§ 6909a. United States conservation, management, and enforcement objectives

The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State, in the course of negotiations, shall seek—

• (1) to minimize any disadvantage to United States fishermen in relation to other members of the Commission;
• (2) to maximize the opportunities for fishing vessels of the United States to harvest fish stocks on the high seas in the Convention area, recognizing that such harvests may be restricted if the Commission, based on the best available scientific information provided by the Scientific Committee, determines it is necessary to achieve the conservation objective set forth in Article 2 of the Convention;
• (3) to prevent any requirement for the transfer to other nations or foreign entities of the fishing capacity, fishing capacity rights, or fishing vessels of the United States or its territories, unless any such requirement is voluntary and market-based; and
• (4) to ensure that conservation and management measures take into consideration traditional fishing patterns of fishing vessels of the United States and the operating requirements of the fisheries covered by the Western and Central Pacific Convention.