Marine Resources Management— Thompson 289 



production was increased first by adding more vessels to the 

 fleet, then, when the nearby banks were exhausted, by extend- 

 ing operations to more and more distant banks. By 1910 this 

 growing and more efficient fleet was operating in the Gulf of 

 Alaska, and a few years later covered the entire range of halibut 

 from Bering; Sea to California. The annual catch was main- 

 tained during this period of expansion, effectively hiding the 

 successive depletion of bank after bank, but production de- 

 clined sharply when it was no longer possible to increase the 

 exploited area. 



It was evident that the supply of halibut was not inexhausti- 

 ble, and the need for conservation became more and more 

 apparent. Since this fishery from the very beginning was prose- 

 cuted by the nationals of both Canada and the United States, 

 there was increasing insistence on the part of the halibut in- 

 dustry for joint action by the two Governments. It was not 

 until 1923, however, that a treaty for this purpose was signed. 

 An International Commission was established and empowered 

 to investigate and recommend measures for the preservation of 

 the resource. These investigations revealed that the fishery was 

 in a very unsound condition; that landings were being made 

 only by constant increases in fishing intensity. It was shown 

 that where once 300 pounds of halibut were taken on a standard 

 unit of gear, the yield on the southern banks had fallen by 

 1930 to 35 pounds, and on the western banks to 65 pounds. 

 Information was obtained concerning the age at maturity, the 

 migrating habits, and the independence of the various stocks 

 of halibut. Recommendations based on these and other find- 

 ings led to a revision of the treaty in 1930 to authorize the Com- 

 mission to regulate the fishery. Regulations issued annually 

 since 1930, have divided the convention waters into areas, 

 limited the catch of halibut to be taken from each, fixed the 

 type of gear to be used, closed grounds found to be populated 

 by small immature fish, and required submission of statistics 

 necessary for administering catch limits and for determining 

 the condition of the fishery. 



These regulations, guided by investigations, stopped the 



