adjacent to its coast or, with respect to an anadromous stock that spawns 

 in its fresh waters, throughout its migratory range. The U.S. representative 

 indicated the basic flexibility of the U.S. position on management of sea- 

 beds and ocean resources so long as certain principles were included. 



The United Nations General Assembly reviewed the progress of the pre- 

 paratory meetings, expanded the Seabed Committee by adding the People's 

 Republic of China, Finland, Fiji, Nicaragua, and Zambia, and scheduled 

 two meetings for 1972, one in March in New York City and one in July 

 and August in Geneva. 



Fishery Arrangements 



The 15-member-nation International Commission for the Northwest 

 Atlantic Fisheries (ICNAF) started international enforcement of fisheries 

 regulations on July 1, 1971, under which enforcement officers may, on the 

 high seas, board and inspect fishing vessels from any of the member nations. 

 The ICNAF inspection system has been operating smoothly. In December 

 1971, for example, U.S. inspectors boarded three Soviet trawlers and found 

 no violations of ICNAF regulations. The Soviets inspected two American 

 fishing vessels. The procedure is virtually identical to one used under the 

 North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC). The United States 

 and Poland agreed in 1972 to an enforcement plan for the mid-Atlantic 

 area. Thus, United States, Canada, Japan, the Soviet Union, and virtually 

 every other nation fishing the North Atlantic participate in a mutual polic- 

 ing system. Similar agreements have been in force in the North Pacific 

 for many years. These projects lay the groundwork for international co- 

 operation in the enforcement of other multilateral agreements. 



In late 1971, an amendment to the ICNAF Convention, which will add 

 economic and technical considerations to serve as a basis for fisheries reg- 

 ulations, became effective. Traditionally, ICNAF rules have been based only 

 on scientific criteria. This amendment will permit ICNAF, in the formula- 

 tion of regulations, to consider the latest developments in fishing vessels and 

 techniques and the economic problems faced by coastal fishermen compet- 

 ing with large, mobile fleets of factory trawlers. This means that the Com- 

 mission will be able to apportion the catch among nations. For example, 

 small-boat American fishermen, who are competitively at a disadvantage 

 with highly mobile foreign fleets operating off our coasts, would have an 

 equitable portion of the catch reserved for them. 



With respect to Atlantic salmon, no general agreement has been reached 

 among the North Atlantic fishing nations to reduce further the wasteful 

 high-seas fishing of that species. However, the United States and Canada 

 issued a joint policy statement reaffirming their intention to continue their 

 efforts to achieve the elimination of the high-seas fishery which threatens 

 the existence of one of the world's great natural resources. An important 

 step in this direction was taken on February 24, 1972, with the announced 

 agreement between the United States and Denmark to curtail Danish high- 

 seas salmon fishing off West Greenland. 



Under the agreement, the high-seas fishery by Danish flag vessels will be 

 gradually phased out over a 4-year period, 1972 through 1975. In addition, 



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