AMBASSADOR Benjamin A. Smith II will lead a delegation being sent to Japan to discuss with Japan and Canada international arrangements for the conservation and use of fishing resources in the North Pacific Ocean. The discussions, which are scheduled to begin on September 16, represent the second attempt to reach agreement on the questions raised by Japan about the restrictions upon its rights under an existing convention relating to fishing in the North Pacific. The first attempt was made last June.
The abstention principle, which calls for the fishing restrictions when certain criteria occur, will be the central issue in the new discussions. I believe this principle is sound and reasonable. Without restraints of this nature the nations of the world would run serious risks of depleting fisheries. We have already seen Atlantic halibut fisheries decline from 13,500,000 pounds to 300,000 pounds. In Bristol Bay, the record catch of 24.7 million salmon in 1938 has fallen to a level of 2.8 million. On the other hand, research and careful regulation have restored depleted Pacific halibut fisheries from a low of 40 million pounds in 1923 to an annual average of 70 million pounds.
It is obvious that unless international conservation agreements are strictly enforced there is grave danger of permanent injury to our ocean resources. I hope that it is possible to implement Senate Resolution 392, which called for an international fishery conference so that such damage can be avoided.
In dealing with the North Pacific fisheries problems we shall be mindful of our responsibility for the preservation of vital fishing resources. When the Convention criteria called for the removal of Bering Sea halibut from abstention, this was done despite the disadvantage to American fishermen. We shall hope for the same understanding from other nations--to retain the abstention principle when appropriate--for only in this way will it be possible to reach agreement in the common world interest.
Note: The existing agreement to which the President referred is the Convention on High Seas Fisheries of the North Pacific Ocean, which entered into force June 12, 1953. It is published with related papers in U.S. Treaties and Other International Agreements series (4 UST (part 1) 380; TIAS 2786).
John F. Kennedy, Statement by the President on the North Pacific Fisheries Negotiations. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/237424