a Convention replacing the Convention signed at Ottawa, January 29, 1937 and have named as their plenipotentiaries: The Government of the United States of America: The Honourable Don C. Bliss, Charge d'Affaires ad interim. The Honourable William C. Herrington, Special Assistant for Fisheries and The Government of Canada: The Honourable James Sinclair, Minister of Fisheries. The Honourable Hugues Lapointe, Minister of Veterans Affairs. who, after having communicated to each other their respective full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed upon the following articles: ARTICLE I 1. The nationals and inhabitants and fishing vessels and boats of the United States of America and of Canada, respectively, are hereby prohibited from fishing for halibut (Hippoglossus) in Convention waters as herein defined, except as provided by the International Pacific Halibut Commission in regulations designed to develop the stocks of halibut in the Convention waters to those levels which will permit the maximum sustained yield and to maintain the stocks at those levels pursuant to Article III of this Convention. 2. "Convention waters" means the territorial waters and the high seas off the western coasts of the United States of America and of Canada, including the southern as well as the western coasts of Alaska. 3. It is understood that nothing contained in this Convention shall prohibit the nationals or inhabitants or the fishing vessels or boats of the United States of America or of Canada from fishing in the Convention waters for other species of fish during any season when fishing for halibut in the Convention waters is prohibited by this Convention or any regulations adopted pursuant to this Convention. It is further understood that nothing contained in this Convention shall prohibit the International Pacific Halibut Commission from conducting or authorizing fishing operations for investigation purposes at any time. ARTICLE II 1. Every national or inhabitant, vessel or boat of the United States of America or of Canada engaged in fishing on the high seas in violation of this Convention or of any regulation adopted pursuant thereto may be seized by duly authorized officers of either Contracting Party and detained by the officers making such seizure and delivered as soon as practicable to an authorized official of the country to which such person, vessel, or boat belongs, at the nearest point to the place of seizure or elsewhere as may be agreed upon. The authorities of the country to which such person, vessel or boat belongs alone shall have jurisdiction to conduct prosecutions for the violation of the provisions of this Convention or any regulations which may be adopted in pursuance thereof and to impose penalties for such violation, and the witnesses and proof necessary for such prosecutions, so far as any witnesses or proofs are under the control of the other Contracting Party, shall be furnished with all reasonable promptitude to the authorities having jurisdiction to conduct the prosecutions. 2. Each Contracting Party shall be responsible for the proper observance of this Convention and of any regulations adopted under the provisions thereof in the portion of its waters covered thereby. ARTICLE III 1. The Contracting Parties agree to continue under this Convention the Commission known as the International Fisheries Commission established by the Convention for the preservation of the halibut fishery, signed at Washington, March 2, 1923, continued by the Convention signed at Ottawa, May 9, 1930, and further continued by the Convention, signed at Ottawa, January 29, 1937 except that after the date of entry into force of this Convention it shall consist of six members, three appointed by each Contracting Party, and shall be known as the International Pacific Halibut Commission. This Commission shall make such investigations as are necessary into the life history of the halibut in the Convention waters and shall publish a report of its activities and investigations from time to time. Each Contracting Party shall have power to fill, and shall fill from time to time, vacancies which may occur in its representation on the Commission. Each Contracting Party shall pay the salaries and expenses of its own members. Joint expenses incurred by the Commission shall be paid by the two Contracting Parties in equal moieties. All decisions of the Commission shall be made by a concurring vote of at least two of the Commissioners of each Contracting Party. 2. The Contracting Parties agree that for the purpose of developing the stocks of halibut of the Northern Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea to levels which will permit the maximum sustained yield from that fishery and for maintaining the stocks at those levels, the International Pacific Halibut Commission, with the approval of the President of the United States of America and the Governor General in Council of Canada, may, after investigation has indicated such action to be necessary, in respect of the nationals and inhabitants and fishing vessels and boats of the United States of America and of Canada, and in respect of halibut: (a) divide the Convention waters into areas; (b) establish one or more open or closed seasons, as to each area; (c) limit the size of the fish and the