their conservation is therefore a matter of concern. The United 

 States has accordingly sought in various forums with some success 

 to place precautionary controls on the catch of these species. 



A more immediate threat posed by foreign fishing is the incidental 

 catch of species that are of economic importance to United States 

 fishermen. The incidental catch of halibut by Japanese and, to a 

 lesser extent, Soviet trawlers in the eastern Bering Sea is believed to 

 have been the major factor in the decline of the North American 

 halibut fishery, which has been jointly regulated by the United 

 States and Canada for 50 years. Discussions were held at the annual 

 meeting of the International North Pacific Fisheries Commission in 

 November 1973 by the United States, Canada, and Japan with a view 

 to reducing and controlling this incidental catch. Though agreement 

 could not be reached at that time, negotiations continued after the 

 meeting, and at year's end the prospects were good that measures 

 would be taken to substantially improve the situation. 



Salmon runs to the Bristol Bay region of Alaska became a special 

 problem. The returns of salmon to Bristol Bay were the smallest in 

 recorded history, and the fishery, once the largest red salmon fishery 

 in the world, was almost a complete disaster. Though the primary 

 cause was severe weather conditions in previous years that had 

 severely reduced the numbers of young migrants to the sea, a 

 contributing factor was the catch by the Japanese high seas salmon 

 fleet operating west of 175 degrees west longitude. This 175 degree 

 line, established by treaty between the United States, Canada, and 

 Japan, protects all North American salmon except those of Bristol 

 Bay and other western Alaska areas, which range in their migrations 

 to the west of the line and are therefore vulnerable to capture by the 

 Japanese fleet. Since the Bristol Bay runs for 1974 were again 

 expected to be disastrously small, intensive discussions were held at 

 the meeting of the North Pacific Fisheries Commission looking to 

 means of protecting as many spawners as possible in anticipation of 

 a return expected to be less than half of the number desired for 

 spawning stock. No agreement on this complex problem could be 

 reached during the 1-week meeting, but discussions continued at 

 year's end. 



In other developments, the United States negotiated a bilateral 

 fisheries agreement with Romania and reviewed and renegotiated 

 several such agreements with the Soviet Union and Poland. The 

 agreement with Poland was originally negotiated in June 1969 and 

 renegotiated in June 1973 to extend through June 1975. The 

 Romanian agreement was negotiated December 1973 and extends to 

 December 1975. Both provide protection for lobster and other species 

 of concern to U.S. fishermen. 



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