NORTHERN PACIFIC: HISTORY OF CONTACTS

The Northern Pacific basic borders are defined by the equator line and the coastal line of mainland to the North of it. Out of 510 million square kilometers of the territory of the planet, the World Ocean occupies 361 million square kilometers (70,8%0 and land occupies 149 million square kilometers or 25% of the area of the World Ocean and 60% of the total area of land.

1784 — beginning of trade between North-American United States and Russia across theAtlantic. 1799 — beginning of trade between the Russia-American company and NAUS. From 1803 until 1812 the money turnover of Russia-American trade on the North - Western coast reached 590 thousand dollars.

1784 — American ship “Empress of China” reached Canton. The ship brought the cargo of ginseng and turned back carrying tea, silk, china. A considerable amount of profit which the companies got aroused lively interest and provoked competition. During the period from 1780 to 1833 export of Chinese tea to America increased four fold. During the period from 1805 to 1834 about 1,8 million fur-seal pelts were brought to Canton at the sum of 3,5 million dollars. The price of sea-apes pelts for the same period reached 1 million dollars. Up to 1822 export of sandalwood increased (from the islands of Fiji, Hawaii and the Marquesas Islands) and reached 268 thousand dollars a year. From the East-Indies, Australia and a number of islands in the South Pacific Americans brought to China trepang.

1800-1870 — the settlement of the Far West of the North-American United States:Large

1803 — purchase of Louisiana

1819 — buying of Florida

1845 — annexation of Texas

1845 — annexation of the Oregon territory

1848 — purchase of California state and South-West

1853 — purchase of Hudson

1867 — purchase of Alaska

1898 — annexation of the Hawaiian Islands

1824 — conclusion of the first official treaty between the USA and Russia which defined the principles of shipping trade and fishing in the Pacific Ocean. 1824 Convention guaranteed both sides the right of free shipping and fishing in the Pacific Ocean.

1833 — Agreement between Russia and USA on trade and navigation which was in force for the next 80 years.

1833 — establishment of diplomatic relations between the North American United States and Siam (Thailand).

Middle of the XIX century - Californians become active participants of the transpacific trade with China, Hawaiian Islands and Japan (1858).

1882 — establishment of diplomatic relations between the USA and Korea.

1890 — Export of good from the USA constituted: 58% of the cost of export went to Great Britain and France, 6,2% - to Canada and Mexico, less than 1% - to China and Japan.

1890-1940 — the main trading partner of the USA in the Northern Pacific becomes Japan.

1898 — establishment of American control over the Philippines increased from 4,5 million dollars to 20.

Beginning of the XX century - the second place in trade exchange of the USA in the Pacific Ocean take the British East - India and Singapore, in 1907 import of the USA reached 84 million dollars, export - 9 million. The third place took China. The fourth - British Oceania, including Australia and New - Zealand. In 1907 USA imported from there goods at the sum of 17 million dollars, and exported at the sum of 32 million. The fifth place occupied the Dutch East - Indies. British colony Hong Kong was on the sixth place - its export in 1907 equaled 3 million dollars, export exceeded 8 million.

1914 — direct foreign investments of the USA equaled 2,65 billion dollars or about 7% of the gross national product of the country. 120 million or 5% of all capital investments of the USA were placed in Asia.

1952 — signing of the American - Japanese “Agreement on fishery in the Northern Pacific” according to which out of “principle of abstention” Japan “voluntarily” will abstain from the catch of salmon and a number of other kinds of food - fish in a spacious zone located to the East of the conditional demarcation line drawn along the 175* Western longitude. The Japanese side considered this agreement discriminatory and many times during the next 25 years (up to 1978) tried to achieve its reconsideration.

1958 — since this year the catch in the Pacific Ocean far exceeded the catch in the other oceanic basins reaching by the beginning of the 80s 55%. According to the data provided by FAO under UNO the maximal total annual catch of fish in the Pacific Ocean may reach 42-43 million tons.

