ALASKA SALMON FISHERY TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1938 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON MERCHANT MARINE AND FISHERIES, Washington, D. C. The committee met at 2:30 p. m., Hon. Schuyler O. Bland (chairman) presiding. The CHAIRMAN. According to the notice previously given, the committee has met to consider H. R. 8344, introduced by Delegate Dimond, of Alaska, and the committee is ready to proceed with the hearings. (The bill H. R. 8344 is as follows:) [H. R. 8344] A BILL To protect and preserve the salmon fishery of Alaska, and for other purposes Whereas the salmon fishery of Alaska is an important part of our national economy, furnishing employment annually during the salmon-packing season to upwards of twenty-five thousand persons, making a product of the gross annual value of approximately $40,000,000, and supplying an important factor in our national diet; and Whereas all salmon so packed in Alaska are hatched in the inland rivers and lakes of the Territory, where they remain for a period varying from a few weeks to three years according to the species of the salmon, and then proceed downstream to the ocean, whence they return, after a period of from two to four years, to the rivers and lakes in Alaska in which they were hatched, there to spawn and after spawning to die; and Whereas this Government in order to preserve the Alaska salmon fishery from speedy exhaustion has for many years past, through protective laws and regulations, severely limited the taking of salmon in the waters of Alaska, has prohibited aliens from fishing therein, and, in the enforcement of such laws and regulations, has been required annually to expend large sums of money; and Whereas foreign nationals have recently invaded the salmon fishery of Alaska by catching and taking, in the waters of Bristol Bay and Bering Sea adjacent to the coast of Alaska, large numbers of salmon, and have threatened to extend their salmon fishing and packing operations; and such operations by foreign nationals will rapidly deplete and inevitably within a few years exhaust the entire salmon fishery of Alaska; and Whereas for the protection and welfare of our workmen and our industries, and of our whole people, it is necessary that foreign nationals should refrain, and, if they will not voluntarily refrain, should be prevented, from engaging in salmon fishing in the waters adjacent to the coast of Alaska as far as the outer limit of the continental shelf: Therefore Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That it is hereby declared to be the policy of Congress to protect and preserve the salmon fishery of Alaska and to prevent the depletion thereof through illicit fishing operations carried on by foreign nationals in the waters adjacent to the coast of Alaska. SEC. 2. The salmon which are spawned and hatched in the waters of Alaska are hereby declared to be the property of the United States, and it shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to fish for, take, or catch any of said salmon in the waters adjacent to the coast of Alaska, except under such reason 1 able rules and regulations as the Secretary of Commerce may provide. Jurisdiction of the United States over the waters adjacent to the coast of Alaska for the necessary protection and preservation of the salmon fishery shall extend, subject to all valid treaties, to all the waters adjacent to the coast of Alaska, east of the international boundary in Bering Sea between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics as defined in the treaty between Russia and the United States, concluded at Washington on March 30, 1867, whereby Alaska was ceded to the United States, the depth of which is less than one hundred fathoms, and which the President has found and declared to be salmon fishery law enforcement areas as hereinafter provided. SEC. 3. (a) Whenever the President finds and declares that in any place or within any area on the waters adjacent to any part of the coast of Alaska any vessel or vessels hover or are being kept off the coast of Alaska for the purpose of catching or taking Alaska salmon which are en route to the lakes, rivers, or other inland waters of Alaska to spawn, such place or area so found and declared shall constitute a salmon fishery law enforcement area for the purposes of this Act. Only such waters shall be within a salmon fishery law enforcement area as the President finds and declares are in such proximity to such vessel or vessels that the area so defined is used or is likely to be used by such vessel or vessels for the fishing for, taking, or catching of Alaska salmon. No salmon fishery law enforcement area shall include any waters more than one hundred nautical miles from the place or immediate area where the President declared such vessel or vessels are hovering or being kept, and shall not include any waters more than one hundred fathoms deep, or any waters lying west of the said boundary