Eastern Pacific Ocean Tuna Fishing Agreement, San Jose, 1983

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The Contracting Parties to this Agreement,

Resolved to cooperate for the purpose of ensuring the conservation and rational utilization of tuna resources in the eastern Pacific Ocean;

Bearing in mind that tuna cover a broad area which, in the eastern Pacific Ocean, includes jurisdictional zones of a varying nature declared by the Coastal States and a considerable portion of the seas in which Coastal States do not exercise any jurisdiction;

Recognizing that a tuna conservation regime for the eastern Pacific Ocean cannot be effective and equitable unless it is comprehensive and has the participation of all States that fish tuna in that region on a meaningful scale in relation to conservation requirements;

Convinced that it is essential to establish, pending conclusion of a comprehensive regional tuna conservation regime, an interim regime taking into account the jurisdictional zones declared by many Coastal States of the eastern Pacific Ocean as well as the highly migratory character of tuna;

Have agreed as follows:

The Contracting Parties agree to establish an interim regime for the management of fishing activities of tuna vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean, based on a scheme for granting licenses in the region, which guarantees rational exploitation of the resources and equitable access to the fishing areas.

For the purpose of this Agreement, the Contracting Parties agree that:

(A) ‘Coastal States’ means States bordering the area described in paragraph (B) of this Article.

(B) The ‘Agreement Area’ means the following:

From the point on the mainland where the parallel of 40 degrees North latitude intersects the coast westward along the parallel of 40 degrees North latitude to 40 degrees North latitude by 125 degrees West longitude, thence southerly along the meridian of 125 degrees West longitude to 20 degrees North latitude by 125 degrees West longitude, thence easterly along the parallel of 20 degrees North Latitude to 20 degrees North latitude by 120 degrees West longitude, thence southerly along the meridian of 120 degrees West longitude to 5 degrees North latitude by 120 degrees West longitude, thence easterly along the parallel of 5 degrees North latitude to 5 degrees North latitude by 110 degrees West longitude, thence southerly along the meridian of 110 degrees West longitude to 10 degrees South latitude by 110 degrees West longitude, thence easterly along the parallel of 10 degrees South latitude to 10 degrees South latitude by 90 degrees West longitude, thence southerly along the meridian of 90 degrees West longitude to 30 degrees South latitude by 90 degrees West longitude, thence easterly along the parallel of 30 degrees South latitude to the point on the mainland where the parallel intersects the coast, excluding the areas within 12 nautical miles of the baseline from which the breadth of territorial sea is measured and those areas within 200 nautical miles of the baselines of Coastal States not signatories to this Agreement, measured from the same baseline. The Agreement Area may be adjusted according to the provisions of ARTICLE III (B).

(C) The species of tuna subject to this Agreement are:

yellowfin tuna, Thunnus albacares (Bonnaterre, 1788); bigeye tuna, Thunnus obesus (Lowe, 1839); albacore tuna, Thunnus alalunga (Bonnaterre, 1788); northern bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus (Linnaeus, 1758); southern bluefin tuna, Thunnus maccoyil (Castelnau, 1872); skipjack tuna, Katsuwonus pelamis (Linnaeus, 1758); black skipjack, Euthynnus Lineatus (Kishinouye, 1920); kawakawa, Euthynnus affinis (Cantor, 1849); bullet tuna, Auxis rochei (Risso, 1810); frigate tuna, Auxis thazard (Lacepede, 1800); eastern Pacific bonito, Sarda chiliensis (Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1831); and Indo-Pacific bonito, Sarda orientalis (Temminck and Schlegel, 1844).

(A) The Contracting Parties agree to establish a Council to implement this agreement. The Council shall be composed of representatives of the Contracting Parties which are Coastal States or are members of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) at the time that this Agreement enters into force. Each such Contracting Party may appoint one representative and up to three alternate representatives to the Council, but each such party shall have only one vote. All Council decisions shall be adopted by unanimous agreement of such Contracting Parties present when the vote is taken, provided that at least five such Contracting Parties are represented.

(B) The Council shall have authority:

1. To issue licenses in accordance with Article IV;

2. To appoint the National Authority designated by any Contracting Party to issue licenses in accordance with this Agreement;

3. To appoint a Director, and to provide the resources to pay for his services and those of any needed staff, by contract or other arrangements;

4. To approve the proposed budget which shall be submitted annually to the Council by the Director;

5. To authorize the Director to request and utilize the services and resources of any competent international agency and organization;

6. To establish license fees within limits prescribed in the Protocol to this Agreement;

7. To disburse annually the revenue produced by the license fees in accordance with the Protocol to this Agreement;

8. To request reports from any competent international agency or organization on the status of any stocks of tuna in the Agreement Area, and to take such reports into account to promote the establishment of a comprehensive regional tuna conservation regime comprised of all States that fish tuna in the eastern Pacific Ocean on a meaningful scale in relation to conservation requirements;

9. To establish regulations for the effective implementation of this Agreement;

10. To adjust the boundaries of the Agreement Area, in accordance with recommendations by the Director.

(C) When the Council decides, based on scientific data contained in a report of any competent international agency or organization, that there is urgent necessity to conserve tuna resources, the Contracting Parties shall enter into consultations among themselves, and with States that are not Contracting Parties and fish tuna in the eastern Pacific Ocean on a meaningful scale in relation to conservation requirements.

