118 NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM LEGISLATION 



In addition to recent technological advances affecting ocean resource 

 development, there have occurred in the past few years significant 

 changes in the law of the sea. These changes resulted from the United 

 Nations Conference on the Law of Sea, held in Geneva in 1958. 



The committee is familiar with the four conventions adopted in 

 Geneva, all of which have been ratified by the United States and all of 

 which except the Convention on Fishing and Conservation of the Liv- 

 ing Resources of the High Seas are in effect. It is anticipated that 

 this remaining Convention on Fishing will become effective the latter 

 part of this year or early in 1966. 



The two conventions of primary interest in regard to ocean resource 

 development are the Convention on the Continental Shelf and the Con- 

 vention on Fishing and Conservation of the Living Resources of the 

 High Seas. The Continental Shelf Convention gives to each coastal 

 nation exclusive rights over the exploitation of the resources of its 

 Continental Shelf. 



This means that as of last year, when the convention went into 

 effect, the United States increased by one-third the territory over 

 which it held sovereign rights under international law. The area of 

 this shelf acquisition — approximately 1 million square miles — sur- 

 passes that of any of our previous territorial acquisitions, including^ 

 Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase. 



The 1958 Fishery Convention acknowledges that each coastal nation 

 has a dominant interest in the fishery resources of its waters and pro- 

 vides that such nations shall have the right to provide for the conser- 

 vation of these resources. 



Approximately 90 percent of the world fishery catch is taken from 

 inland waters or waters immediately over or adjacent to the Conti- 

 nental Shelf of nations within the Temperate or Tropic Zones. 



The measurement of the U.S. coastline within these zones exceeds 

 10,000 miles. Only Indonesia, Australia, and Russia have comparable 

 or more extensive coastlines. The otlier 111 nations of the Avorld 

 either have substantially shorter coastlines or none at all. 



It is estimated that the U.S. coastal fishery resources are such as 

 to permit an annual sustainable yield of approximately 20 billion 

 pounds. The estimated value of our potential yearly catch is between 

 $1 and $1.5 billion. 



Last year, however, the L^.S. coastal catch was below 5 billion 

 pounds and the foreign catch off the U.S. coast was approximately 3' 

 billion pounds. 



The evidence is quite clear that the U.S. coastal fishery resource is 

 one of the most extensive and richest in the world. It is also clear 

 that this resource is being underutilized by the United States and is 

 becoming increasingly attractive to foreign fishing fleets. Five years 

 ago there w^ere fewer than 100 foreign vessels fishing off the U.S. 

 coasts. 



This past summer we witnessed more than 1,500 large, modern, 

 efficient foreign-flag fishing vessels ranging between 3 and 50 miles 

 from our coast. About one-half of this foreign fleet has been operat- 

 ing off the coast of Alaska. 



Although the U.S. coastal fishery resource is perhaps the greatest 

 in the world, although certain stocks are being seriously damaged by 

 foreign fishing, and although the United States will soon, for the first 



