Press Release Issued by the White House, September 28, 194576
Proclamations Concerning United States Jurisdiction Over Natural Resources in Coastal Areas and the High Seas
The President issued two proclamations on September 28 asserting the jurisdiction of the United States over the natural resources of the continental shelf under the high seas contiguous to the coasts of the United States and its territories,77 and providing for the establishment of conservation zones for the protection of fisheries in certain areas of the high seas contiguous to the United States.78 The action of the President in regard to both the resources of the continental shelf and the conservation of high-seas fisheries in which the United States has an interest was taken on the recommendation of the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Interior.
Two companion Executive orders79 were also issued by the President. One reserved and set aside the resources of the continental shelf under the high seas and placed them for administrative purposes, pending legislative action, under the jurisdiction and control of the Secretary of the Interior. The other provided for the establishment by Executive orders, on recommendation of the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Interior, of fishery conservation zones in areas of the high seas contiguous to the coasts of the United States.
[Page 1529]Until the present the only high-seas fisheries in the regulation of which the United States has participated, under treaties or conventions, are those for whales, Pacific halibut, and fur seals.
In areas where fisheries have been or shall hereafter be developed and maintained by nationals of the United States alone, explicitly bounded zones will be set up in which the United States may regulate and control all fishing activities.
In other areas where the nationals of other countries as well as our own have developed or shall hereafter legitimately develop fisheries, zones may be established by agreements between the United States and such other states, and joint regulations and control will be put into effect.
The United States will recognize the rights of other countries to establish conservation zones off their own coasts where the interests of nationals of the United States are recognized in the same manner that we recognize the interests of the nationals of the other countries.
The assertion of this policy has long been advocated by conservationists, including a substantial section of the fishing industry of the United States, since regulation of a fishery resource within territorial waters cannot control the misuse or prevent the depletion of that resource through uncontrolled fishery activities conducted outside of the commonly accepted limits of territorial jurisdiction.
As a result of the establishment of this new policy, the United States will be able to protect effectively, for instance, its most valuable fishery, that for the Alaska salmon. Through painstaking conservation efforts and scientific management the United States has made excellent progress in maintaining the salmon at high levels. However, since the salmon spends a considerable portion of its life in the open sea, uncontrolled fishery activities on the high seas, by nationals of either the United States or other countries, have constituted an ever-present menace to the salmon fishery.
The policy proclaimed by the President in regard to the jurisdiction over the continental shelf does not touch upon the question of Federal versus State control. It is concerned solely with establishing the jurisdiction of the United States from an international standpoint. It will, however, make possible the orderly development of an underwater area 750,000 square miles in extent. Generally, submerged land which is contiguous to the continent and which is covered by no more than 100 fathoms (600 feet) of water is considered as the continental shelf.
Petroleum geologists believe that portions of the continental shelf beyond the three-mile limit contain valuable oil deposits. The study of subsurface structures associated with oil deposits which have been [Page 1530] discovered along the Gulf coast of Texas, for instance, indicates that corresponding deposits may underlie the offshore or submerged land. The trend of oil-productive salt domes extends directly into the Gulf of Mexico off the Texas coast. Oil is also being taken at present from wells within the three-mile limit off the coast of California. It is quite possible, geologists say, that the oil deposits extend beyond this traditional limit of national jurisdiction.
Valuable deposits of minerals other than oil may also be expected to be found in these submerged areas. Ore mines now extend under the sea from the coasts of England, Chile, and other countries.
While asserting jurisdiction and control of the United States over the mineral resources of the continental shelf, the proclamation in no wise abridges the right of free and unimpeded navigation of waters of the character of high seas above the shelf, nor does it extend the present limits of the territorial waters of the United States.
The advance of technology prior to the present war had already made possible the exploitation of a limited amount of minerals from submerged lands within the three-mile limit. The rapid development of technical knowledge and equipment occasioned by the war now makes possible the determination of the resources of the submerged lands outside of the three-mile limit. With the need for the discovery of additional resources of petroleum and other minerals, it became advisable for the United States to make possible orderly development of these resources. The proclamation of the President is designed to serve this purpose.