STATEMENT BY THE HONORABLE THOMAS A. CLINGAN, JR.

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82S00697R000400090012-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 25, 2002
• Sequence Number: 12
• Publication Date: May 19, 1975
• Content Type: SPEECH

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STATEMENT BY
THE HONORABLE THOMAS A. CLINGAN, Jr.
BEFORE THE
HOUSE MERCHANT MARINE AND FISHERIES
COMMITTEE
MONDAY, MAY 19, 1975
Mr. Chairman,
Let me first express my appreciation to you for
providing this opportunity to share with you my pre-
liminary views concerning the recently concluded
third session of the United Nations Law of the Sea
Conference. Ambassador Moore has commented on the
results in a comprehensive way, so with your per-
mission, I would like to restrict my comments today
primarily to the question of fisheries.
At its 55th plenary meeting on Friday, April
18, the Law of the Sea. Conference requested the Chair
man of each of the three main committees to prepare a
single negotiating text covering the subjects entrusted
to his committee. The President of the Conference
indicated that these texts should take into account
all formal and informal discussions which had trans-
pired, and that they should not prejudice the posi-
tion of any delegation. The resulting "Informal
State Dept. review completed
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Single Negotiating Text" was delivered to the various
del -ga'tions on the final day of the Conference, thus
the NSC Interagency Task Force on the Law of the Sea
has not yet had the opportunity to fully assess the
document and review our options. Accordingly, my
comments must be of a very preliminary nature.
The single negotiating text must be viewed as
a procedural device providing the basis for further
negotiations, and is not a negotiated text or an agreed
compromise. It does not affect any nation's national
position. Thus, with respect to fisheries as well as
other issues, it must be viewed as amendable in future
work sessions. However, as Ambassador Moore has in-
dicated, the significance of the text should not be
overlooked. Its roots are in the negotiations, and
it is not to he seen as arbitrary or without substance.
In some areas it reflects broadly shared views.
Negotiations regarding fisheries issues were
conducted at a more intensive level than in previous
sessions of the Conference, and they built upon a
framework of prior consultations among nations, both
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of a bilateral and small multilateral character.
Much of the work product in the unified text was the
result of discussions among a group of about 30 na-
tions working under the guidance of Minister Jens
Evensen of Norway, while at the same time reflecting
the efforts of similar negotiating groups. With
regard to the latter, the text seeks to take into
account the needs of landlocked and geographically
disadvantaged states as well as coastal states.
As was our hope, the unified negotiating text
contains'articles on the full utilization of coastal
species and separate treatment for highly migratory
and anadromous species, primarily tuna and salmon.
These articles will require careful study and must
be analyzed in conjunction with the entire text to
make a proper judgment as to their value and overall
negotiability. I can comment on a few items on a
very preliminary basis, however. First, the fisheries
articles read as a whole have a strong tilt in the
direction of advancing the interests of coastal
states. This overall inclination would tend to strengthen
our own position regarding our coastal fisheries.
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The concept of full utilization which has been
advocated by the United States has been included.
Of course, the coastal state has a clear preference
in coastal stocks to the limit of its harvesting
capac-t.ty not to exceed the maximum yield. At the same
time, the coastal state is required to ensure through
proper conservation measures that the living resources
within any economic zone are not endangered by over-
exploitation.
Next, I should like to point out that the salmon
article appearing in the text was widely discussed both
among states in whose waters the fish originate and
states fishing for salmon. The text appears to have
broad support within that group, and it represents a.
careful balancing of the interests of all of the
states involved, in the Atlantic as well as the Pacific
fisheries.
.The tuna article is disappointing. On the
positive side, that article calls for the establishment
of appropriate international organizations in each
region and requires all states to participate in their
work. However, the fisheries management and allocation
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aspects of this article are not good. Neve:rtbe . :ss,
it: is our view that we are probably better protected.
by having a single text to be further negotiated than
we would have been had there been no article on tuna
at: all.
In addition to these major articles, Mr. Chairman,
there are provisions in the unified text giving coastal
states the same rights over sedentary species on the
continental shelf as presently provided for in the
Continental Shelf convention of 1958, and an article
setting forth special rules for cooperation among
states bordering on enclosed or semi-enclosed seas
regarding living resources. There are also articles
calling for protection for marine mammals.
As you are aware, Mr. Chairman, the next meeting
of the conference will be an eight week session in
New York beginning March 29, 1976. During the
intervening period much work will have to be done.
The Executive Branch is undertaking an extensive
review and assessment of the informal single negotiating
text with a view toward establishing the options open
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to us and the most profitable way we can spend the
months available to us. Following such a review,
representatives of the Executive Branch would appre-
ciate the opportunity to appear before you again to
discuss in more de;-'ail our assessment. As Ambassador.
Moore has stated, our review will necessarily take
into account the views of Congress, and our evalua-
tion will be an objective one. It continues to be
our desire to work closely with this Committee and
the Congress inmoving toward a successful solution
to our many problems.
In this regard, let me join with Ambassador Moore
in expressing my appreciation for the help and
assistance of the many members who visited us in Geneva,
and, indeed, for the support of this Committee in all
of our work. While we may have differed on questions
of timing, our objectives in achieving the maximum
benefit for our fisheries, consistent with sound
principles of conservation, have never been different
from yours. Your continued support of these objectives
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will enable us to carry forth constructive work
during the next weeks and months.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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