South Pacific Tuna Treaty Act of 2025

The bill would amend the South Pacific Tuna Act of 1988 to bring U.S. law into conformance with 2016 amendments to the South Pacific Tuna Treaty, which governs mutual obligations between the United States and 16 Pacific Island countries when U.S. purse seine fishing vessels operate in the region. Key changes include updated definitions of core terms such as "Closed Area," "Licensing Area," and "Fishing Vessel"; new prohibitions against violating regional terms and conditions and fishing effort or catch limits; revised licensing application and fee procedures; and a rewritten confidentiality framework for fishing-related information. The bill also repeals certain existing exceptions and observer provisions, and rewrites the technical assistance section to authorize broader forms of support to Pacific Island Parties.

The bill would not establish a new treaty or alter U.S. treaty obligations directly — it updates the domestic implementing statute to match treaty obligations already agreed upon internationally. Most changes are conforming amendments that remove outdated references to specific treaty articles or annexes and replace them with more flexible operational language.

U.S. owners and operators of commercial purse seine tuna fishing vessels licensed to fish in the South Pacific Licensing Area; the 16 Pacific Island Party nations that are treaty partners; the Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of State who administer the treaty domestically; fishery management councils; and observers and other federal employees involved in enforcement and treaty administration.

U.S. fishing vessel operators have been operating under a domestic law that no longer fully reflects the treaty's current terms since the 2016 amendments. Updating the statute would clarify what is prohibited, how licenses are obtained and conditioned, and what information must be kept confidential — reducing legal ambiguity for vessels fishing under treaty-issued licenses and for Pacific Island nations enforcing their national fisheries laws against U.S. vessels.

The Secretary of Commerce would administer most provisions, including establishing license application procedures, setting conditions for forwarding applications to the Treaty Administrator, and determining when applications should be withheld. The Secretary of State would be consulted on license denials and technical assistance to Pacific Island Parties. Confidential fishing data collected under the treaty would be protected from public disclosure except in specified circumstances such as court orders, enforcement, homeland security support, or fishery management. The bill removes prior mandatory reporting timelines and gives the Secretary discretionary authority to establish review procedures for additional fishing access agreements.