**Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America**

**and the Government of the Union Of Soviet Socialist Republics on
Mutual Fisheries Relations (Basic Instrument For**

**The U.S.-Russia Intergovernmental Consultative Committee \-- ICC)**

**[Basic Instrument]{.underline}**

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.

**[Implementing Legislation]{.underline}**

Public Law 100-629 (An untitled Act that implemented the Comprehensive
Fisheries Agreement. Enacted November 7, 1988).

**[Member Nations]{.underline}**

The United States and the Russian Federation.

**[Meetings]{.underline}**

The ICC meets alternately in the United States and Russia, on an annual
basis, at the discretion of the heads of delegation.

**[U.S. Representation]{.underline}**

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 Ambassador David
Balton, 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 current North Pacific and Bering Sea Advisory Body Members are:

[Washington Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
Representative]{.underline}

William Tweit, Distant Waters and Columbia River Policy Lead

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, Washington

*tweitwmt@dfw.wa.gov*

[Alaska Department of Fish and Game Representative]{.underline}

Earl E. Krygier, Extended Jurisdiction Program Manager

Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Anchorage, Alaska

*earl_krygier@fishgame.state.ak.us*

[Alaska]{.underline}

Alan Austerman, State of Alaska Fisheries Policy Advisor

Juneau, Alaska

*alan_austerman@gov.state.ak.us*

Alvin Burch, Executive Director, Alaska Draggers Association, Kodiak,
Alaska

*alaska@ptialaska.net*

Richard Lauber, Fishing Industry Consultant

Juneau, Alaska, *RickLauber@aol.com*

Henry Mitchell, Fishing Industry Consultant, Anchorage, Alaska

*mitchellak@aol.com*

Hazel Nelson, President, Becharof Corporation

Anchorage, Alaska, *becharof@gci.net*

[Washington State]{.underline}

David Benson, Trident Seafoods Corporation, Seattle, Washington

*daveb@TridentSeafoods.com*

Terry Leitzell, General Counsel

Icicle Seafoods, Seattle, Washington

*terryl@icicleseafoods.com*

Paul MacGregor

Partner, Law Firm of Mundt, MacGregor, Happel, Falconer, Zulauf, and
Hall

Seattle, Washington, *pmacgregor@mundtmac.com*

Brent Paine, Executive Director, United Catcher Boats, Seattle
Washington

*BPaine@ucba.org*

Thorn Smith, Executive Director, North Pacific Longline Association,
Seattle, Washington

*thorndog@worldnet.att.net*

**[Description]{.underline}**

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 (1) cooperative scientific research and
exchanges; (2) reciprocal allocation of surplus fish resources in the
respective national 200-mile zones, consistent with each nation\'s laws
and regulations; (3) cooperation in the establishment of fishery joint
ventures; (4) general consultations on fisheries matters of mutual
concern; and, (5) cooperation to address illegal or unregulated fishing
activities on the high seas of the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea.
The agreement expired on December 31, 2003. The two countries are
currently in the process of renewing it.

**[Current Status]{.underline}**

In accordance with Article 14 of the 1988 Agreement on Mutual Fisheries
Relations, representatives of Russia and the United States conducted the
16^th^ Session of the ICC on Fisheries in Seattle, Washington, on
September 19-21, 2005. The Russian delegation was led by Mr. Sergei A.
Podolyan, Deputy Director of the Federal Agency for Fisheries, and the
United States delegation was led by Ambassador David A. Balton, Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Oceans and Fisheries, U.S. Department of State.

The following fisheries issues were discussed at the meeting:

[Russia-U.S. Cooperation in the Study of Living Marine
Resources]{.underline}

[Pollock]{.underline}: The U.S. and Russian sides exchanged information
on stock assessments and analyses. The U.S. side presented the results
from the 2004 summer Bering Sea shelf pollock echo-integration trawl
survey, and the U.S.-Russia scientific collaborative pollock research
from 1993 to the present. The United States has submitted an application
to Russia for permission to survey Cape Navarin area by U.S. research
vessels in collaboration with TINRO/VNIRO in 2006. Research results of
Russian pollock surveys showed that Russian pollock stocks were stable.
Russia plans to survey the Navarin area in November 2005 and will
discuss the results at a future ICC or Working Group meeting.

[Seabirds]{.underline}: The United States presented an update on recent
developments on seabird/fishery issues. One species of particular
concern is the short-tailed albatross. It is estimated that there are
approximately 2,000 total worldwide. The U.S. side outlined efforts it
is taking to reduce seabird incidental take in U.S. longline and trawl
fisheries, and said that progress is being made in reducing longline
incidental take through the use of mitigation measures.

[Marine Mammals]{.underline}: The United States presented information on
marine mammal issues, including new information about a transboundary
population of ribbon seals in the northern Bering Sea and recent
research concerning Steller sea lions, northern fur seals, and North
Pacific right whales. U.S. and Russian scientists maintain an active
consultation on research and conservation issues relating to whales,
seals, sea lions, fur seals, polar bears, walrus, and sea otters.

