27 



compared to 1991 and would be prepared for further 

 reductions. China noted that its reduction in catch should 

 correspond to its reduction in fishing effort. Poland noted 

 only that the 1992 pollock catch by Polish vessels would not 

 exceed the 1991 level. 



The U.S. and Russia expressed dismay at the incremental 

 steps taken by the distant water fishing countries and that 

 the proposed fishing effort reduction of 20 percent was not 

 substantial. The U.S. and Russia reiterated their call for a 

 fishing moratorium in the central Bering Sea due to the 

 extremely depressed condition of the pollock resource; 

 however, the fishing countries continued to resist this 

 proposal. The U.S. announced its intention not to issue 

 permits to any country seeking to use U.S. waters in support 

 of their pollock fishing activities in the central Bering Sea. 



The delegations reviewed a composite negotiating text 

 outlining a long-term conservation regime for the area and 

 established a working group to continue efforts to produce a 

 final negotiating text. It was recognized that further 

 efforts in this regard would be required. The delegations 

 agreed to meet again at a Fifth Conference to be hosted by 

 Russia in August 1992. 



On June 17, 1992, at the U.S. -Russia Summit in Washington, 

 Presidents Bush and Yeltsin issued a joint statement noting 

 with concern that, in spite of the international conferences 

 held to date to develop an international regime for the 

 conservation and management of the living marine resources of 

 the central Bering Sea, the pollock resource in that region 

 had suffered a precipitous decline, which could upset the 

 balance of the Bering Sea ecosystem as a whole. They called 

 for strong and urgent conservation measures, including a 

 voluntary suspension on fishing in the central Bering Sea by 

 all States, consistent with gteps already taken by the United 

 States and Russia to conserve the resource. 



The Fifth Conference was held in Moscow, August 12-14, 

 1992. A major breakthrough was realized when all sides agreed 

 to a voluntary suspension of fishing in the area during 1993 

 and 1994 in light of the drastic decline of the pollock 

 resource in the Donut Hole. The reported total catch of 

 pollock in the area during the first six months of 1992 was 

 less than 11,000 metric tons. It was noted that fishing 

 efforts in the area had been significantly reduced. The U.S. 

 and Russia agreed to take the same measures for the stock of 

 pollock in their respective zones as were being taken in the 

 Donut Hole. A resource monitoring program was also agreed 

 upon to include scientific surveys by research vessels, trial 

 fishing by a limited number of fishing vessels, and other 

 scientific activities. The Parties agreed to continue working 

 on a long-term conservation regime for the area, and to meet 

 again at a Sixth Conference to be hosted by the United States 

 in early 1993. 



The Sixth Conference was held January 13-15, 1993, in 

 Washington. A framework for .the decision-making provisions of 

 the draft Agreement represented a significant step toward 

 concluding a long-term conservation and management agreement 

 for the area. The decision-making procedures acknowledged the 

 precedence of the management action employed by the United 

 States and Russia as the coastal States of the central Bering 

 Sea in their own zones for the Aleutian Basin pollock stock. 



No significant new information on the status of the 

 pollock resource in the central Bering Sea was presented. The 

 Parties reviewed steps taken to implement the temporary 

 suspension of fishing for pollock in the central Bering Sea on 

 a voluntary basis during 1993 and 1994, as well as the same 

 measures in the U.S. and Russian zones. All Parties confirmed 



