1998 Year of the Ocean A Survey of International Agreements 



seas fishery enforcement activities by member countries (the Convention prohibits directed 

 fishing for salmonids and includes provisions to minimize the incidental take of salmonids in 

 other fisheries in the Convention area). Members include Canada, Japan, the Russian Federation, 

 and the United States. 



Convention on the Conservation and Management of Pollock Resources in the Central 

 Bering Sea ("Donut Hole Agreement"), 1994 



This Convention establishes long-term measures for the conservation, management, and 

 optimum utilization of the Aleutian Basin Pollock stock in the Central Bering Sea. The stock 

 experienced a drastic decline prior to the negotiation of this agreement, and remains at a low 

 level of abundance. There is currently a voluntary moratorium on fishing for pollock in the 

 "Donut Hole," although fishing may resume under the Convention when stocks reach a 

 sustainable abundance level. The Convention requires that vessels fishing for pollock in the 

 "Donut Hole" use real-time satellite position-fixing transmitters and carry observers on board. It 

 also requires that any vessels fishing in the area consent to boarding and inspection for 

 compliance with the Convention by enforcement officials of the member states. The agreement 

 will aid in ensuring the long-term health of pollock stocks in the Central Bering Sea on which the 

 U.S. pollock industry in the Pacific Northwest in part depends. Parties include the People's 

 Republic of China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Poland, the Russian Federation, and the United 

 States. 



Interim Agreement on Yukon River Salmon, 1995; 

 Yukon River Salmon Act of 1995 (16 U.S.C. 1821) 



The Yukon River Panel created by this agreement will make conservation and 

 management recommendations to the management entities designated by each country, 

 independent of the Pacific Salmon Commission. The Panel will also undertake research, 

 management, and restoration activities within the Yukon River basin. The Yukon River is a 

 major transboundary river, rising in Canada and flowing to the Bering Sea through Alaska. The 

 Agreement institutionalizes cooperative conservation and management and contains a provision, 

 unique in international fishery agreements, committing both the United States and Canada to 

 protect salmon habitat in the Yukon River region. The Agreement is in place while negotiations 

 continue on other difficult long-term issues and is currently being extended. 



LIVING MARINE RESOURCES— NEW AGREEMENTS NOT YET IN FORCE 



Agreement to Promote Compliance with International Conservation and Management 

 Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas (Compliance Agreement) 



The Compliance Agreement builds upon the legal framework established by the 1982 

 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The fishery provisions of that Convention 

 contain basic obligations for States whose vessels fish on the high seas to cooperate in the 



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