(D) In addition to actions taken in accordance with paragraph (C), whenever the Contracting Parties include all States that fish tuna in the eastern Pacific Ocean on a meaningful scale in relation to conservation requirements, pending conclusion of a comprehensive regional tuna conservation regime in which all such States participate, the Council may make interim conservation recommendations concerning tuna resources. Such recommendations shall be based on the reports referred to in paragraph (B)(8), and shall be consistent with and not supercede the obligations of any Contracting Party pursuant to any relevant multilateral conservation agreement.

(E) The Council shall meet ordinarily once a year, and extraordinarily at the request of the Director or representatives of two Contracting Parties.

(F) The Director shall carry out duties set forth in this Agreement and as otherwise prescribed by the Council. The Director shall be responsible to the Council.

(G) The Contracting Parties shall request their licensed vessels to cooperate with any competent international agency or organization to facilitate the collection of appropriate data.

(H) Any authority not expressly provided to the Council is reserved to the Contracting Parties.

(A) The Contracting Parties agree to the issuance of licenses permitting access to fishing in the Agreement Area. Licensing authority shall be vested in the Council.

(B) The Contracting Parties agree that, in order to fish in the Agreement Area for any of the species of tuna designated in Article II, vessels flying their flags shall be required to have a valid license, issued in accordance with this Agreement.

(C) License fees shall be established according to the provisions of the Protocol to this Agreement.

(D) The Council, through the Director or an appointed National Authority, shall issue licenses directly to owners or their representatives of the flag vessels of the Contracting Parties in accordance with the Protocol to this Agreement.

Any Contracting Party may require only those vessels flying its own flag to utilize the services of its National Authority appointed by the Council.

(A) The Contracting Parties agree not to prohibit the importation of tuna and tuna products from another Contracting Party, as a result of any enforcement action by that Contracting Party consistent with this Agreement, as long as such Party is acting in conformity with this Agreement.

(B) Each Contracting Party shall adopt, as soon as possible, such provisions in its national law as may be necessary to ensure that its own flag vessels comply with the provisions of this Agreement and its Protocol.

Any State not included in Article VII may become a Contracting Party by adhering to this Agreement after unanimous approval by the Council.

This Agreement shall enter into force 30 days after the deposit of the fifth instrument of ratification or adherence by a Coastal State. In the case of any State that deposits its instrument of ratification or adherence after the Agreement has entered into force, this Agreement shall enter into force for such State 30 days after the date on which such State has deposited said instrument.

The instruments of ratification or adherence shall be deposited with the Government of Costa Rica, at the Ministry of Foreign Relations and Worship.

If during any period after entry into force there are fewer than five Contracting Parties that are Coastal States, the provisions of this Agreement shall not apply for such remaining Contracting Parties during such period, but this Agreement shall not terminate.

Any Contracting Party may, at any time after two years from the date on which this Agreement was entered into force for such Party, withdraw from this Agreement upon giving written notice to the Ministry of Foreign Relations and Worship of Costa Rica. If such notice is received by the Government of Costa Rica no later than October 1 of any year, it shall become effective on December 31 of that year. Any such notice received after October 1 of any year shall become effective on December 31 of the following year.

The provisions of this Agreement do not prejudice the positions of the Contracting Parties regarding internal waters, territorial seas, exclusive economic zones, fishery conservation zones, high seas, or sovereign rights or jurisdiction for any other purpose.

The Contracting Parties, recognizing the interim nature of this Agreement and the highly migratory character of the tuna resource, agree to continue their efforts to establish a new regional regime for the conservation, management, and orderly exploitation of tuna resources in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

The Contracting Parties, in view of their mutual interest in the effective implementation of the measures provided by this Agreement, undertake to cooperate to the extent possible in their tuna fisheries relations in the eastern Pacific Ocean, pending the issuance of licenses pursuant to this Agreement.

This Agreement shall be open for signature from March 15, 1983, until such time as the depositary shall receive the instrument of ratification or adherence of a fifth Coastal State.

In witness whereof, the undersigned plenipotentiaries, duly authorized by their respective governments, have signed this Agreement.

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Done at San Jose, Costa Rica, on March 15, 1983, in the Spanish and English languages, both texts being equally authentic, and will remain with the depository, that will provide certified copies of both texts to all signatory States.