Canadian Commissioners:

L. W. Patmore, Chairman;

A. J. Whitmore.

The International Fisheries Commission, composed of four members, two appointed by the United States of America and two by Canada, was established pursuant to the convention of March 2, 1923 and was continued by article III of the convention of May 9, 1930 between the United States and Canada. The purpose of these conventions was the renewal and preservation of the halibut fishery of the northern Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. The convention of 1930 was revised by the convention of January 29, 1937, which broadened the powers and increased the responsibilities of the Commission. Its powers and duties under articles I and III of the convention of 1937 are as follows:

(1) To suspend or change the closed season provided for when it finds after investigation such suspensions or changes are necessary; (2) To permit, limit, regulate, and prohibit in any area or at any time when fishing for halibut is prohibited, the taking, retain

ing, or landing of halibut caught incidental to other fishing; (3) To divide the convention waters into areas;

(4) To limit the catch of halibut to be taken from each area within the season during which fishing for halibut is allowed;

(5) To prohibit the departure of vessels from any port or place, or from any receiving vessel or station, to any area for halibut fishing, after any date when in the judgment of the International Fisheries Commission the vessels which have departed for that area shall suffice to catch the limit set for that area; (6) To fix the size and character of halibut-fishing appliances to be used in any area;

(7) To 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 other provisions of this convention;

(8) To close to all halibut fishing such portion or portions of an area or areas, as the International Fisheries Commission finds to be populated by small, immature halibut;

(9) To make such investigations as are necessary into the life history of the halibut in convention waters;

(10) To publish a report of its activities from time to time.

The Commission in the execution of these duties has divided the convention waters into areas; has limited the catch from each area; has

required the registration of all halibut vessels and the making of statistical returns with respect to the catches and areas of origin; has modified the closed season provided for by the convention; and has closed certain nursery areas. These regulations have been duly approved by both Governments and are now in effect; they provide for a limitation of the catch until the halibut banks have been properly restocked.

The Commission maintains a scientific staff which is constantly engaged in the gathering of statistics concerning the migrations of the fish investigated and in the study of the biological problems involved in their replacement and abundance, with a view to the adoption of further regulatory measures. It also issues circulars in non-technical terms, informing fishermen, vessel-owners, and dealers concerning the results of the Commission's investigations and other matters relating to the halibut and to the regulation of the fishery.

The United States and Canada share equally in the expenses of the Commission. The first appropriation for this Government's share of the expenses was provided by an act of Congress approved January 22, 1925 (43 Stat. 756). For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1941 the sum of $28,000 was appropriated by Congress for the purpose of paying these expenses (54 Stat. 191).

INTERNATIONAL PACIFIC SALMON FISHERIES COMMISSION (Convention of May 26, 1930; act of August 25, 1937 31)

American Commissioners:

B. M. Brennan, of Washington, Chairman;

Edward W. Allen, of Washington;

Charles E. Jackson, Assistant Director, Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior.

Canadian Commissioners:

Tom Reid, Secretary;

A. L. Hager;

A. J. Whitmore.

The supply of sockeye salmon in the Fraser River system has in recent years been greatly depleted, and the convention of May 26, 1930 between Canada and the United States of America is a recognition by the parties thereto that the protection, preservation, and extension of these fisheries are of interest to both countries as a source of wealth which should be restored and maintained. The International Pacific

"Treaty Series 918; 50 Stat. 1355, 755.

Salmon Fisheries Commission, established in 1937 pursuant to the convention of 1930, is composed of six members, three appointed by each Government.

The waters covered by the convention are the Fraser River and its tributaries, the Georgia Strait, and the Juan de Fuca Strait, together with certain territorial waters and high seas westward from the entrance of the Juan de Fuca Strait.

The first duty of the Commission is to investigate the natural history of the salmon fisheries and to make recommendations to the two Governments as to the best measures for the regulation of the fisheries with a view to conservation and restoration. The Commission is empowered to investigate hatchery methods and spawning-ground conditions; to conduct sockeye-salmon fish-culture operations in the convention waters; to improve spawning grounds, to construct and maintain hatcheries and rearing ponds necessary for the propagation of sockeye salmon in these waters, and to stock any such waters with sockeye salmon by such methods as it may deem desirable; to recommend to the Governments of the United States and Canada that the obstructions to the ascent of salmon in the convention waters be removed or otherwise overcome; and to make to the two Governments an annual report of any investigation made or action taken in connection with these various duties.

