Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on Mutual Fisheries Relations of May 31, 1988, as amended (TIAS 11442, the U.S.-Soviet Comprehensive Fisheries Agreement). Note: The obligations of the former Soviet Union under this agreement have devolved on the Russian Federation.
Public Law 100-629 (An untitled Act that implemented the Comprehensive Fisheries Agreement. Enacted November 7, 1988.)
The United States and the Russian Federation
The ICC meets alternately in the United States and Russia, on an annual basis, at the discretion of the heads of delegation.
Under the Rules of Procedure established for the ICC, the United States and Russia are to designate a Representative and an Alternate Representative. The current U.S. Representative is Mary Beth West, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and Fisheries Affairs. To date, the United States has not identified an Alternate Representative.
Pursuant to Section 5 of Public Law 100-629, a 12-member "North Pacific and Bering Sea Fisheries Advisory Body" was established to advise the U.S. Representative to the ICC. This body consists of the following individuals:
(A) The Director of the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife of the State of Washington;
(B)The Commissioner of the Department of Fish and Game of the State of Alaska;
(C) Five members appointed by the Secretary of State from a list of ten nominees provided by the Governor of Alaska; and,
(D) Five members appointed by the Secretary of State from a list of ten nominees provided by the Governor of Washington.
The United States and the Russian Federation maintain the bilateral ICC fisheries forum pursuant to the U.S.-Soviet Comprehensive Fisheries Agreement, signed on May 31, 1988. The ICC is responsible for furthering the objectives of the Comprehensive Fisheries Agreement. These objectives include maintaining a mutually beneficial and equitable fisheries relationship through
The inaugural meeting of the ICC was held in Washington, D.C., February 6-10, 1989. Since that meeting, initiatives leading to two new multilateral international conventions designed to address major fisheries conservation problems in the North Pacific and associated seas have emerged from the ICC process. The Convention for the Conservation of Anadromous Stocks in the North Pacific Ocean brought the end to the last legal high seas salmon fishery in the world, a major objective of the United States. It also included in one regime all of the major salmon-producing countries of the Pacific rim. The earliest coordination over and drafting of the Convention for the Conservation and Management of the Living Marine Resources of the Central Bering Sea also took place in the ICC. The latter Convention, which entered into force on December 8, 1995, is in the process of establishing a management regime to govern commercial fishing in the Central Bering Sea when the pollock resource found there can sustain renewed fishing.
In addition to setting the stage for the negotiation of these two conventions, the two sides also signed an agreement in September 1992 governing the harvest of salmonids within their respective exclusive economic zones (EEZs). Among other things, this agreement restricts fisheries for Pacific salmon to within 25 nautical miles of the U.S. and Russian coasts between 170 degrees East longitude and 143 degrees 53 minutes and 36 seconds West longitude, north of 50 degrees North latitude.
Representatives of the United States and Russia met at the headquarters of Dalryba in Vladivostok, Russia, on October 22-24, 1997, for the Ninth Meeting of the ICC. They consulted on a range of fisheries matters of mutual concern. The U.S. delegation was led by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and Space, Ms. Mary Beth West, and the Russian delegation was led by Mr. Mikhail. V. Dementyev, Chief of the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Russian Federation. Four major issues were discussed at the ICC meeting:
1. Recent increase in the number of fishing vessel incursions into the U.S. zone in the Bering Sea: The U.S. side expressed its concern over the large number of fishing vessel incursions (seven Russian and six third-Party vessels) into the U.S. EEZ this summer by vessels operating from the Russian zone.
The Russian delegation responded that after receiving information on the incursions from the United States, Russia set up a 2-mile "buffer zone" at the maritime boundary and dispatched fisheries enforcement vessels to patrol the "buffer zone." In additional, the administrations of the ports in the Russian Far East are taking measures to ensure that fishing vessel captains have been familiarized with the "buffer zone" and maritime boundary location prior to their departure for the fishing grounds.
