Fishing in U.S. Territorial Waters, Hearings ..., 88-1 ..., September 5, 6, 1963

The threats represented by the ominous patterns in international fishing give cause for great alarm. And, Mr. President, that alarm is compounded by the realization that our present statutes are wholly inadequate to cope with the situation. Under present law, the Coast Guard has the authority to stop and board a foreign vessel found in the territorial sea for the purpose of investigating the vessel and possibly ordering it to leave the territorial sea. No stronger action is now possible, for present law provides no penalties for those who violate our fishery rights. State officials likewise have their hands tied for lack of adequate Federal support and statutory backing. There is a need for Federal legislation which provides procedures for the apprehension, prosecution, and penalizing of those who fish illegally in U.S. waters or take illegally those Continental Shelf resources claimed by the United States. The bill I am introducing, I believe, meets that need quite adequately.

The bill first of all declares it unlawful for foreign vessels to fish within the territorial sea or to engage in the taking of Continental Shelf resources claimed by the United States, except as provided by an international agreement to which the United States is a party. Appropriate penalties for violation-not more than a $10,000 fine or 1-year imprisonment, or both—are delineated. Enforcement procedures permit the authorities to seize vessels illegally operating and allow the court to order forfeiture of the cessel. Administrative rules are to be issued by the Secretary of the Treasury. The responsibility for enforcement is to be shared by the Coast Guard, the Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Customs, and such State and territorial officers as the Secretary of the Interior may designate. Federal district courts are empowered to issue such warrants as may be required for the enforcement of the act. Persons authorized to carry out enforcement activities are given the power to execute these warrants, to arrest violators of the act, and to search suspect vessels. Finally, the bill provides for the seizure and disposal of fish taken in violation of the act, and establishes procedures for the setting of a bond by alleged violators.

Mr. President, this bill is necessary if our fishery rights are to have any meaning or if our claims are to command any adherence. Foreign fishing practices represent an increasing threat. Without legal ammunition we can only fire back with words. It is time to move in defense of our domestic fishing industry and in the interest of conserving our fishery resources. I have consistently advocated action in this area the establishment of the 12-mile fishing zone measured from straight baselines, the explicit clarification of our claims to king crab and other Continental Shelf resources, the vigorous representation of the U.S. case in international circles in connection with foreign interference with our fishing efforts. And now

I respectfully urge the enactment of the present bill-a bill to prohibit violation of U.S. fishery claims and to provide for the effective protection and enforcement of those claims. The threats posed by foreign fishing operations to our fishery resources, to our fishing industry and to our national defense make the passage of such a bill a matter of extreme urgency and great importance.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be printed in the Record at this point, and that the bill be held at the desk until the close of business on Friday, August 16, so that Senators who care to join in cosponsorship may do so. The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The bill will be received and appropriately referred; and, without objection, the bill will be printed in the Record and will lie on the desk, as requested by the Senator from Alaska.

The bill (S. 1988) to prohibit fishing in the territorial waters of the United States and in certain other areas by persons other than nationals or inhabitants of the United States, introduced by Mr. Bartlett, was received, read twice by its title, referred to the Committee on Commerce, and ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:

"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, It is unlawful for any vessel, except a vessel of the United States or for any master or other person in charge of such a vessel, to engage in the fisheries within the territorial waters of the United States and its territories and possessions or to engage in the taking of any fishery resource of the Continental Shelf claimed by the United States except as provided by an international agreement to which the United States is a party.

"SEC. 2. (a) Any person violating the provisions of this Act shall be fined not more than $10,000, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

"(b) The vessels and all fish taken or retained in violation of this Act, or the monetary value thereof, may be forfeited.

"(c) All provisions of law relating to the seizure, judicial forfeiture, and condemnation of a cargo for violation of the customs laws, the disposition of such cargo or the proceeds from the sale thereof, and the remission or mitigation of

such forfeitures apply to seizures and forfeitures incurred, or alleged to have been incurred, under the provisions of this Act, insofar as such provisions of law are applicable and not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act.