The end of the 50s Japan admitted that the course taken mainly at the development of oceanic fishing was a mistake, and the first program of the development of littoral fishing was adopted, designed for the 60s.

1965 — American Association of Pacific fishery supported by the Congress of American fishermen and a number of trade union associations organized a massive boycott of Japanese goods and ships. Simultaneously Magnuson - Bartlett’s bill was introduced into the Senate which presupposes the introduction of unified customs tariff when fish products are brought in from those countries, which do not observe measures on preservation of fish caught in North America. Both these actions were directed first of all against Japan.

— signing an agreement between Japan and the Republic of Korea on mutual fishery in coastal waters of both countries.

1971 — the second (the first in the end of the 50s) perspective plan of the development of coastal fishery of Japan was adopted, designed for 13 years (from 1971 to 1984), envisaging complex development of fishery under conditions of limited access to live resources in the waters of foreign countries. From 1970 to 1982 the catch of the Japanese fishermen in the coastal waters of Japanese islands increased from 5,3 million tons to 9,1 and its share in overall catch of fish and marine products increased from 56 to 80%. Total share of bioresources of Japanese waters according to the evaluation of Japanese specialists is more than 50 million tons, and the volume of permissible catch – 15 - 17 million tons. Total reserves of the Inner, Japanese and Okhotsk Seas is evaluated at 13,8 million tons, and the possible catch - within the limits of 5 million tons. Sea regions of Oyasio and Kurosio currents spread up to 200 miles and more from the shore and the possible catch there may be estimated at 10 -12 million tons.

1974 — on the basis of the tri - party 1952 Convention there was signed bilateral American - Japanese Convention in respect of the catch of herring, halibut and salmon.

1976 — The USA adopts the law on preservation of fish resources and management of fishery. On the basis of this law the federal budget apportions more than 2 billion dollars for development of national fishery.

— Japan moved to the first place in the world in the volume of the catch of sea - products. With the introduction of the 200-miles sea economic zones, which sharply decreased fishery of the Japanese oceanic expeditionary fishery near the shores of other states, the country worked out a new economic strategy of defending its interests, including three main elements: activation of coastal fishery creation of the joint foreign enterprises and also development of new distant fishery objects of the catch.

1977 — USA trade in the Pacific Ocean exceeded its trade in the Atlantic Ocean.

— in the period of introduction of 200-miles economic zone near the coasts of the USA in the Pacific Ocean the catch was only 32 - 34% of the national catch, and at the same time the share of foreign catch, mainly Japanese was up to 89% of the world’s catch of fish and sea products.

The area of the sea economic zone of the USA is 7,6 million square kilometers, New - Zealand’s - 4,8; Canada’s - 4,7; Japanese - 3,8 million square kilometers.

— As the result of the eight months talks in Washington “Agreement on fishery at the coasts of the USA” was signed.

— Japanese quotas in the American waters were decreased by 11%.

1978 — in January in Vancouver (Canada) talks were held between Canada, the USA and Japan on the future tri - party Convention of 1952 - as the result of which Japan, Canada and the USA practically completely excluded the Japanese sea fishery of salmon which reproduces in the rivers of the American continent, which was additionally fixed in the signed the same year American - Japanese “Agreement on fishery of salmon in the Northern Pacific”.

— Japanese quotas in the economic zone of the USA were decreased by 18%.

— The increase of the USA catch in the economic zone constituted 11% And further on stabilized.

According to the opinion of the specialists expansion of the USA fishery would be impossible without complete reconstruction of the American fishing fleet, which at that time mainly consisted of small vessels and fish processing plants, also represented by small and inefficient plants with the number of workers on the average of not more than 20 people. The fleet had no superseiners and supertrawlers several thousand tons displacement, which were actively used by Japan. It was also pointed out that the structure of the catch had to be changed as at that time 70% of the volume of the catch consisted of 5 kinds of food - fish, at the same time the Japanese fishing fleet caught 500 - 600 kinds of fish, crustaced, mollusks, sea animals and plants. In the American fishery 160 thousand people were engaged working on 16 thousand vessels. By that time in Japan there were 470 thousand people, professionally engaged in fishery working on 440 thousand vessels of different types and purposes.

