28 MANAGEMENT OF HIGH SEAS FISHERIES 



A second important unique character of the North Pacific is that 

 even though the fisheries other than salmon and halibut have not 

 been completely developed, extensive research has been carried out. 

 Partly because of this experience, and for a number of other obvious 

 reasons, the four nations involved have a combined scientific and 

 administrative capacity that is probably unrivaled. 



A third unique character of the North Pacific fisheries problems is 

 that at present they concern only four major fishing nations, although 

 as pointed out in the preceding section, these four nations (except 

 for Canada and the United States) have widely disparate political, 

 social, and economic attitudes which bear directly on the fisheries 

 problems. 



Because of the existence of these unique characteristics, as well as 

 those developed in the preceding pages, a number of conditions and 

 arguments become apparent that tend to favor the application of 

 the abstention principle to the fisheries of this area. 



One of the essential conditions that must precede the application 

 of the abstention principle is the availability of a broad range of 

 scientific information aboiu the fishery. This includes information 

 about existing as well as potential yields. Such scientific information 

 is, in general, available in the North Pacific. In addition there are 

 excellent scientific staffs which can obtain further data as needed. 



In the case of salmon several arguments for abstention can be made 

 and are only briefly summarized here: Salmon of the northeastern 

 Pacific spawn in North American rivers. Continuation of the condi- 

 tions which permit such spawning is entirely dependent upon the 

 attitude and activities of the United States and Canada. The rivers 

 in which these fish spawn are, in some cases, now being lUilized for 

 numerous other purposes as well. Considerable effort and expense 

 is necessary to continue making them available for spawning pur- 

 poses. In the past, this eff^ort and expense has been made and present 

 plans call for their continuation. The survival of the species is en- 

 tirely dependent upon the continued effort of these t^vo countries. 

 Furthermore, because of the ease of catching salmon as they return 

 to the spawning areas, these stocks could be completely destroyed by 

 fishing at the mouths of the spawning rivers, except for the restraints 

 imposed by the United States and Canada on their own fishermen. 

 Another point is that the most economic place to catch these fish, 

 because of their maximum size, is inside the territorial waters of 



