This Agreement requires parties to the Agreement to take measures for the management and conservation of tuna within the framework of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission and to take prescribes measures to limit total incidental dolphin mortality in the purse-seine tuna fishery in the Agreement Area to no more than 5,000 annually. The Agreement Area comprises the area of the Pacific Ocean bounded by the coastline of North, Central and South America as defined in Annex I. This Agreement aims at: (a) progressively reducing incidental dolphin mortalities in the tuna purse-seine fishery in the Agreement Area to levels approaching zero, through the setting of annual limits and within this goal, seeking ecologically sound means of capturing large yellowfin tunas not in association with dolphins; and (b) ensuring the long-term sustainability of the tuna stocks in the Agreement Area. Each Party shall establish a National Scientific Advisory Committee and implement at national level the necessary measures to ensure the implementation of and compliance with this Agreement. The Agreement defines the functions of the International Review Panel (IRP), established pursuant to the La Jolla Agreement and specifies requirements that member states shall meet within the framework of the La Jolla Agreement.
Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, México, Nicaragua, Panamá, Perú, El Salvador, Estados Unidos de América, Venezuela (República Bolivariana de) · 1998-05-15