agreements, work with partner governments, industry, and NGOs, support international efforts to share certified vessel data, back procedures under the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act, and publish yearly reports with nonsensitive summaries of its investigation, enforcement, and prosecution work.