894.628/108
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Japan (Grew)
Sir: Reference is made to the Embassy’s despatch No. 247, under date September 8, 1930,53 in regard to Japanese fishing activities in the Bering Sea and certain waters off the Alaskan Coast. The question has again been raised in regard to the advisability and timeliness of negotiating a treaty with Japan, whereby all Japanese nationals would refrain from engaging in any salmon packing in the waters of Bering Sea and Bristol Bay east of a line from Cape Avinof near the west entrance to Kuskokwim Bay to Cape Sarichef at the west end of Unimak Island. In this connection, documents, as listed below,54 bearing upon the subject of the protection of the Alaskan salmon fishing industry are enclosed for your information.
Owing to its present exposed state, the best interests of the Alaskan fishing industry appear to make important the negotiation of a protective treaty; and there seems good reason to have such a treaty concluded before Japanese interests will have made substantial investments looking to salmon fishing operations in the area defined. The Department has no evidence that Japanese salmon packing operations in Alaskan waters are an immediate prospect, but desires to provide safeguards against such an eventuality.
The Department is not at this time prepared to institute actual negotiation of a treaty of the kind herein described or to authorize the Embassy to approach the competent Japanese authorities, but desires [Page 1073] to receive an expression of the views of the Embassy in regard to the advisability and timeliness of approaching the Japanese Government in the matter. In the meantime, it is requested that the information contained in the documents supplied, herewith, be treated as confidential; and that should the Embassy’s reply to the question herein raised be in the affirmative, the Embassy make reply by telegraph.
Very truly yours,