APPENDIX III APPENDIX III 
International 
The United States is a member of the International North 
Pacific Fisheries Commission, which is concerned with all 
fishery resources in the waters of the North Pacific and ad- 
jacent seas. The International Convention for the High Seas 
Fisheries of the North Pacific Ocean was brought into force 
by Canada, Japan, and the United States in 1953 for the pur- 
pose of insuring maximum sustained productivity of fishery 
resources in the convention area. The convention provided for 
establishing the International North Pacific Fisheries Com- 
mission to promote and coordinate scientific studies necessary 
to ascertain and recommend conservation measures required to 
secure maximum sustained productivity of fisheries of joint 
interest. 
In addition to the International North Pacific Fisheries 
Commission, several bilateral executive department agreements 
were negotiated with the Soviet Union, Japan, Canada, and 
other nations. These agreements were to reach an understanding 
with foreign fishermen so the economic interests of the U.S. 
fishing industry could be better protected while the rights 
of foreign fishermen on the high seas could also be preserved. 
Under terms of these agreements, the other nations have re- 
frained from fishing in some areas of special interest to the 
United. States in exchange for concessions to fish and transfer 
cargoes at several places within the U.S. 12-mile fisheries 
zone. In recent years, agreements with the Soviet Union, 
Japan, and Poland have included quotas on the catches of some 
species and provisions not to fish other species of particular 
concern to the United States. Agreements with the Republic of 
Korea and Taiwan do not contain catch quota provisions and 
prohibit only the taking of halibut among the several bottom 
fish species of concern to U.S. fishermen. A special feature 
of the agreement with the Soviet Union has been the establish- 
ment of a board to facilitate the settlement of monetary 
claims arising from destruction of fishing gear or the inter- 
ference with fishing operations. 
OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH AND 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE FISHERY 
Resource availability 
The extent of habitable grounds on the Continental Shelf 
is one of the major factors which determines the size and 
potential yield of bottom fish. In the eastern Bering Sea, 
the shelf is one of the broadest in the world, having an 
average width of about 400 miles with extensive shallow areas 
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