between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in the Bering Sea. Whenever the President finds that within any salmon fishery law enforcement area the circumstances no longer exist which gave rise to the declaration of such area as a salmon fishery law enforcement area, he shall so declare, and thereafter, and until a further finding and declaration is made under this subsection with respect to the waters within such area, no waters within such area shall constitute a part of such salmon fishery law enforcement area. (b) At any place within a salmon fishery law-enforcement area the several officers of the Coast Guard or Customs, or of the United States Bureau of Fisheries, or United States marshals or their deputies, may go on board of any vessel and examine the vessel and any merchandise or person on board, and bring the same into port, and, subject to regulations of the Secretary of Commerce, or of the Secretary of the Treasury, or the joint regulations of both, it shall be their duty to pursue and seize or arrest and otherwise enforce upon such vessel, merchandise, or person, the applicable provisions of all laws and regulations respecting the salmon fishery of Alaska. SEC. 4. No salmon caught, taken, or packed in contravention of the provisions of this Act shall be brought within the United States and, if any such salmon shall be so brought in, the same shall be seized and forfeited to the United States. SEC. 5. If the vessels of any other national shall be used in the capture, taking, or packing of Alaska salmon in contravention of the provisions of this Act, a claim for the value of the salmon so taken or packed and the damages occasioned thereby shall be presented by the Government of the United States to the Government of such other nation, and in event of nonpayment thereof the Government of the United States shall take appropriate action for the collection of such claim and may withhold, in partial or entire satisfaction thereof, any sum due from the United States to such other nation on any account whatsoever. SEC. 6. Any person, company, corporation, or association violating any provision of this Act shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine not exceeding $5,000 or by imprisonment for a term of not more than ninety days in jail, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Every ship, boat, seine, net, trap, and every other gear and appliance used or employed for fishing for, catching, or taking or packing Alaska salmon in any of the waters adjacent to the coast of Alaska over which the United States has jurisdiction, in violation of the provisions of this Act, and all fish taken therein or therewith shall be seized by the officers of the Coast Guard or customs, or of the United States Bureau of Fisheries, or by the United States marshals or their deputies, and shall be sold under the direction of the court in which the forfeiture is declared at public auction, and the proceeds thereof, after deducting the expense of sale, shall be disposed of as other fines and forfeitures under the laws relating to Alaska. Proceedings for such forfeiture shall be in rem under the Rules of Admiralty. SEC. 7. It is intended that this Act shall supplement and not repeal any of the laws now in force relating to the salmon fishery of Alaska. (Reports on the bill H. R. 8344 are as follows:) Hon. S. O. BLAND, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: In your letter dated November 17, 1937, you requested the views and recommendations of the Department concerning H. R. 8344, a bill to protect and preserve the salmon fishery of Alaska, and for other purposes. Enclosed in a memorandum from the Acting Commissioner of the Bureau of Fisheries, this Department, concerning the proposed legislation, in which I concur. The Bureau of the Budget has advised that, while there would be no objection by that office to the presentation of the enclosed memorandum to your committee, it is not to be regarded as a commitment with respect to the relation of the contemplated legislation to the program of the President. Cordially yours, E. G. DRAPER, Assistant Secretary of Commerce. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, Bureau of Fisheries, Washington, December 1, 1937. Subject: H. R. 8344, a bill to protect and preserve the salmon fishery of Alaska. The SECRETARY OF COMMERCE: Referring to the bill H. R. 8344, introduced on November 15, 1937, by Delegate Dimond, to protect and preserve the salmon fishery of Alaska, I respectfully report as follows: This bill seeks to establish proprietary interest of the United States in Alaskan salmon through extension of this country's jurisdiction beyond the present 3-mile limit by the establishment, when found necessary by the President, of fishery lawenforcement areas in waters east of the international boundary line in Bering Sea, and under 100 fathoms in depth, and enforcement in those areas of the applicable provisions of all laws and regulations respecting the