by Special Assistant Steven Nelson, office of the Legal Advisor, U.S. State Department. In general the testimony of all state and federal witnesses, including Gov. Egan, followed the line that management and conservation were the key issues. Although Alaska is presently involved in litigation with the federal government over submerged oil land in the Cook Inlet area, little testimony was presented to that aspect of coastal-territorial ownership. Neither was the Bering Sea fully considered. The testimony of ADF&G Commissioner Wallace H. Noerenberg dealt with only three areas as examples of what the new provisional charts would create; namely the areas of Southeast Alaska, Shelikof Strait and the Shumagin Islands. Noerenberg said in Southeastern the ill-advised attempt to impose an openstraits principal would completely disrupt and thoroughly confuse the historic inside-water fishing districts established early in this century by the federal government and maintained by the state. The commercially valuable species of fish and shellfish in Southeastern is migratory, and the relatively straight closing lines has allowed development of strategies for management that have maintained, and often increased production of stocks, Noerenberg said. He listed five possible adverse effects the removal of vast territorial waters would have on Southeast fishery stocks. 1. Cripple State ability to maintain proper management for viability by greatly reducing zones of harvest methods; 2. Allow heavy encroachment of Canadian halibut and blackcod fishermen into areas currently in use by residents; 3. Remove hundreds of square miles of legal waters from fishing in Southeastern's largest fishery-almon nets; 4. Encouragement development by non-resident U.S. fishermen on salmon, crab and other fisheries beyond the 3-mile limit and beyond jurisdiction of the State. Catches that could be transported to Canadian and Washington-Oregon ports without compliance to Alaska regulations and could destroy Alaska conservation programs. Noerenberg said the provisional lines for Shelikof Strait containing valuable herring, salmon, halibut, shrimp, crab and scallop fisheries, would have much the same effect as for Southeastern. Regarding the Shumagin Islands, Noerenberg said the provisional charts "present a classic problem related to management for it is through these channels, similar to Shelikof Strait, that salmon pass destined for the mainland spawning streams". The loss of waters around the Shumagins would, he said, remove many critical migratory zones from Alaska regulations. "It is entirely conceivable that concessions in the contiguous zone by the federal government both to non-resident Alaska fishermen and foreign shrimp and crab fishermen could prove extremely damaging to the conservation program of the State", Noerenberg summarized. Testimony by David Hickok, Director for the U. of A. Sea Grant Program was similar to Noerenbergs. William H. Hunt, Head of the U. of A. Dept of History traced the history of Alaska territorial sea claims back to the time of purchase with the aid of historic charts. Other witnesses testified that as late as 1962, nautical marine charts for Alaska territorial seas were recognized for management and enforcement purposes by federal agencies. Sen. Inouye asked the State Department counselor, Mr. Nelson, if one could operate a gambling ship in the "pockets" (contiguous zone areas) and Nelson replied it was an "interesting point" but that "I'm sure the Department could find some reason to cope with that." In other questioning by the Senators, Commissioner Noerenberg responded that as a result of foreign operations off Alaska coasts, three fish species were now near extinction, and C.A. "Bud" Weberg, Fisheries Enforcement Division, called the new charts “an enforcement nightmare". Sen. Stevens commented it had been established in the just completed sea mammal hearings that "more fur seal are dying of malnutrition because of high seas fishing operations than are harvested on the Pribilof Islands", and he referred specifically to the foreign herring take off Alaska. At several points in the hearing the International Court of Justice case, involving Norway vs. United Kingdom (1951), was cited in which the drawing of baselines should not depart from the coast to any appreciable degree. The ruling was used for comparison of the Alaska coast line to that of Norway. Governor William Egan, in his testimony, said he would disregard the provisional charts and use the nautical charts as drawn, for conservation-enforcement purposes. He three times mentioned potential violence among fishermen if the provisional chrats were used for fishing in Alaska contiguous waters. Sen. Inuoye said he would ask withdrawal of the charts and issuance of a memo to persons who have received them (including foreign governments to whom they had been sold) declaring the charts to be unofficial and not the policy of the federal government. Stevens said if the State Department did not act on the recommendations, "we will have full-scale hearings in Washington." Rep. Clem Tillion, Minority Leader in the Alaska State House, reportedly a well-informed member on coastal zone treaties, testified briefly, and Sitka Rep. Ed Flynn listened in on the afternoon session when the House was in recess. Lowell Wakefield, of Wakefield Fisheries and delegate to the International Law of the Seas Conference, testified that "Alaska needs far more than 12 miles" (limit) and that he was convinced Alaska “marine resources exceeded all other Alaska resources, including oil, timber and tourism combined”. Wakefield's response came as a result of a statement by Sen. Inuoye that immediately on his return to Washington he would "call on the State Department to invite an Alaskan delegate to sit as a representative on all meetings of the Law of the Sea Conference". State Department counselor Nelson discouraged the approach for an Alaska delegate to the Conference saving other coastal states would want the same benefit and the "meetings would become unwieldly". No one representing Alaska fishermen testified at the hearing, although the president of the newly formed United Fishermen of Alaska was present. The Senators set ten days for receipt of written testimony to be included in the record from the date of the Juneau hearing. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, THE LEGAL ADVISER, Washington, D.C., August 28, 1972. Senator TED STEVENS, DEAR SENATOR STEVENS: Enclosed is a somewhat unclear but useable copy of a chart of Kodiak Island. It is part of the set which. I understand, we received from the coast guard some time ago and is presumably the set which was based on the Pearcy charts. As you can see, there are no baselines drawn across the entrances to Shelikof Strait. The dotted line, which the legend describes as "proposed strait baseline," has no status whatever and I am unable to determine by whom it was proposed or for what. I regret that I can't give you anything more definitive. |