quantity of the catch to be taken from each area within any season during which fishing is allowed; (d) during both open and closed seasons, permit, limit, regulate or prohibit, the incidental catch of halibut that may be taken, retained, possessed, or landed from each area or portion of an area, by vessels fishing for other species of fish; (e) prohibit departure of vessels from any port of place, or from any receiving vessel or station, to any area for halibut fishing, after any date when in the judgment of the International Pacific Halibut Commission the vessels which have departed for that area prior to that date or which are known to be fishing in that area shall suffice to catch the limit which shall have been set for that area under section (c) of this paragraph; (f) fix the size and character of halibut fishing appliances to be used in any area; (g) make such regulations for the licensing and departure of vessels and for the collection of statistics of the catch of halibut as it shall find necessary to determine the condition and trend of the halibut fishery and to carry out the other provisions of this Convention; (h) close to all taking of halibut such portion or portions of an area or areas as the International Pacific Halibut Commission finds to be populated by small, immature halibut and designates as nursery grounds. ARTICLE IV The Contracting Parties agree to enact and enforce such legislation as may be necessary to make effective the provisions of this Convention and any regulation adopted thereunder, with appropriate penalties for violations thereof. ARTICLE V 1. This Convention shall be ratified and the instruments of ratification exchanged at Washington as soon as possible. 2. This Convention shall enter into force on the date of exchange of ratifications and shall remain in force for a period of five years and thereafter until two years from the date on which either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its desire to terminate it. 3. This Convention shall, from the date of the exchange of ratifications, replace and terminate the Convention for the preservation of the halibut fishery signed at Ottawa, January 29, 1937. IN WITNESS WHEREOF the respective plenipotentiaries have signed and sealed this Convention. DONE at Ottawa in duplicate, in the English language, this Second day of March 1953. For the Government of the United States of America: [SEAL] Don C. Bliss. William C. Herrington. NORTH PACIFIC FISHERIES ACT [Act of August 12, 1954, 68 Stat. 698; 16 U. S. C. 1021] An Act to give effect to the International Convention for the High Seas Fisheries of the North Pacific Ocean, signed at Tokyo, May 9, 1952, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "North Pacific Fisheries Act of 1954". SEC. 2. As used in this Act, the term (a) "Convention" means the International Convention for the High Seas Fisheries of the North Pacific Ocean with a protocol relating thereto signed at Tokyo, May 9, 1952; (b) "Commission" means the International North Pacific Fisheries Commission provided for by article II of the Convention; (e) "United States Section" means the United States Commissioners to the Commission; (d) "Convention area" means all waters, other than territorial waters, of the North Pacific Ocean which for the purposes of this Act shall include the adjacent seas; (e) "Fishing vessel" means any vessel engaged in catching fish or processing or transporting fish loaded on the high seas, or any vessel outfitted for such activities. SEC. 3. The United States shall be represented on the Commission by not more than four Commissioners to be appointed by the President, to serve as such during his pleasure, and to receive no compensation for their services as Commissioners. Of such Commissioners (a) one shall be an official of the United States Government; and (b) each of the others shall be a person residing in a State or Territory, the residents of which maintains a substantial fishery in the Convention area. SEC. 4. (a) The United States Section shall appoint an advisory committee composed of not less than five nor more than twenty members and shall fix the terms of office thereof, such members to be selected both from the various groups participating in the fisheries covered by the Convention and from the fishery agencies of the States or Territories, the residents of which maintain a substantial fishery in the Convention area. (b) Any or all members of the advisory committee may attend all sessions of the Commission except executive sessions. (c) The advisory committee shall be invited to all nonexecutive meetings of the United States Section and at such meetings shall be granted opportunity to examine and to be heard on all proposed programs of study and investigation, reports, and recommendations of the United States Section. (d) The members of the advisory committee shall receive no compensation for their services as such members. On approval by the United States Section, not more than three members of the committee, designated by the committee, may be paid for transportation expenses and per diem incident to attendance at meetings of the Commission or of the United States Section. SEC. 5. Service of any individual appointed from private life as a United States Commissioner pursuant to section 3, or