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34 Ocean & Coastal L. Memo 1 (1990)

handle is hein.journals/ocoaslme34 and id is 1 raw text is: Ocean and Coastal Law Memo United, States Law and Policy Regarding Wigl eas Driftnets In the North Pacific Ocean The U.S. 1h beerw-enterned about foreign fishing on the high seas of the North Pacific Ocean for several decades. Recently this concern has focused on high seas driftnet fleets. High seas driftnets are an effective but nonselective fishing method. Evidence of the driftnet fleets' incidental catch of North American salmon and steelhead has led U.S. fishermen to seek restrictions on driftnet fleets. Driftnets also kill a large number of marine mammals and sea birds, leading environmen- talists to request stricter regula- tions or a ban on driftnet fishing. Section I of this memo examines the development of high seas driftnet fishing in the North Pacific. Section II traces the evolution of U.S. policy affecting Japan's high seas salmon driftnet fleets as reflected in the International Convention on High Seas Fisheries of the North Pacific Ocean. Section III explores the impact that domestic U.S. marine resource laws have had on driftnet fishing. Finally, Section IV briefly discusses the Tarawa Declaration and a United Nations Resolution placing a moratorium on high seas drift- nets. The conclusion examines the possible impacts of a high seas driftnet moratorium on U.S. commercial fishing interests. I. High Seas Driftnet Fisheries in the North Pacific Ocean Consumer demands for fish and fish products increased dramatically over the last few decades. Prior to World War II, long-range fishing was rather limited by a lack of technology and was generally unnecessary because of an abundance of fish relatively near shore. After, the war, improved technology allowed construction of large, efficient, long-range fishing vessels. As traditional nearshore fish stocks were depleted and more coastal states claimed 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ), these vessels began to search for new fishing grounds and harvest new species of fish. For distant water fishing nations such as Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan, salmon stocks in the North Pacific Ocean were an atfraelive prospect. The Final Environmental Impact Statement and Economic Impact Analysis on the Incidental Take of Dall's Porpoise in the Japanese Salmon Fishery, U.S. Department of Commerce (May 1987), provides a concise sum- mary of the size of the various nations' driftnet fleets, the mesh size and length of their driftnets, and international agreements regulating driftnet fleets on the high seas. Robert Eisenbud's article, Problems and Prospects for the Pelagic Drytnet, 12 B.C. Envt'1 L. Rev. 473 (1985), is also very helpful in understanding the development of the driftnet prob- lem and possible regulatory solu- tions to the problem. A. Development of draftnets as high seas commercial fishing gear High seas driftnets are an adaptation of traditional gillnets. Gillnets have a long history of use in nearshore waters where nations can effectively regulate their mesh size, length, and fishing seasons and areas. Regulated nearshore gillnets are Distributed by: Oregon State University Extension . Sea Grant Program Corvallis OR

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