“The Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Secretary of State, shall—“(1) initiate discussions as soon as possible for the purpose of developing bilateral or multilateral agreements with other nations for the prohibition on shark-finning;
“(2) initiate discussions as soon as possible with all foreign governments which are engaged in, or which have persons or companies engaged in shark-finning, for the purposes of—“(A) collecting information on the nature and extent of shark-finning by such persons and the landing or transshipment of shark fins through foreign ports; and
“(B) entering into bilateral and multilateral treaties with such countries to protect such species;
“(3) seek agreements calling for an international ban on shark-finning and other fishing practices adversely affecting these species through the United Nations, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Committee on Fisheries, and appropriate regional fishery management bodies;
“(4) initiate the amendment of any existing international treaty for the protection and conservation of species of sharks to which the United States is a party in order to make such treaty consistent with the purposes and policies of this section;
“(5) urge other governments involved in fishing for or importation of shark or shark products to fulfill their obligations to collect biological data, such as stock abundance and by-catch levels, as well as trade data, on shark species as called for in the 1995 Resolution on Cooperation with FAO with Regard to study on the Status of Sharks and By-Catch of Shark Species; and
“(6) urge other governments to prepare and submit their respective National Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks to the 2001 session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries, as set forth in the International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks.
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