NMMA urges passage of Law of Sea Treaty
CHICAGO – The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) has issued an action alert urging its members to contact members of Congress and ask them to support passage of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), NMMA said in a statement today.
UNCLOS is an international treaty governing the use and exploitation of the world’s oceans that became international law in 1994. But although there are 143 parties to the convention, which has widespread domestic support, the United States has yet to ratify the treaty, NMMA reported.
However, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted unanimously last month to send the treaty to the full Senate for consideration. A coalition of boating industry groups supports passage, but treaty opponents are urging Senate majority leader Bill Frist to delay a vote, according to NMMA.
NMMA believes UNCLOS would be good for the recreational marine industry because it secures the ability of marine manufacturers to freely export their products, and it helps protect the nation’s aquatic resources for all recreational boaters and anglers to enjoy.
“Ratification will strengthen the domestic economy, secure international trade and commercial mobility, bolster national security, and establish for the first time an international legal framework of balanced environmental protection,” NMMA said in its alert.
NMMA asks that people take action by visiting the NMMA B.O.A.T. Web site.
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