2. Difficulty in obtaining clearance for mutually agreed scientific research cruises: This year, for the second time in as many years, a request by the United States for a research cruise permit for the NOAA research vessel MILLER FREEMAN to conduct cooperative pollock fisheries stock assessment work in the Russian EEZ during the summer was denied by the Russian Government, specifically the Russian Defense Ministry.
To avoid this kind of problem in the future, the Russian side proposed that TINRO's research vessel, the PROFESSOR KAGANOVSKIY, meet the MILLER FREEMAN within 15 miles on either side of the U.S.-Russia maritime boundary, calibrate hydroacoustic survey equipment and exchange scientists, and then each vessel would conduct the survey cruise in its own zone. Data on the cruises would be exchanged later. The U.S. side said that although it appreciated Russia's proposal, it would be disappointed if the proposal represented more than a short term solution to the problem. The U.S. side expressed its hope that a way can be found to allow access by U.S. research vessels to the Russian zone.
3. Information about salmon fishing within the Russian zone: Prior to the meeting, the United States requested that the Russian side provide salmon catch data for the Russian zone.
The U.S. delegation explained in detail that this request was related to the severe, unexplained sockeye salmon run failure in western Alaska and that the United States was seeking the cooperation of Russian scientists and fishery managers to determine the cause of this failure and to predict future failures. Under the two countries' 1992 bilateral salmon fishing agreement, both sides agreed to close specific areas to salmon fishing, exchange information regarding the numbers of research and scouting vessels operating under respective national research programs and the amount of their catch, and to establish a joint scientific program on anadromous stocks that would exchange information on salmonid stocks and fisheries. Only one meeting of the joint program occurred, in 1993.
The Russian side responded that Russia, too, experienced failures of sockeye salmon runs in 1997, leading to a difficult economic situation for Russian salmon fishers. The Russian delegation said that Russian salmon scientists and managers are seeking the same answers as their U.S. counterparts.
The range of salmon questions submitted by the United States proved too broad for the two sides to adequately address at the ICC meeting. They agreed to hold a bilateral meeting in spring 1998 to address salmon issues and exchange data, as allowed under the 1992 agreement.
4. Transfer of fishing effort from the Sea of Okhotsk to the Bering Sea: The United States expressed its concern about the transfer of foreign fishing effort from the Sea of Okhotsk to the Navarin Basin after Russia prohibited all commercial fishing in the central Sea of Okhotsk in 1995. The U.S. delegation asked to be provided with the identification of the amount and character of that transferred effort. The Russian side responded that there has been no transfer of effort. The Russians said that foreign fishing vessels operating in the Russian zone of the Bering Sea are granted quotas based on the TAC determined by Russian scientists for the Western Bering Sea.
The Russians disclosed that in 1997 they concluded bilateral agreements with the Republic of Korea, the People's Republic of China, and Poland, which allocated catch allocations in the Russian zone of the Sea of Okhotsk totaling 114,000 metric tons. This quota is part of the overall total allowable catch (TAC) established by Russia for the entire Sea of Okhotsk.
Other Issues: In addition to the four issues summarized above, the two countries exchanged views on implementing the UN Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks Agreement, discussed strategies for the Second Annual Conference of the Parties to the Central Bering Sea Convention (the "Donut Hole" Convention), and exchanged information on the status of pollock stocks in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea.
The Tenth Meeting of the ICC will be held in the United States in fall 1998, the exact time and place yet to be decided.
National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA:
Paul E. Niemeier
Office of Sustainable Fisheries, F/SF4
1315 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Phone: (301) 713-2276
Fax: (301) 713-2313
E-mail: paul.niemeier@noaa.gov
Department of State
H. Stetson Tinkham
Office of Marine Conservation
Department of State
Washington, D.C. 20520-7818
Phone: (202) 647-3941
Fax: (202) 736-7350
Economic | Fishing | Foreign Policy | Maps | Russia in Asia | Security |
University Home | Asia-Pacific Distance Calculator | Center, Programs | Datebase |