FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 70, NO. 2 



(Leonard, 1944). The question of whether the 

 United States had an exclusive right to exploit 

 the salmon stocks was not discussed in legal 

 terms, but the general feeling among the Amer- 

 ican people was that these salmon really belong 

 to them. The above instance had a great impact 

 on the attitude of the Americans toward the de- 

 velopment of Japanese high seas fisheries after 

 the war. Another prewar issue, which affected 

 the reputation of Japan as a fishing nation, was 

 the abrogation of the 1911 fur seal treaty by 

 Japan.'" The Japanese government claimed, 

 without substantiating scientific evidence, that 

 the increase in the fur seal population as a re- 

 sult of protection provided by the treaty was 

 causing serious damage to their fisheries. 



As the question of Japanese fishing became 

 a very serious issue which might delay the con- 

 clusion of the peace treaty, the United States 

 and Japan agreed to deal with problems further 

 in an exchange of letters between the Japanese 

 Prime Minister (Shigeru Yoshida) and the 

 American Ambassador (John Foster Dulles) in 

 February 1951. The prime minister's letter 

 stated, ". . . the Japanese government will, as 

 soon as practicable after the restoration to it of 

 full sovereignty, be prepared to enter into nego- 

 tiations with other countries with a view to 

 establishing equitable arrangements for the de- 

 velopment and conservation of fisheries which 

 are accessible to the nationals of Japan and such 

 other countries. 



"In the meantime, the Japanese government 

 will, as a voluntary act, implying no waiver of 

 their international rights, prohibit their resident 

 nationals and vessels from carrying on fishing 

 operations in presently conserved fisheries in all 

 waters where arrangements have already been 

 made, either by international or domestic act, to 

 protect the fisheries from over-harvesting, and 

 in which fisheries Japanese nationals or vessels 

 were not in the year 1940 conducting operations. 

 Among such fisheries would be the salmon, hal- 

 ibut, herring, sardine, and tuna fisheries in the 

 waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Bering 

 Sea." (Fishery Agency of Japan, 1953.) 



'^ A notice was given in 1940 and the treaty term- 

 inated in 1941. To continue protective measures in the 

 northeast Pacific, a provisional agreement was made 

 between the United States and Canada. 



The question of fur seal was dealt with in an 

 exchange of memoranda in April 1951. The 

 Japanese memorandum stated, "The Japanese 

 government has no objection to the interpreta- 

 tion of Prime Minister Yoshida's letter of Feb- 

 ruary 7, 1951, as extending to pelagic fur sealing. 

 That is to say, pending the conclusion of a new 

 convention on the subject after the coming into 

 force of a peace treaty, the Japanese government 

 will, implying no waiver of their international 

 rights, voluntarily prohibit her nationals or ves- 

 sels from carrying on pelagic fur sealing in the 

 waters in question, and is moreover prepared 

 to enter into negotiations toward the conclusion 

 of a new convention." 



Despite strong pressure from some sectors of 

 the U.S. fishing industry, the United States gov- 

 ernment had managed not to include specific 

 fishery articles in the draft peace treaty, except 

 for Article 9 which set forth Japan's obligation 

 to enter into negotiations with Allied Powers 

 so desiring for the conclusion of bilateral and 

 multilateral agreements on high seas fisheries. 

 Negotiations for a tripartite fisheries convention 

 between Canada, Japan, and the United States 

 began on November 5, 1951, and were concluded 

 on December 14. The Japanese delegation was 

 shocked by the United States-Canada proposal 

 for adoption of the abstention principle, which 

 was an extreme form of resource allocation, not 

 so much because Japan would have to refrain 

 from fishing for North American salmon, hal- 

 ibut, and herring, but because of the potential 

 effects of the adoption of such a principle on 

 future fishery negotiations with other countries. 

 Japan had no choice, however, and the treaty" 

 was signed (on May 9, 1952) immediately after 

 the entering into force of the peace treaty (April 

 28, 1952).'= Except for those provided by the 

 North Pacific fisheries convention, all restric- 

 tions on Japanese high seas fishing were re- 

 moved. 



" International Convention for the High Seas Fish- 

 eries of the North Pacific Ocean. The ratification of 

 the treaty by Canada was delayed until 1953 due mainly 

 to objections from the fishermen's union on the Pacific 

 coast. 



'° Signed by 48 nations of the Allied Powers and 

 Japan. Two separate peace treaties were signed, one 

 with India and one with the Republic of China, both 

 entering into force in 1952. 



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