ECONOMIC BASIS 25 



highest yield consistent with the maintenance of the stock, and which 

 would bring to the participants the greatest net economic return. By 

 thus restricting the number of vessels, fishing could be conducted 

 continuously the year roiuid, or in the case of a species such as 

 salmon, during the entire period of a run so as to harvest a preset pro- 

 portion of all parts of each stock. Such a guiding objective would 

 also encourage continued improvement of the gear and methods of 

 operation so as continually to improve the efficiency of the harvest. 



In essence, therefore, the limitation of entry into a high seas fishery 

 is necessary to prevent the overcapitalization of the industry and to 

 obtain the greatest net economic benefit in the form of maximum 

 return on investment. It may be readily admitted that there are 

 serious problems in achieving this goal where there are t\vo or more 

 nations involved whose economic and social needs and pricing struc- 

 tures are different. But as between the two goals, maximum sustain- 

 able yield and maximum economic yield, the latter would clearly 

 seem the more desirable. 



The economic objective of maximizing "economic rent" developed 

 in the conferences reported by Crutchfield and Hamlisch was not 

 adopted in the North Pacific Treaty of 1953, nor in the 1958 or 

 1960 conferences on the Law of the Sea, and in this respect, in part, 

 the provisions for conservation of high seas fisheries made in the 

 North Pacific as ^vell as in the treaties ^vhich were formulated at 

 these United Nations conferences have been justly criticized by 

 McDougal and Burke. 



An additional reason for limiting entry in a high seas fishery 

 concerns the problem of efficient management. As indicated above, 

 the work of the International North Pacific Halibut Commission in 

 restoring the halibiu fishery to a high level of productivity has 

 proven the validity of the theory of the relation of fishing intensity 

 to the abundance of fish. This has also been borne out by the later 

 work of the International Pacific Salmon Fisheries Commission in 

 its regulation of the sockeye and pink salmon fisheries of the Strait 

 of Juan de Fuca, northern Puget Sound, and the Fraser River. The 

 experience of these two commissions has proven that the effective 

 management of fisheries, both anadromous and high seas, requires 

 that the intensity of fishing be distributed among all elements of 

 each stock in proportion to their productive capacity. In the halibut 

 fishery this has required the Commission to resort to various devices 