The expenses of the Commission are shared equally by the United States and Canada. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1941 the sum of $35,000 was appropriated by Congress for the payment of the expenses of the United States in connection with this Commission (54 Stat. 191).

INTERNATIONAL BOARD OF INQUIRY FOR THE GREAT LAKES FISHERIES

(Exchange of notes on February 29, 1940 *)

American Members:

Hubert R. Gallagher, of Illinois, Chairman;

John D. van Oosten, of Michigan.

Canadian Members:

A. G. Huntsman, Secretary;

D. J. Taylor.

The Secretary of State and the Minister of Canada, Mr. Loring Christie, exchanged notes on February 29, 1940 establishing an In

32

See II Department of State Bulletin, 273 (Mar. 2, 1940); Executive Agreement Series 182.

ternational Board of Inquiry for the Great Lakes Fisheries. An agreement for the establishment of the Board was reached in the following terms:

(1) The Board of Inquiry for the Great Lakes Fisheries shall be established and shall consist of four members, two to be appointed by the Government of the United States of America and two to be appointed by the Canadian Government within three months from the date of this agreement.

(2) The Board shall make a study of the taking of fish in the Great Lakes, such study to be undertaken as soon as practicable. The Board shall make a report of its investigations to the two Governments and shall make recommendations as to the methods for preserving and developing the fisheries of the Great Lakes.

The problem of conserving the fisheries of the Great Lakes has long engaged the attention of the Governments of Canada and the United States, the Province of Ontario, and the States bordering on the Great Lakes. The production of certain species of Great Lakes fish had reached low levels, and the formation of the Board of Inquiry was in response to this situation.

With a view to obtaining full information and the benefit of the opinions of commercial fishermen, sportsmen, and other interested persons, the Board holds hearings at various places in the Great Lakes

area.

On February 29, 1940 the President appointed as American members of the Board Mr. Hubert R. Gallagher, Assistant Director, Council of State Governments, Chicago, Illinois, and Dr. John D. van Oosten, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, in charge of the Great Lakes Fisheries Investigations for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The Canadian Government appointed as its representatives Dr. A. G. Huntsman, Consulting Director to the Fisheries Research Board of Canada, and Mr. D. J. Taylor, Deputy Minister of the Department of Game and Fisheries of the Province of Ontario. Mr. Gallagher was elected Chairman of the Board and Dr. Huntsman, Secretary, at the first meeting at Toronto, Canada, on April 15, 1940.

Each country defrays the expenses of its own members. The expenses of the American members of the Board are defrayed from funds available to the Department of the Interior.

INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON HISTORIC MONUMENTS

(Resolution of the Athens Conference on the Conservation of Artistic and Historic Monuments, 1931)

Offices: Paris, France.

American Representative: Frank H. H. Roberts, Jr., Ph. D., Bureau of American Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution.

The Athens Conference, a meeting of specialists on questions of restoration and protection of monuments and works of art, was held under the auspices of the International Museums Office of the International Institute on Intellectual Cooperation. The Conference recommended the coordination of work by the various national bodies interested in the preservation of monuments and suggested that this could be brought about only by an international organization composed of outstanding persons with sufficient technical knowledge and authority to give official character to its proceedings and recommendations. This suggestion led to the establishment, in 1934, of the International Commission on Historic Monuments set up within the framework of the International Museums Office.

Briefly, it is the purpose of the International Commission on Historic Monuments to promote the establishment of organizations responsible for the protection of monuments in countries where no such organizations exist; to facilitate discussions, and exchanges of documents and technicians; to constitute a collection of international documentation; to study the solution of problems referred to it by the national offices; and to develop in the public mind an increasing respect for monuments.

PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF NAVIGATION

CONGRESSES

(Resolution of the Eighth International Navigation Congress, 1900; act of June 28, 1902 33)

Offices: Brussels, Belgium.

PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION

American Members:

Colonel Spencer Cosby, United States Army, retired, Washington, D.C.; Chairman;

Brigadier General Herbert Deakyne, United States Army, retired, San Francisco, California;

33 32 Stat. 485.