"SEC. 3. (a) Enforcement of the provisions of this Act is the joint responsibility of the United States Coast Guard, the United States Department of the Interior, and the United States Bureau of Customs. In addition, the Secretary of the Interior may designate officers and employees of the States of the United States, of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and of any territory or possession of the United States to carry out enforcement activities hereunder. When so designated, such officers and employees are authorized to function as Federal law enforcement agents for these purposes.

"(b) The judges of the United States district courts, the judges of the highest courts of the territories and possessions of the United States, and United States commissioners may, within their respective jurisdictions, upon proper oath or affirmation showing probable cause, issue such warrants or other process as may be required for enforcement of this Act and any regulations issued thereunder. "(c) Any person authorized to carry out enforcement activities hereunder shall have the power to execute any warrant or process issued by any officer or court of competent jurisdiction for the enforcement of this Act. "(d) Such person so authorized shall have the power

"(1) with or without a warrant or other process, to arrest any person committing in his presence or view a violation of this Act or the regulations issued thereunder;

"(2) with or without a warrant or other process, to search any vessel and, if as a result of such search he has reasonable cause to believe that such vessel or any person on board is in violation of any provision of this Act or the regulations issued thereunder, then to arrest such person. "(e) Such person so authorized, may seize, whenever and wherever lawfully found all fish taken or retained in violation of this Act or the regulations issued thereunder. Any fish so seized may be disposed of pursuant to the order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or if perishable, in a manner prescribed by regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury.

"(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 2464 of title 28 when a warrant of arrest or other process in rem is issued in any cause under this section, the United States marshal or other officer shall stay the execution of such process, or discharge any fish seized if the process has been levied, on receiving from the claimant of the fish a bond or stipulation for the value of the property with sufficient surety to be approved by a judge of the district court having jurisdiction of the offense, conditioned to deliver the fish seized, if condemned, without impairment in value or, in the discretion of the court, to pay its equivalent value in money or otherwise to answer the decree of the court in such cause. Such bond or stipulation shall be returned to the court and judgment thereon against both the principal and sureties may be recovered in event of any breach of the conditions thereof as determined by the court. In the discretion of the accused, and subject to the direction of the court, the fish may be sold for not less than its reasonable market value and the proceeds of such sale placed in the registry of the court pending judgment in the case.

"SEC. 4. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to issue such regulations as he determines necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act."

CONVENTION ON THE CONTINENTAL SHELF

(Final text adopted by the Conference)

The States parties to this Convention, have agreed as follows:

ARTICLE 1

For the purpose of these articles, the term "Continental Shelf" is used as referring (a) to the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas adjacent to the coast but outside the area of the territorial sea, to a depth of 200 meters, or beyond that limit, to where the depth of the superjacent waters admits of the exploitation of the natural resources of the said areas; (b) to the seabed and subsoil of similar submarine areas adjacent to the coasts of islands.

The bill first of all declares it unlawful for foreign vessels to fish within the territorial sea or to engage in the taking of Continental Shelf resources claimed by the United States, except as provided by an international agreement to which the United States is a party. Appropriate penalties for violation-not more than a $10,000 fine or 1-year imprisonment, or both-are delineated. Enforcement procedures permit the authorities to seize vessels illegally operating and allow the court to order forfeiture of the cessel. Administrative rules are to be issued by the Secretary of the Treasury. The responsibility for enforcement is to be shared by the Coast Guard, the Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Customs, and such State and territorial officers as the Secretary of the Interior may designate. Federal district courts are empowered to issue such warrants as may be required for the enforcement of the act. Persons authorized to carry out enforcement activities are given the power to execute these warrants, to arrest violators of the act, and to search suspect vessels. Finally, the bill provides for the seizure and disposal of fish taken in violation of the act, and establishes procedures for the setting of a bond by alleged violators.

Mr. President, this bill is necessary if our fishery rights are to have any meaning or if our claims are to command any adherence. Foreign fishing practices represent an increasing threat. Without legal ammunition we can only fire back with words. It is time to move in defense of our domestic fishing industry and in the interest of conserving our fishery resources. I have consistently advocated action in this area-the establishment of the 12-mile fishing zone measured from straight baselines, the explicit clarification of our claims to king crab and other Continental Shelf resources, the vigorous representation of the U.S. case in international circles in connection with foreign interference with our fishing efforts. And now

"SEC. 2. (a) Any person violating the provisions of this Act shall be fined not more than $10,000, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

"(b) The vessels and all fish taken or retained in violation of this Act, or the monetary value thereof, may be forfeited.

