WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Friday, the President signed H.R. 6452 into law. The “Ensuring Access to Pacific Fisheries Act” implements the Convention on the Conservation and Management of High Seas Fisheries Resources in the North Pacific Ocean, the Convention on the Conservation and Management of High Seas Fishery Resources in the South Pacific Ocean, and the amendments to the Convention on Future Multilateral Cooperation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries.

“The President has signed hard-fought legislation to expand fisheries access, improve management and assert U.S. expertise and leadership on important international policy and regulatory matters. Congresswoman Aumua Amata, along with others in the House and Senate, diligently elevated the importance of this issue to American Samoa’s fishing fleets and other regions and worked tirelessly to advance this bill into law,” Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) said. 



Amata said, “I could not be happier to see that the President has signed the Ensuring Access to Pacific Fisheries Act into law. We worked for nearly two years on this legislation that is so important to our fishing industry, particularly in my home district of American Samoa, and I look forward to the positive impacts it will have for our fishing community.

“I want to thank my colleagues on the committee including Don Young and Chairman Bishop as well as our leadership in the House for their assistance in getting this bill through Congress. I also want to thank the numerous staff members who put in many late nights to get this bill signed into law,” she said.

The Committee held a legislative hearing on H.R. 6452 on March 1, 2016 and passed the bill on July 13, 2016.