The Fisheries Conventions

with a view to allowing, as nearly as may be practicable, an equal portion of the fish that may be caught each year to be taken by the fishermen of each High Contracting Party.

ARTICLE VIII

Each High Contracting Party shall be responsible for the enforcement of the orders and regulations adopted by the Commission under the authority of this Convention, in the portion of its waters covered by the Convention.

Except as hereinafter provided in Article IX of this Convention, each High Contracting Party shall be responsible, in respect of its own nationals and inhabitants and vessels and boats, for the enforcement of the orders and regulations adopted by the Commission, under the authority of this Convention, on the High Seas embraced in paragraph numbered 1 of Article I of the Convention.

Each High Contracting Party shall acquire and place at the disposition of the Commission any land within its territory required for the construction and maintenance of hatcheries, rearing ponds, and other such facilities as set forth in Article III.

ARTICLE IX

Every national or inhabitant, vessel or boat of the United States of America or of the Dominion of Canada, that engages in sock-eye salmon fishing on the High Seas embraced in paragraph numbered 1 of Article I of this Convention, in violation of an order or regulation adopted by the Commission, under the authority of this Convention, may be seized and detained by the duly authorized officers of either High Contracting Party, and when so seized and detained shall be delivered by the said officers, as soon as practicable, to an authorized official of the country to which such person, vessel or boat belongs, at the nearest point to the place of seizure, or elsewhere, as may be agreed upon with the competent authorities. The authorities of the country to which a person, vessel or boat belongs alone shall have jurisdiction to conduct prosecutions for the violation of any order or regulation, adopted by the Commission in respect of fishing for sockeye salmon on the High Seas embraced in paragraph numbered 1 of Article I of this Convention, or of any law or regulation which either High Contracting Party may have made to carry such order or regulation of the Commission into effect, and to impose penalties for such violations; and the witnesses and proofs necessary for such prosecutions, so far as such witnesses or proofs are under the control of the other High Contracting Party, shall be furnished with all reasonable promptitude to the authorities having jurisdiction to conduct the prosecutions.

ARTICLE X

The High Contracting Parties agree to enact and enforce such legislation as may be necessary to make effective the provisions of this Convention and the orders and regulations adopted by the Commission under the authority thereof, with appropriate penalties for violations.

ARTICLE XI

The present Convention shall be ratified by the President of the United States of America, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof, and by His Majesty in accordance with constitutional practice, and it shall become effective upon the date of the exchange of ratifications which shall take place at Washington as soon as possible and shall continue in force for a period of sixteen years, and thereafter until one year from the day on which either of the High Contracting Parties shall give notice to the other of its desire to terminate it.

In witness whereof, the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the present Convention, and have affixed their seals thereto.

Done in duplicate at Washington on the twenty-sixth day of May, one thousand nine hundred and thirty.

AND WHEREAS the said Convention has been duly ratified on both parts, and the ratifications of the two Governments were exchanged in the city of Washington on the twenty-eighth day of July, one thousand nine hundred and thirty-seven; AND WHEREAS the said Convention was ratified by the United States of America subject to three understandings, made a part of the ratification, as follows:

(1) That the International Pacific Salmon Fisheries Commission shall have no power to authorize any type of fishing gear contrary to the laws of the State of Washington or the Dominion of Canada;

(2) That the Commission shall not promulgate or enforce regulations until the scientific investigations provided for in the convention have been made, covering two cycles of Sockeye Salmon runs, or eight years; and

(3) That the Commission shall set up an Advisory Committee composed of five persons from each country who shall be representatives of the various branches of the industry (purse seine, gill net, troll, sport fishing, and one other), which Advisory Committee shall be invited to all non-executive meetings of the Commission and shall be given full opportunity to examine and to be heard on all proposed orders, regulations or recommendations.

AND WHEREAS the aforesaid three understandings have been accepted by the Government of Canada, as is recorded in the Protocol of Exchange of ratifications of the said Convention;

Now, THEREFORE, be it known that I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, have caused the said Convention to be made public, to the end that the same and every article and clause thereof may be observed and fulfilled with good faith by the United States of America and the citizens thereof, subject to the three understandings herein recited.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed.

DONE at the city of Washington this fourth day of August in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and thirty-seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and sixty-second.

[SEAL]

By the President:

FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT

CORDELL HULL
Secretary of State.

PROTOCOL OF EXCHANGE

The undersigned the Secretary of State of the United States of America and the Canadian Minister at Washington met this day for the purpose of exchanging ratifications of the convention between the United States of America and Canada for the protection, preservation and extension of the sockeye salmon fisheries of the Fraser River System, signed at Washington on May 26, 1930.

