Abstract
ONE of the main achievements of fishery research in Great Britain and other countries has been to demonstrate that unrestricted fishing defeats its own end and leads inevitably to a diminution of total catch. This state of overfishing was shown to exist before the War in the North Sea and many other fishing regions. Realizing the danger of a recurrence of overfishing after the War, the British Government as early as 1940 appointed an expert committee to study measures for preventing it, and the recommendations of this committee, which included a proposal to limit the total tonnage of the fishing fleets engaged in any form of bottom fishing, were very carefully considered in all their aspects, in consultation with the trawling industry. As a result, His Majesty's Government considered it opportune to convene a conference of the twelve nations principally concerned, to discuss the possibility of international action to combat overfishing in the North Sea and other waters adjacent to the British Isles. The Conference met in London during March 25-April 5, and its conclusions are embodied in the “Final Act and Convention of the International Overfishing Conference” (Cmd. 6791 ; H.M. Stationery Office. 2d. net).
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International Conference on Overfishing. Nature 157, 578 (1946). https://doi.org/10.1038/157578a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/157578a0