heretofore given little attention. This effort has faced difficulty, 

 however, because the treaty under which the Commission operates 

 limits the study of stocks to those which are under substantial 

 exploitation by two or more contracting parties. The treaty was 

 negotiated primarily to protect salmon and halibut at a time when 

 the enormous new fisheries for other species were not foreseen. 

 Despite its deficiencies, however, this treaty, together with 

 additional agreements between the United States and other 

 countries fishing the North Pacific, has generally served to provide 

 significant protection for U.S. salmon interests, to reduce conflicts 

 among fishermen, and to increase the flow of biological and fisheries 

 data. However, certain groundfish resources, especially halibut and 

 Pacific Ocean perch, remain in jeopardy. 



Fishermen of the Republic of Korea entered into the northeastern 

 Pacific salmon fisheries in 1969 and 1970, creating considerable 

 apprehension in the U.S. fishing industry. The United States re- 

 viewed this problem with Korea, and the two Governments signed a 

 5-year agreement in December 1972, which prohibits South Korean 

 fishermen from fishing for salmon or halibut in the northeastern 

 Pacific Ocean and eastern Bering Sea. 



In December 1972, the United States reviewed two bilateral 

 agreements with Japan and signed new versions which provide 

 additional protection for U.S. coastal fishermen and improved 

 conservation measures. In one agreement, particular progress was 

 made in improving the opportunities for U.S. fishermen to have 

 unimpeded access to, and to play the major role in, the fisheries for 

 king and tanner crab in the eastern Bering Sea. The other agreement, 

 which was initiated in 1967 following the establishment by the 



Purse seining, surrounding a school of fish with a large net and drawing it 

 together, has become the primary commercial method of catching salmon in 

 the Alaskan region. 



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