The Secretary of State of the United States of America stated that the convention is ratified on the part of the United States of America subject to the three understandings contained in the resolution of the Senate of the United States of America advising and consenting to ratification, a copy of which resolution was communicated to the Secretary of State for External Affairs of Canada by the Minister of the United States of America at Ottawa in his note of July 7, 1936. These three understandings are as follows:

(1) That the International Pacific Salmon Fisheries Commission shall have no power to authorize any type of fishing gear contrary to the laws of the State of Washington or the Dominion of Canada;

The Canadian Minister stated that he was authorized by his Government to state that it accepted the foregoing understandings.

The exchange then took place in the usual manner.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF they have signed the present protocol and have affixed their seals hereto.

Done at Washington this twenty-eighth day of July, 1937.

[Treaty Series, No. 917]

PRESERVATION OF HALIBUT FISHERY OF NORTHERN PACIFIC OCEAN AND BERING SEA

CONVENTION BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND CANADA REVISING THE CONVENTION OF MAY 9, 1930 (TREATY SERIES, No. 837)

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

A PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS a Convention between the United States of America and Canada, revising the Convention for the preservation of the halibut fishery of the northern Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea, signed at Ottawa, May 9, 1930, was concluded and signed by their respective Plenipotentiaries at Ottawa, on the twenty-ninth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and thirty-seven, the original of which Convention is word for word as follows:

The President of the United States of America,

And His Majesty the King of Great Britain, Ireland, and the British dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India, in respect of the Dominion of Canada.

Desiring to provide more effectively for the preservation of the halibut fishery of the northern Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea, have resolved to conclude a convention revising the convention for the preservation of that fishery signed on their behalf at Ottawa on May 9, 1930, and have named as their plenipotentiaries for that purpose,

The President of the United States of America:

Norman Armour, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Canada; and

His Majesty, for the Dominion of Canada:

The Right Honourable William Lyon Mackenzie King, Prime Minister and Secretary of State for External Affairs;

Who, after having communicated to each other their respective full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed upon the following articles:

ARTICLE I

The nationals and inhabitants and fishing vessels and boats of the United States of America and of Canada, respectively, are hereby prohibited from fishing for halibut (Hippoglossus) both in the territorial waters and in the high seas off the western coasts of the United States of America, including the southern as well as the western coasts of Alaska, and of Canada, from the first day of November next after the date of the exchange of ratifications of this Convention to the fifteenth day of the following February, both days inclusive, and within the same period yearly thereafter.

The International Fisheries Commission provided for by Article III is hereby empowered, subject to the approval of the President of the United States of America and of the Governor General of Canada, to suspend or change the closed season provided for by this Article, as to part or all of the convention waters, when it finds after investigation such suspensions or changes are necessary, and to permit, limit, regulate, and prohibit in any area or at any time when fishing for halibut is prohibited, the taking, retention and landing of halibut caught incidentally to fishing for other species of fish, and the possession during such fishing of halibut of any origin.

It is understood that nothing contained in this Convention shall prohibit the nationals or inhabitants or the fishing vessels or boats of the United States of America or of Canada, from fishing in the waters hereinbefore specified for other species of fish during the season when fishing for halibut in such waters is prohibited by this Convention or by any regulations adopted in pursuance of its provisions.

It is further understood that nothing contained in this Convention shall prohibit the International Fisheries Commission from conducting fishing operations for investigation purposes at any time.

ARTICLE II

Every national or inhabitant, vessel or boat of the United States of America or of Canada engaged in halibut fishing on the high seas in violation of this

Convention or of any regulation adopted under the provisions thereof may be seized by the duly authorized officers of either High Contracting Party and detained by the officers making such seizure and delivered as soon as practicable to an authorized official of the country to which such person, vessel or boat belongs, at the nearest point to the place of seizure, or elsewhere, as may be agreed upon. The authorities of the nation to which such person, vessel or boat belongs alone shall have jurisdiction to conduct prosecutions for the violation of the provisions of this Convention, or any regulations which may be adopted in pursuance of its provisions, and to impose penalties for such violations; and the witnesses and proofs necessary for such prosecutions, so far as such witnesses or proofs are under the control of the other High Contracting Party, shall be furnished with all reasonable promptitude to the authorities having jurisdiction to conduct the prosecutions.

Each High Contracting Party shall be responsible for the proper observance of this Convention, or of any regulation adopted under the provisions thereof, in the portion of its waters covered thereby.