The United States and Russia agreed that the interaction between the
above species and fisheries is of great interest to the ICC, and the two
sides will continue to exchange information and work together on these
issues.

[BASIS Program Research]{.underline}: Both sides presented information
on the Bering Sea and Aleutian Basin Salmon International Survey (BASIS)
Research Program, which involves research vessels from Japan, Russia,
and the U.S. under the auspices of the North Pacific Anadromous Fish
Commission (NPAFC). The BASIS Program is collecting data on juvenile
pollock and Atka mackerel, in addition to information on salmon. Both
the United States and Russia will present more detailed information at
the upcoming NPAFC meeting in Korea. Both sides expressed the importance
of this type of cooperative research for future fisheries management.

[Exchange of Information on Fisheries Under the Agreement on
Preservation of Transboundary Fish Stocks in the Central Sea of Okhotsk
(June 13, 1996)]{.underline}

Russia thanked the United States for its support in maintaining stock
levels in the Sea of Okhotsk, and reported that the status quo would be
maintained and that pollock fisheries in the central part of the Sea of
Okhotsk would not be resumed at this time. Russia reported that there is
not a great amount of pressure from nations that used to fish in the Sea
of Okhotsk to resume fishing at this time.

[Exchange of Information on Fisheries Enforcement
Cooperation]{.underline}:

A representative of the U.S. Coast Guard reported on the recent meeting
in Petropavlovsk between U.S. and Russian regional law enforcement
commanders, and joint U.S.-Russia enforcement exercises and maritime
boundary operations. U.S. and Russian cutters conducted two joint
exercises in 2005, which included port calls, and also engaged in a
multinational illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing patrol
over the summer. One highlight of cooperative efforts was the
investigation into suspected illegal fish transshipments, in which the
U.S. Coast Guard presented evidence to the Russian Federal Security
Service to aid in their investigation. The United States requested
information regarding the results of Russia's investigation when it
becomes available.

The U.S. side also reported that the United States has observed limited
illegal fishing activity along the maritime boundary in the last few
years. Recent activity is well below activity levels in 1997-1998. Since
the last ICC meeting, the Coast Guard has noted three minor incursions
along the boundary line. The Untied States reported data on the number
of Russian incursions into the U.S. EEZ over the last six years; there
have been no seizures in the last three years. The Russian side agreed
that U.S.-Russian cooperation has been obviously successful, as
evidenced by the lack of violations, and expressed the hope that the
close cooperation and information exchange will continue.

[Review of the Results of the Annual Conference of the Parties to the
Convention on Conservation and Management of Pollock Stocks in the
Central Bering Sea]{.underline}: The two sides briefly reviewed the
results of the Central Bering Sea Pollock Convention 10^th^ Annual
Conference.

[Consideration of a Proposed Agreement Between the Government of the
Russian Federation and the Government of the United States of America on
the Conservation and Management of Living Resources in the Northern
Bering Sea]{.underline}:

Members of the U.S. and Russian delegations met in a Working Group to
discuss a comprehensive fisheries management agreement and the
enforcement portion of the agreement, drafts of which the sides had
exchanged earlier. The Working Group made good progress in considering
the text of a comprehensive agreement, as well as the text for a
fisheries enforcement element. Several aspects of the agreement will
nevertheless require further work.

The representatives of the enforcement cooperation sub-group of the
Working Group discussed the proposals made by Russia on fisheries
enforcement cooperation. As a result of the discussion, Russia and the
United States decided to continue the work intersessionally by
exchanging their proposals and their observations regarding the text of
the arrangement by telephone, fax and e-mail.

[Time and Place of the 17^th^ Session of the ICC and Any Additional
Working Group Meetings]{.underline}: The United States proposed that an
intersessional meeting be convened in the United States to make further
progress on the draft text of an agreement, particularly the provisions
of Annex I. Russia agreed in principle that an intersessional meeting
may be necessary and that there is also much work each side needs to do
independently.

Russia proposed that the next 17^th^ ICC meeting be held in Russia,
sometime after the Annual Conference of the Central Bering Sea Pollock
Convention.

A copy of the complete minutes of the 16^th^ Session of the U.S.-Russia
ICC is available from the National Marine Fisheries Service upon
request.

**[Staff Contacts]{.underline}**

[National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA]{.underline}:

Paul Niemeier

Office of International Fisheries (F/IA)

National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA

1315 East-West Highway, Room 12752

Silver Spring, MD 20910

Telephone: (301) 713-2276 x 189

Fax: (301) 713-2313

E-mail: paul.niemeier@noaa.gov

[Department of State]{.underline}:

H. Stetson Tinkham

Office of Marine Conservation (OES/OMC)

U.S. Department of State

2201 C Street, NW, Room 5806

Washington, D.C. 20520-7818

Telephone: (202) 647-3941

Fax: (202) 736-7350

E-mail: TinkhamSX@state.gov