as a member of the Advisory Committee appointed pursuant to section 4 (a), shall not be considered as service or employment bringing such individual within the provisions of sections 281, 283, 284, and 434 of title 18 of the United States Code, and section 190 of the Revised Statutes (5 U. S. C. 99), except insofar as such provisions of law may prohibit any such individual from acting or receiving compensation in respect to matters directly relating to the Convention, this Act, or regulations issued pursuant to this Act. SEC. 6. The President is authorized to (a) accept or reject, on behalf of the United States, recommendations made by the Commission in accordance with the provisions of article III, section 1, of the Convention, and recommendations made by the Commission in pursuance of the provisions of the Protocol to the Convention; and (b) act for the United States in the selection of persons by the contracting parties to compose the special committee provided by the Protocol to the Convention. SEC. 7. Any agency of the Federal Government is authorized, upon request of the Commission, to cooperate in the conduct of scientific and other programs, and to furnish, on a reimbursable basis, facilities and personnel for the purpose of assisting the Commission in carrying out its duties under the Convention. Such agency may accept reimbursement from the Commission. SEC. 8. (a) The provisions of the Convention and this Act relating to abstention from fishing in certain areas by the nationals and vessels of one or more of the contracting parties shall be enforced by the Coast Guard in cooperation with the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Customs. (b) For such purposes any Coast Guard officer, any officer of the Fish and Wildlife Service, or any other person authorized to enforce the provisions of the Convention and this Act referred to in subsection (a) of this section may go on board any fishing vessel of Canada or Japan found in waters in which Canada or Japan has agreed by or under the Convention to abstain from exploitation of one or more stocks of fish, and, when he has reasonable cause to believe that such vessel is engaging in operations in violation of the provisions of the Convention, may, without warrant or other process, inspect the equipment, books, documents, and other articles on such vessel and question the persons on board, and for these purposes may hail and stop such vessel, and use all necessary force to compel compliance. (c) Whenever any such officer has reasonable cause to believe that any person on any fishing vessel of Canada or Japan is violating, or immediately prior to the boarding of such vessel was violating, the provisions of the Convention referred to in subsection (a) of this section, such person, and any such vessel employed in such violation shall be detained and shall be delivered as promptly as practicable to an authorized official of the nation to which they belong in accordance with the provisions of the Convention. (d) Any officer of the Coast Guard, any officer of the Fish and Wildlife Service, or any other person authorized to enforce the provisions of the Convention and this Act referred to in subsection (a) of this section, may be directed to attend as witnesses and to produce such available records and files or duly certified copies thereof as may be necessary to the prosecution in Canada or Japan of any violation of the provisions of the Convention or any Canadian or Japanese law for the enforcement thereof when requested by the appropriate authorities of Canada or Japan respectively. SEC. 9. The Secretary of the Interior may designate officers of the States and Territories of the United States to enforce the provisions of the Convention and this Act in so far as they pertain to fishing vessels of the United States and the persons on board such vessels. SEC. 10. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person or fishing vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to engage in the catching of any stock of fish from which the United States may agree to abstain in the waters specified for such abstention as set forth in the Annex to the Convention, or to load, process, possess, or transport any such fish or fish products processed therefrom in the said waters, or to land in a port of the United States any fish so caught, loaded, possessed, or transported or any fish products processed therefrom. (b) It shall be unlawful for any person or fishing vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States knowingly to load, process, possess, or transport any fish specified in subsection (a) of this section or any fish products processed therefrom in the territorial waters of the United States or in any waters of the Convention area in addition to those specified in subsection (a) of this section, or to land in a port of the United States any such fish or fish products. (c) It shall be unlawful for any person or fishing vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States knowingly to load, process, possess, or transport in the Convention area or in the territorial waters of the United States any fish taken by a national of Canada or Japan from a stock of fish from which Canada or Japan respectively has agreed to abstain as set forth in the Annex to