progress was made during the course of the year in moving toward a set- 

 tlement of the tuna problem in connection with the Third United Na- 

 tions Conference on the Law of the Sea. 



During 1975, the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission con- 

 tinued to encounter difficulties in achieving a settlement at its annual 

 meeting. Agreement was finally reached on a conservation and manage- 

 ment program that establishes the same quota for 1976 as was in force 

 during 1975. The agreement includes a small increase in the special 

 allocation that applies to Mexico. Agreement was also reached on a U.S. 

 proposal for enforcement, which should go a long way toward ensuring 

 that the vessels of all nations comply with the recommendations of the 

 commission. 



The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic 

 Tunas (ICCAT) continued to monitor the tuna stocks in the Atlantic 

 Ocean during 1975 in order to ensure the proper conservation of those 

 fisheries. With respect to bluefin tuna, the conservation measures in 

 force during 1975 were agreed to for 2 more years, with the possibility of 

 modification after review during the 1976 meeting. The two conserva- 

 tion measures that apply are a minimum size limit of 6.4 kilograms and a 

 limitation on fishing catch to recent levels. No other new conservation 

 measures for any other tuna species were considered necessary by the 

 ICCAT's Scientific Committee, and none were recommended by the IC- 

 CAT. 



The U.S. -Brazil Agreement on the conservation of shrimp expired at 

 the end of 1974 and was renegotiated in early 1975. The new agreement, 

 which expires at the end of 1976, is similar in approach to the original ar- 

 rangement. It sets forth restrictions on both the U.S. and Brazilian fleets 

 for conservation purposes and provides access for a limited number of 

 U.S. vessels to the shrimp grounds off the coast of Brazil making up the 

 agreement area. As in the first agreement, the new treaty gives certain 

 enforcement authority to Brazil, with the United States helping to defray 

 the cost of this burden. 



For a number of years, up to several hundred U.S. -flag vessels have 

 fished for spiny lobster off the Continental Shelf of the Bahamas beyond 

 12 miles. In July 1975, the Bahamian Government claimed jurisdiction 

 over the spiny lobster as a living resource of the Continental Shelf. Simi- 

 lar action was taken by the United States in January 1974 when it 

 declared jurisdiction over American lobster as a living resource of the 

 Continental Shelf. The United States does not dispute the Bahamian 

 claim, but negotiations between the two governments during August 

 1975 failed to result in any arrangements regarding terms of access for 

 U.S. fishermen to that portion of the resource which Bahamian fisher- 

 men are unable to take. The United States believes that the Bahamas 

 have an obligation under international law to take into account the in- 



