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are modeled closely upon the principles of the United States-Canadian Halibut Convention of 1923, as revised in 1930 and 1937, and on those of the United StatesCanadian Sockeye Salmon Convention of 1937. In addition, the conventions represent practical applications of the Presidential proclamation of September 28, 1915, concerning the policy of the United States with respect to the establishment of fishery-conservation zones in certain areas of the high seas.

The Halibut Convention of 1923 between the United States and Canada was brought about by the sharp decline in annual halibut catch beginning after 1915 when the catch reached an all-time high of 63,000,000 pounds. The convention established the International Fisheries Commission, composed of two United States and two Canadian members, provided for a closed season for halibut fishing, and required the Commission to conduct investigations into the life history of the halibut and make recommendations for the regulation of the fishery looking toward its preservation and development.

The years of investigation that followed resulted in recommendations for regulatory powers and, by a revised agreement between the two countries, which became effective in 1930, the Commission was given certain regulatory_powers. Again in 1937, on the basis of further investigation and experience, the Commission was given additional regulatory powers.

The results of the Halibut Convention justify it fully. In 1948, landings of halibut exceeded 55,000,000 pounds, an increase of 27 percent_over the catch taken by the fleet in 1932, the year before regulation began. In one area the catch per skate increased 71 percent in the 14-year period between 1932 and 1936, and in a second area 100 percent. The increase in abundance of the fish on the banks brought about not only an increase in yield from the banks, but a notable reduction in the fishing effort required to take the greater catch.

The Sockeye Salmon Convention of 1937 between the United States and Canada was the outgrowth of prolonged efforts on the part of the people of the State of Washington and the Province of British Columbia to establish a program for rehabilitation of the sockeye-salmon fishery that is dependent upon the runs that spawn in the Fraser River system of British Columbia. These salmon are taken by fishermen of both the United States and Canada in territorial waters and high seas off the respective coasts; hence both countries have an interest in conservation of the fishery, although the spawning grounds are all in Canadian territory.

Following a series of highly productive years beginning late in the nineteenth century and ending abruptly in 1913, the fishery decreased rapidly until by 1931 production reached stability at a level far below its known capacity. During the latest 4-year period 1943 to 1946, inclusive, 900,400 cases of sockeye salmon were packed, a decrease of more than 78 percent from the all-time high of more than 4,000,000 cases in 1899 to 1902. However, an even more serious picture is presented by the damage done to the large run of 1913. The sockeye salmon matures in 4 years and had developed an especially large run which reappeared once every 4 years. The pack in 1913, the last year in which this large run was undamaged, amounted to 2,393,000 cases; while the total pack for the 8 years during which the run has returned since that time has been only 1,763,000 cases. The sockeye-salmon conservation agreement includes the waters of the Fraser River system, the greater portion of the Straits of Juan de Fuca and Georgia, and certain areas of the territorial waters and high seas adjacent to the coasts of Canada and the United States. It established the International Pacific Salmon Fisheries Commission, composed of six members, three of which are appointed by each of the respective Governments. The commissioners hold office at the pleasure of the respective Governments.

The Commission is charged with the duty of investigating the natural history of the Fraser River sockeye salmon, hatchery methods, spawning-ground conditions, and other related matters. It is empowered to improve spawning grounds, construct and maintain hatcheries, and to stock waters of the fishery. It is also given authority to make recommendations to the two Governments for action to be taken regarding obstructions in the river system.

The Commission is further authorized to limit or prohibit the taking of sockeye salmon in the waters covered by the treaty and to prescribe the size of the meshes in fishing gear, with certain restrictions. Such restrictions as are promulgated must be made 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 country.

The most spectacular achievement of the Commission has been the removal of obstructions and construction of fishways at Hell's Gate Canyon and Bridge

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River Rapids in the Fraser River. During the early days of biological investigation of the sockeye, the Commission discovered that one of the primary causes of depletion of the runs was blockades in the river located at and above Hell's Gate Canyon. After many difficulties, construction work was completed in 1945. There was an immediate upsurge in the quantity of fish reaching the spawning grounds. Escapement to the spawning grounds increased by 300 to as much as 1,000 percent in the different streams above Hell's Gate Čanyon. The first of the large runs since completion of the fishways occurs this year. It is already, this early in the season, fulfilling expectations based on the upsurge of fish on the spawning grounds 4 years before. Already the substantial amounts of money and effort expended by the United States and Canada in this cooperative project have been justified. Return of the fishery to its former magnitude is not anticipated by the Commission, however, until several more life cycles have been completed, and until numerous other improvements have been made in the management of this resource.

In addition to its work at Hell's Gate, the Commission has developed comprehensive statistics of the catch, from past and current records; has defined the times of migration upriver for the various runs; has systematically examined all the spawning areas to determine the number spawned in each; has removed or overcome many other obstructions in the river system; and engaged in numerous activities of a similar nature.

