LEGAL ANALYSIS 95 



an equal basis between the United States and Canadian fishermen. 

 With long periods of no fishing followed by short periods of intense 

 fishing, the ability to chart the various runs as they progress is made 

 very diflftcult; a more sustained fishing effort, spread over most of 

 the week, would greatly aid in predicting the run and insuring both 

 the proper kind of escapement and, further, the proper division of 

 the catch. 



In addition to these strictly biological factors which constitute 

 a basis for legislative action, there are certain related consequences 

 which have an inter-mixture of economics. These, in turn, have a 

 most important effect upon the sociological considerations which are 

 also the proper subject for legislative concern. These, too, are the 

 result of intense fishing effort expended for very limited periods of 

 time. When the requirements of escapement dictate that the fisher- 

 men operate only two or three days a week, as is frequently the case 

 under the present scheme, several undesirable consequences flow. 



There is some reason to think that the enforced limitations upon 

 gear have stood in the way of development of new techniques and 

 equipment. Such devices and methods as monofilament line for gill 

 nets and airplane and electronic locating have had to be prohibited 

 for the rather odd reason that they would catch fish better than 

 the old methods and equipment. Similarly, the rather difficult way 

 for making a living which a two-or-three-day-a-week fishing schedule 

 enforces or produces is likewise somewhat discouraging to the invest- 

 ment in new boats and gear. 



Were those engaged in the fishing industry to have only their 

 local associates for competitors, perhaps these factors would not 

 be serious. But the complications which are bound to arise from 

 foreign competition will become acute. Consider the following: 

 the rapid improvement and expansion of Russian and Japanese 

 fisheries, the attitude of the United States as a whole to encourage 

 foreign trade by lowering or eliminating tariffs and other obstacles, 

 the current and increasing practice of catching salmon on the high 

 seas, and the increasing competition among fish products. Certainly, 

 when the legislature considers these threats to the continued economy 

 of the state and tries to plan to meet the new situation as it develops, 

 it would seem to be the best of wisdom for the legislature to take 

 whatever steps it considers necessary to encourage American fisher- 

 men. The current experience in England also furnishes the legislators 

 with an object lesson, for England's long-protected, inefficient local 