the Convention or any fish products processed therefrom, or to land such fish or fish products in a port of the United States. (d) It shall be unlawful for any person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to aid or abet in the taking of fish by a national or fishing vessel of Canada or of Japan from a stock of fish from which Canada or Japan has respectively agreed to abstain as set forth in the Annex of the Convention. (e) It shall be unlawful for the master or owner or any person in charge of any fishing vessel of the United States to refuse to permit the duly authorized officials of the United States, Canada, or Japan to board such vessel or inspect its equipment, books, documents, or other articles or question the persons on board in accordance with the provision of the Convention, or to obstruct such officials in the execution of such duties. SEC. 11. (a) Any person violating subsection (a), (b), or (c) of section 10 of this Act shall upon conviction be fined not more than $10,000, and for such offense the court may order forfeited, in whole or in part, the fish concerned in the offense, or the fishing gear involved in such fishing, or both, or the monetary value thereof. Such forfeited fish or fishing gear shall be disposed of in accordance with the direction of the court. (b) Any person violating subsection (d) of section 10 of this Act shall upon conviction be fined not more than $10,000. (c) Any person violating subsection (e) of section 10 of this Act shall upon conviction be fined not more than $10,000 and be imprisoned for not more than one year or both, and for such offense the court may order forfeited, in whole or in part the fish and fishing gear on board the vessel, or both, or the monetary value thereof. Such fish and fishing gear shall be disposed of in accordance with the direction of the court. (d) Section 10 of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Act of 1950 (64 Stat. 1067; 16 U. S. C. 989) shall not apply to violations for which penalties are provided in this section. SEC. 12. For the effective execution of this Act, sections 7 (a) and (b), 9, 10, and 11 of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Act of 1950 (64 Stat. 1067; 16 U. S. C. 986, 988, 989, 990) shall be deemed to be incorporated herein in haec verba provided that regulations authorized by section 7 (a) of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Act shall be adopted by the Secretary of the Interior on consultation with the United States Section and shall apply only to stocks of fish in the Convention area contiguous to the territorial waters of Alaska. SEC. 13. (a) There is hereby authorized to be appropriated from time to time such sums as may be necessary for carrying out the purposes and provisions of the Convention and this Act, including (1) necessary travel expenses of the United States Commissioners without regard to the Standardized Government Travel Regulations, as amended, the Travel Expense Act of 1949, or section 10 of the Act of March 3, 1933 (U. S. C., title 5, sec. 73b); and (2) the United States share of the joint expenses of the Commission; provided that the Commissioners shall not, with respect to commitments concerning the United States share of the joint expenses of the Commission, be subject to the provisions of section 262 (b) of title 22 of the United States Code insofar as they limit the authority of United States representatives to international organizations with respect to such commitments. (b) Such funds as shall be made available to the Secretary of the Interior for research and related activities shall be expended to carry out the program of the Commission in accordance with recommendations of the United States Section. SEC. 14. If any provision of this Act or the application of such provision to any circumstances or persons shall be held invalid, the validity of the remainder of the Act and the applicability of such provision to other circumstances or persons shall not be affected thereby. Approved August 12, 1954. INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION FOR THE HIGH SEAS FISHERIES OF THE NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN The Governments of the United States of America, Canada and Japan, whose respective duly/accredited representatives have subscribed hereto, Acting as sovereign nations in the light of their rights under the principles of international law and custom to exploit the fishery resources of the high seas, and Believing that it will best serve the common interest of mankind, as well as the interests of the Contracting Parties, to ensure the maximum sustained productivity of the fishery resources of the North Pacific Ocean, and that each of the Parties should assume an obligation, on a free and equal footing, to encourage the conservation of such resources, and Recognizing that in view of these considerations it is highly desirable (1) to establish an International Commission, representing the three Parties hereto, to promote and coordinate the scientific studies necessary to ascertain the conservation measures required to secure the maximum sustained productivity of fisheries of joint interest to the Contracting Parties and to recommend such measures to such Parties and (2) that each Party carry out such conservation |