Behind these two Commissions there is, therefore, a combined total of 38 years of successful history and experience. It is on this history and experience that the present proposed conventions are based.

The Presidential fisheries proclamation of September 28, 1945, in stating the policy of the United States with respect to the conservation of fisheries in certain areas of the high seas, laid down in effect the following three principles: (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 (appendix IV).

The conventions under reference are in effect practical applications of the proclamation to fisheries in which other nations besides the United States have interests.

BENEFITS TO THE UNITED STATES

The ultimate aim of the conventions is to conserve and perpetuate certain food resources of the seas of which the United States now annually harvests a substantial share. The benefits to the American people of the protection of a continuing food supply cannot fully be demonstrated in quantitative terms. But for those purposes it may be pointed out that more than 300,000,000 pounds of tuna were landed in California in 1948 from the tuna fisheries concerned in the conventions now before us. And, from the United States interest alone, there were in 1948, in the principal ports of Massachusetts, landed 573,000,000 pounds of fish, in major part composed of those species which will be the concern of the Commission to be set up under the Northwest Atlantic Convention.

INTERESTED ORGANIZATIONS IN THE UNITED

STATES-THEIR

VIEWS

While this subject will be developed in detail below, it may be pertinent at this point to state that all groups in the United States having interest in the fisheries concerned in the proposed conventions have been consulted step by step in the development of the Department's program for the negotiation of the conventions. In the instance of each convention, representatives of the interested States and of the fishing industry were included in the United States delegations negotiating the agreement. Representatives of industry acted also in each instance as unofficial advisers to the Department before and during the negotiations. A list of the groups and individuals concerned in such consultations is set forth in appendix II.

All these organizations favor the ratification of the conventions. To the best of the Department's knowledge, no group having interest in the fisheries concerned is opposed to the ratification of any of the three conventions.

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THE NORTHWEST ATLANTIC FISHERIES CONVENTION

History and background

The value of the fisheries of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean has been recognized since early in the history of the North American Continent. For centuries the nationals of North American and western and southern European countries have fished portions of this important area. As a result of the international interest

in certain fisheries of the area, a number of treaties dealing with accessory rights on shore and in adjacent waters have been developed and adjusted from time to time over the years. Until recently, however, consideration was not given to the desirability of formal international cooperation in the conservation and development of the fishery resources in question.

The increasing recognition of the seriousness of the existing and potential depletion of commercially important species of fish in the North Atlantic resulted in an international conference in London in 1937. It was, at that time, considered feasible to treat the entire North Atlantic as a single conservation unit. The International Convention for the Regulation of Meshes of Fishing Nets and the Size Limits of Fish, which was concluded at this conference, was accordingly designed to apply to the entire North Atlantic.

The 1937 convention did not enter into force and the British Government, therefore, convened other international conferences in London in October 1943 and April 1946 to reconsider this general problem. The United States participated at these international overfishing conferences with observer delegations, and after discussions with the other countries contiguous to the Northwest Atlantic, suggested that there were actually two areas in the North Atlantic which were readily separable because of the nationals concerned and the stocks of fish and problems involved. It was, therefore, proposed that consideration be given to the desirability of separate treatments for the Northeast and Northwest Atlantic. agreement of the 1946 Conference to this concept is evidenced by the fact that the convention which resulted from the work of the conference set the western boundary of the convention area at 42° west longitude. It is noted that the present convention, accordingly, sets the eastern boundary of the area to which it applies at 42° west longitude.

The

Since it had been agreed that it would be preferable to give separate consideration to the Northwest Atlantic, and in view of the particular interest of this country in the problem, this Government assumed the initiative in the development of a basic draft convention for the consideration of the nations interested in the fisheries of the Northwest Atlantic area.

In this connection the Senate, of its own initiative, provided special appropriations of $25,000 for each of the fiscal years 1948 and 1949. As a result of these appropriations a Northwest Atlantic fisheries treaty project was established by the Department of State during those fiscal years

In the development of a basic United States position frequent meetings were held with officials of the interested States of the United States, industry, and labor. After informal consultations with the other contiguous countries and correspondence with the nations currently interested in the fisheries of the area, the United States convened the international Conference at which the convention in question was concluded.

Need for international action

In its consideration of the need for international cooperative action, this Government has, of course, been particularly interested in the condition of those species in the Northwest Atlantic area fished by United States nationals. The backbone of the New England fishing industry is the otter trawl fishery. This fishery brings to port the various species of very valuable bottom-living fishes such as cod, haddock, rosefish, etc. At the present time, the stocks of certain of these species on the New England banks are at a low average level of abundance.

The abundance of marketable-sized haddock is now at an all time low. In an effort to continue bringing in haddock to satisfy the large demand, the industry has been forced to resort to fishing for immature fish. This development is extremely unfortunate, for although admittedly it is increasing the present catch to a certain extent, it is seriously decreasing the potential production of this fishery.

Fishing for rosefish has been very heavy in recent years, and the abundance of this fish has been gradually reduced to the point where United States vessels

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