kilograms for yellowfin tuna, became effective for the 13 member 

 countries during 1973. 



In the eastern Pacific, U.S. fishermen continued to be troubled 

 early in 1973 by seizures of their vessels by Peru on the basis of that 

 nation's claim to a fishery jurisdiction extending 200 miles from the 

 coast. However, there were no seizures after the first quarter of the 

 year as the fleet enjoyed excellent fishing in areas to the north and far 

 offshore. The catch of yellowfin tuna, under conservation measures 

 prescribed by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, was 

 the highest of any year on record. 



During 1973 the work of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna 

 Commission was increasingly complicated by the de"mands of 

 developing states for special treatment in terms of preferential 

 allocations of catch quotas or exemptions from catch limitations. 

 These complications delayed agreement on a yellowfin tuna 

 conservation program for the eastern Pacific for 1974 until March 

 1974. 



In the North Pacific, the year was marked by increasing concern 

 over the impact of foreign fishing, particularly by Japan and the 

 Soviet Union on stocks of fish off the U.S. coast. The major targets of 

 this foreign fishing were species not sought to any substantial degree 

 by U.S. fishermen: for example, Soviet fishing for Pacific hake off 

 Washington, Oregon, and northern California; and Japanese fishing 

 for Alaskan pollock in the Bering Sea. However, such stocks offish 

 are important to the United States as resources for the future and 



Hake, such as those in this 30,000 pound catch, are not now sought by U.S. 

 fishermen, but they may have economic value in the future. 



53 



