Treaty on Fisheries between the Governments of Certain Pacific Islands States and the Government of the United States of America, 1987.

After several years of negotiations, representatives of the United States and certain Pacific island states who are members of the South Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency Convention, 1979, signed a five year regional fisheries treaty which entered into force on June 15, 1988. All sixteen Pacific island countries and the United States of America have ratified it. The Treaty sets forth conditions on United States of America fishing in the region and guarantees annual technical assistance to help the island states develop their own fishing industries. This Treaty is believed to be the first successful collective treaty negotiation between a regional organization grouping the coastal states of the region and a long distance fishing country. The Treaty defines the rights and obligations of the contracting parties. Of particular interest is article 4 which sets out the duties and responsibilities of the flag state (United States of America) in the event of one of its vessels infringing the terms of the Treaty. These include the appointment by the United States of America of an agent with authority to receive and respond to any legal process issued by a Pacific island party in respect of an operator of any fishing vessel of the United States of America. Annex I of the Treaty deals with the applicable national laws and the compliance with them, the closed and limited areas to fishing, the reporting procedures. The national laws deemed to be applicable for the purposes of the Treaty are listed in schedule 1 which may be amended from time to time. Annex II is devoted to the licensing system and the conditions for denial of license. Schedule 2 of the annex fixes the amounts payable annually for a period of five years.