salmon fishery of Alaska. In five introductory paragraphs the bill explains (a) the importance of the Alaska salmon industry both in terms of value of product and number of persons employed; (b) the time spent by salmon in Alaskan waters in the course of their life cycle; (c) the conservation program of this country which has preserved the salmon fishery only by severely limiting its exploitation; (d) the recent invasion and the threatened depletion of the Bristol Bay salmon fishery by foreign nationals; and (e) the necessity of excluding foreign interests from waters inside the continental shelf of Alaska if the industry is to be preserved for this country. This bill (H. R. 8344) is similar to H. R. 7552 introduced by Delegate Dimond on June 17, 1937, except that the five introductory paragraphs mentioned above are added, and reference to extending jurisdiction of this country beyond the present 3-mile limit to a distance of 4 leagues seaward from the coast of Alaska, as contained in H. R. 7552, is omitted. The objectives and principles sought by H. R. 8344 are clearly the same as those sought to be accomplished by H. R. 7552, as the two bills, with the exception of the major differences hereinabove pointed out and a few minor changes, are the same. Under the circumstances, I desire to quote from a report submitted to you by the Commissioner of Fisheries on July 16, 1937, concerning H. R. 7552, as follows: "Beginning in 1930, and in the six seasons since then, operations have been conducted by Japanese floating canneries on the high seas off the Bering Sea coast of Alaska, particularly in Bristol Bay. From one to four floating plants, together with their auxiliary vessels, have been engaged each year, and although operations have been confined almost exclusively to crab fishing and canning, one vessel also has operated as a reduction plant, manufacturing fish meal. Last year the Japanese Government announced its intention of carrying on a 3-year study concerning the routes of migration and availability of salmon in extra-territorial waters of Bering Sea. That study commenced in 1936 and is being continued this year. The Japanese Government has assured the United States that no licenses would be issued for floating salmon canneries to be operated off the Alaskan coast until completion of these studies in 1939. "If the studies now under way by the Japanese Government in Bering Sea indicate that salmon-canning operations can be successfully carried on there, established American interests would be jeopardized not only by Japanese fishermen, but also by fishery interests of other countries seeking new waters to exploit. It is estimated that more than $20,000,000 is invested in the plants and equipment now in use in Bristol Bay. The products of the salmon fishery in that locality have a manufactured value of about $12,000,000 annually; employment is furnished to more than 8,000 cannery workers and fishermen. “Salmon fishing in Bristol Bay is limited by Federal laws and regulations so that there will be a sufficient escapement of salmon for breeding purposes, thus securing perpetuation of the runs from year to year. At the present time, the fishing season in Bristol Bay extends only from June 25 to July 25, and during that season there are weekly closed periods as long as 84 hours. Fishing is restricted to unpowered open boats, and only gill nets not exceeding 150 fathoms may be used; furthermore, there is a careful check made of the fishing intensity and if operations increase beyond a certain point, the fishing season is reduced proportionately. "If cannery vessels of foreign nations should undertake to fish in the extraterritorial waters of Bering Sea, intercepting the runs on which the American industry now draws, additional drastic regulations would have to be imposed within territorial waters in order to maintain the runs. If the offshore fishery were particularly effective, such regulations in territorial waters might be entirely inadequate to protect the salmon runs. In any event, there probably would be a diminution of the abundance of salmon in Bristol Bay within the space of one life cycle of 5 years. "The Bureau favors the objectives sought to be accomplished by this bill. "It is possible that the exercise of jurisdiction beyond the territorial waters as contemplated by this bill, in the absence of a treaty with the countries whose nationals might be affected, might result in international complications. This, however, is a matter which it is assumed will be given consideration by the Department of State in its report on the bill. If not objectionable on this ground, a favorable report on this bill is recommended." The attitude of the Bureau regarding the necessity of protecting and preserving the salmon fishery resources of Alaska from exploitation by foreign vessels has not changed since the report was submitted to you on July 16, 1937, concerning H. R. 7552, and therefore, as stated in that report, favorable action is likewise recommended on H. R. 8344. The enactment of H. R. 8344 will necessitate the construction of at least one additional patrol vessel at an estimated cost of $75,000. The estimated annual pay roll of the crew of eight men for such vessel is $11,500, and the estimated annual operating cost $6,500. CHARLES E. JACKSON, Acting Commissioner. (Letter from the Treasury Department is as follows:) Hon. S. O. BLAND, TREASURY DEPARTMENT, Washington, February, 1, 1938. Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of Representatives. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Further reference is made to your letter of November 16, 1937, enclosing a copy of House bill 8344, Seventy-fifth Congress, second session, "To protect and preserve the salmon fishery of Alaska, and for other purposes,' and requesting the views and recommendations of this Department thereon. There are in the Department's files reports from Coast Guard vessels showing the presence of Japanese vessels carrying on salmon fishing operations in the waters adjacent to the coast of Alaska, but outside the territorial waters of the United States. The Department, however, has no knowledge of the extent to which the salmon fishery is being, or may be depleted by fishing operations carried on in the waters adjacent to the coast of Alaska. There is a possibility that the establishment of enforcement areas outside of the territorial waters of the United States, as contemplated by the bill, may result in international complications. The problems, however, which may arise in this connection appear to be appropriate for the consideration of the Departments of Justice and State. This Department is, therefore, unable to advise you as to the merits of the proposed legislation. It is the opinion of the Department that the Customs Service and the Coast Guard would be appropriate agencies for enforcing this or a similar measure, if it is determined to enact such a bill. In the event consideration is to be given by the committee to this or a similar bill, the Department desires to present certain suggestions of a technical character related to the enforcement of its provisions. Very truly yours, WAYNE C. TAYLOR, Acting Secretary of the Treasury. The CHAIRMAN. Whom do you want heard first, Mr. Dimond? STATEMENT OF HON. ANTHONY J. DIMOND, DELEGATE IN CONGRESS FROM THE TERRITORY OF ALSAKA Mr. DIMOND. Mr. Chairman, the subject matter of this bill involves the life and may involve the death of the greatest industry in the Territory of Alaska, that of salmon fishing. In order to try to present the subject logically to the committee, I should like permission to make a comparatively brief preliminary statement, outlining the nature of the bill and the reasons which led to the introduction of the bill in the House of Representatives. After that is done, I should like permission to defer the rest of my statement (which will involve, to a large extent, questions of international law) until after the other witnesses, who have come here from Alaska and other various points on the Pacific coast, have testified. Then I will complete my statement later, if I may do that. The CHAIRMAN. Very well. Mr. DIMOND. As indicated in the title, this is a bill for the protection and preservation of the salmon fishery of Alsaka. After the preamble, which sets forth in condensed form the reasons which underlie the proposed legislation, the bill declares it to be the policy of Congress to protect and preserve the salmon fishery of Alaska and to prevent the depletion thereof through illicit fishing operations carried on by foreign nationals in the waters adjacent to the coast of Alaska; declares that the salmon which are spawned and hatched in the waters of Alaska are the property of the United States and that it shall be unlawful for anyone to fish for or take such salmon in the waters adjacent to the coast of Alaska except under such reasonable regulations as the Secretary of Commerce may provide; declares that jurisdiction of the United States over the waters adjacent to the coast of Alaska for the necessary protection and preservation of the salmon fishery shall extend; subject to all valid treaties, to all of such waters east of the international boundary in Bering Sea between the United States and the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics, where the depth of water is less than 100 fathoms, and which the President has found and declared to be salmon-fishery law-enforcement waters or areas; declares that the President, upon his finding, may proclaim as a salmonfishery law enforcement area any of the waters adjacent to any part of the coast of Alaska where any vessel or vessels hover or are kept for the purpose of catching or taking Alaska salmon while they are en route to the lakes, rivers, or other inland waters of Alaska to spawn, and thereupon the place or area so found and proclaimed by the President shall be a salmon-fishery law-enforcement area and within |