— Intergovernmental agreement between Japan and Chinese People’s Republic was signed according to which Japanese fishermen acquired a quota of 150 thousand tons for fishing in the Yellow and East - China Seas.

1979 — Japanese quotas in the American economic zone were decreased by 5,9%.

The end of the 70s - Northern and Central regions of the Pacific Ocean provide 45% of the world’s catch of fish and non - fish products exceeding in its productivity the whole of the Atlantic, which produced 40,4%. Japan caught there 98,2% of its catch (1,2% Japanese caught there in the Atlantic Ocean). USA share of catch in the North Pacific was 29,1%. Out of the total volume of production of the sea fishery of all countries in the Atlantic Ocean and in the Northern part of the Pacific Ocean, the USA share was accordingly 8,6 and 3,4%, at the same time Japan caught 0,5 and 34,4%. Until the establishment of the USA sea economic zone Japan caught in the American waters 13 - 15% of the production of the national fishery - pollock, herring, crab, grouper, tuna fish.

— Average annual raising of taxes, paid by Japan for fishery in the 200-miles economic zone of the USA was 6 million dollars.

— Fishing industry in the economic of the USA plays the secondary role. The average level of fish products consumption per capita in the USA made about 6 kg. a year, in Japan - 35 kg., with the analogous world index of 11 kg. a year. The share of fish products in protein consumed in the USA is 3,3% and at the same time in Japan 51%. Conditional net cost of fish products on the home USA market, about 6 - 7 billion dollars. At that the USA population expended about 0,8% of the income (taxes included) to buy fish products, in Japan - about 15%. The total volume of production of the American sea fishery average 5% of the world catch. Japan - more than 16% and does not meet the demand of the population in sea products.

— The value of the American fish export to Japan exceeded 560 million dollars annually.

The beginning of the 80s - the main importers of the American fish products were Japan, EES and Canada; the leading suppliers of fish products to Japan were Indonesia, India, China, Australia, South Korea, Taiwan, the USA and Canada.

— In the USA about 10% of the capital in fishing industry belonged to foreign firms. In three states of the Pacific coast Japanese entrepreneurs invested in 52 (19 in the state of Washington, 1 in the state of Oregon and 32 in the state of Alaska) out of 66 fishing companies with joint capital, having investments from 100 thousand to 200 million dollars and in a number of cases they completely own the control stock of shares.

— Considering that the USA are planning by 1990 too completely oust the foreign fleet from its economic zone and permit fishery in it only for the vessels built and registered in the USA, big fishery firms of Japan began to order trawlers at the ship - building yards, additionally equipped for the production of fish force - meat.

1982 — September, 10 in Washington a new American - Japanese Agreement was signed on fishery for the term of five years. Since that period took the course of gradual ousting of all Japanese fishery from the American coastal waters.

— The catch - per capita - in “the capitalist countries” that year was 35,8 kg., which was twice as much as the average catch in the world. The first place considering this index took the Fareral Islands (6.073 kg. per capita), then Island (3.343 kg.), Norway, Denmark and on the fifth place was Greenland. Japan, Canada, New Zealand considering this index were among the countries with the index above medium level (that is from 35 to 100 kg.), the USA (15,6 kg.) - below average level.

— Japan, the USA and Spain occupy the leading position on tonnage and the number of vessels.

— Japan catches 15% of the whole world’s catch. That years they produced 5,9 million tons of eatable fish products on 1 million tons of forage flour.

— The catch of oceanic Japanese fishery dropped from 3.2 million tons in 1975 to 2,1 million tons in 1982 - 1983.

1984 — USA experts made 20% of all - national industrial production. Countries of South - Western and Pacific Asia bought American good for the sum of 52 billion dollars and secured jobs for 1,3 million of Americans.


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