"(1) with or without a warrant or other process, to arrest any person committing in his presence or view a violation of this Act or the regulations issued thereunder;

(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 2464 of title 28 when a warrant of arrest or other process in rem is issued in any cause under this section, the United States marshal or other officer shall stay the execution of such process, or discharge any fish seized if the process has been levied, on receiving from the claimant of the fish a bond or stipulation for the value of the property with sufficient surety to be approved by a judge of the district court having jurisdiction of the offense, conditioned to deliver the fish seized, if condemned, without impairment in value or, in the discretion of the court, to pay its equivalent value in money or otherwise to answer the decree of the court in such cause. Such bond or stipulation shall be returned to the court and judgment thereon against both the principal and sureties may be recovered in event of any breach of the conditions thereof as determined by the court. In the discretion of the accused, and subject to the direction of the court, the fish may be sold for not less than its reasonable market value and the proceeds of such sale placed in the registry of the court pending judgment in the case.

"SEC. 4. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to issue such regulations as he determines necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act."

CONVENTION ON THE CONTINENTAL SHELF

(Final text adopted by the Conference)

The States parties to this Convention, have agreed as follows:

ARTICLE 1

ARTICLE 2

1. The coastal State exercises over the Continental Shelf sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring it and exploiting its natural resources.

2. The rights referred to in paragraph 1 of this article are exclusive in the sense that if the coastal State does not explore the Continental Shelf or exploit its natural resources, no one may undertake these activities, or make a claim to the Continental Shelf, without the express consent of the coastal State.

3. The rights of the coastal State over the Continental Shelf do not depend on occupation, effective or notional, or on any express proclamation.

4. The natural resources referred to in these articles consist of the mineral and other nonliving resources of the seabed and subsoil together with living organisms belonging to sedentary species, that is to say, organisms which, at the harvestable stage, either are immobile on or under the seabed or are unable to move except in constant physical contact with the seabed or the subsoil.

ARTICLE 3

The rights of the coastal State over the Continental Shelf do not affect the legal status of the superjacent waters as high seas, or that of the airspace above those waters.

ARTICLE 4

Subject to its right to take reasonable measures for the exploration of the Continental Shelf and the exploitation of its natural resources, the coastal State may not impede the laying or maintenance of submarine cables or pipelines on the Continental Shelf.

ARTICLE 5

1. The exploration of the Continental Shelf and the exploitation of its natural resources must not result in any unjustifiable interference with navigation, fishing, or the conservation of the living resources of the sea, nor result in any interference with fundamental oceanographic or other scientific research carried out with the intention of open publication.

2. Subject to the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 6 of this article, the coastal State is entitled to construct and maintain or operate on the Continental Shelf installations and other devices necessary for its exploration and the exploitation of its natural resources, and to establish safety zones around such installations and devices and to take in those zones measures necessary for their protection. 3. The safety zones referred to in paragraph 2 of this article may extend to a distance of 500 meters around the installation and other devices which have been erected, measured from each point of their outer edge. Ships of all nationalities must respect these safety zones.

4. Such installations and devices, though under the jurisdiction of the coastal State, do not possess the status of islands. They have no territorial sea of their own, and their presence does not affect the delimitation of the territorial sea of the coastal State.

5. Due notice must be given of the construction of any such installation, and permanent means for giving warning of their presence must be maintained. Any installations which are abandoned or disused must be entirely removed.

6. Neither the installations or devices, nor the safety zones around them, may be established where interference may be caused to the use of recognized sea lanes essential to international navigation.

7. The coastal State is obligated to undertake, in the safety zones, all appropriate measures for the protection of the living resources of the sea from harmful agents.

8. The consent of the coastal State shall be obtained in respect of any research concerning the Continental Shelf and undertaken there. Nevertheless, the coastal State shall not normally withhold its consent if the request is submitted by a qualified institution with a view to purely scientific research into the physical or biological characteristics of the Continental Shelf, subjects to the proviso that the coastal State shall have the right, if it so desires, to participate or to be represented in the research, and that in any event the results shall be published.

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