ARTICLE III

The High Contracting Parties agree to continue under this Convention the Commission as at present constituted and known as the International Fisheries Commission, established by the Convention for the preservation of the halibut fishery, signed at Washington, March 2, 1923, and continued under the Convention signed at Ottawa, May 9, 1930, consisting of four members, two appointed by each Party, which Commission shall make such investigations as are necessary into the life history of the halibut in the convention waters and shall publish a report of its activities from time to time. Each of the High Contracting Parties shall have power to fill, and shall fill from time to time, vacancies which may occur in its representation on the Commission. Each of the High Contracting Parties shall pay the salaries and expenses of its own members, and joint expenses incurred by the Commission shall be paid by the two High Contracting Parties in equal moieties.

The High Contracting Parties agree that for the purposes of protecting and conserving the halibut fishery of the Northern Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea, the International Fisheries Commission, with the approval of the President of the United States of America and of the Governor General of Canada, may, in respect of the nationals and inhabitants and fishing vessels and boats of the United States of America and of Canada, from time to time,

(a) divide the convention waters into areas;

(b) limit the catch of halibut to be taken from each area within the season during which fishing for halibut is allowed;

(c) prohibit departure of vessels from any port or place, or from any receiving vessel or station, to any area for halibut fishing, after any date when in the judgment of the International Fisheries Commission the vessels which have departed for that area prior to that date or which are known to be fishing in that area shall suffice to catch the limit which shall have been set for that area under section (b) of this paragraph;

(d) fix the size and character of halibut fishing appliances to be used in any

area;

(e) make such regulations for the licensing and departure of vessels and for the collection of statistics of the catch of halibut as it shall find necessary to determine the condition and trend of the halibut fishery and to carry out the other provisions of this Convention;

(f) close to all halibut fishing such portion or portions of an area or areas as the International Fisheries Commission find to be populated by small, immature halibut.

ARTICLE IV

The High Contracting Parties agree to enact and enforce such legislation as may be necessary to make effective the provisions of this Convention and any regulations adopted thereunder, with appropriate penalties for violations thereof.

ARTICLE V

The present Convention shall remain in force for a period of five years and thereafter until two years from the date when either of the High Contracting Parties shall give notice to the other of its desire to terminate it.

This Convention shall, from the date of the exchange of ratifications, be deemed to supplant the Convention for the preservation of the halibut fishery signed at Ottawa, May 9, 1930.

ARTICLE VI

This Convention shall be ratified in accordance with the constitutional methods of the High Contracting Parties. The ratifications shall be exchanged at Ottawa as soon as practicable, and the Convention shall come into force on the day of the exchange of ratifications.

In faith whereof, the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the present Convention in duplicate, and have hereunto affixed their seals.

Done at Ottawa on the twenty-ninth day of January, in the year one thousand nine hundred and thirty-seven.

AND WHEREAS the said Convention has been duly ratified on both parts, and the ratifications of the two Governments were exchanged in the city of Ottawa, on the twenty-eighth day of July, one thousand nine hundred and thirty-seven; Now, THEREFORE, be it known that I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, have caused the said Convention to be made public, to the end that the same and every article and clause thereof may be observed and fulfilled with good faith by the United States of America and the citizens thereof. IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed.

[SEAL]

By the President:
CORDELL HULL

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

Secretary of State.

AN EXTENSION OF THE PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION

Dr. CHAPMAN. I might say briefly, too, that these three conventions under consideration are an extension and an implementation of the President's proclamation, issued in 1945 which we are submitting as appendix IV of my statement-it had a considerably longer history behind it-in which President Truman said, in effect: (1) The United States may establish conservation zones on the high seas for the purpose of protecting its coastal fisheries from overfishing; (2) where only American fishermen are concerned, the United States may do this unilaterally; where fishermen of other nations are also concerned, the United States may do this in conjunction with such other nations, and (3), the United States recognizes the right of other nations to take similar steps to protect their coastal fisheries.

These three conventions are for the purpose of implementing that policy and to extend conservation jurisdiction over the areas of the high seas that are involved, so that the resources there may be fully utilized.

BENEFIT TO THE UNITED STATES

The benefit of these three treaties to the United States is quite considerable. It might be pointed out that in the tuna fisheries involved, last year there were landed more than 300,000,000 pounds of tuna. Tuna is a high-priced fish. Tuna is rather essential to the economy of San Diego and important in the economy of San Pedro and Astoria. It is, all told, very important to the west coast. The fisheries lie almost entirely south of the United States boundary.

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