The 200 Mile Fishing Limit Bill (H.R. 200). The vote is on the passage of a bill to extend from 12 to 200 miles the U.S. territorial limit for fishing and thus enable the government to prescribe regulations and catch limits to protect many species of fish from commercial extinction from over-fishing. Many foreign vessels use fine mesh nets that catch even the smallest and youngest fish and are not allowed on American vessels. The State Department has insisted that the issue should be resolved by the Law of the Sea Conference. Yet studies have shown that even the most sophisticated international agreements have not been successful at protecting most endangered species. Nevertheless, the bill would go out of existence as soon as the Law of the Sea Conference reached a satisfactory agreement. Most environmentalists believe that the 200 mile limit is a necessary first step to force action to protect our dwindling fishery resources. The President opposed the bill at the time, but later signed a modified version. Adopted 208-101. October 9, 1975. ÒYESÓ is the correct vote.