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gradually as the TJew England Council has chosen to do in the 

 case of Atlantic groundfish. Thus, specific harvest levels 

 in any given year depend not only on the biological status 

 of the stocks but also on management decisions made in 

 light of social and economic circumstances. 



Since it is impossible to predict exactly which combi- 

 nation of alternative management decisions will be implemented 

 in the future, particularly in the long term, a precise 

 valuation of long term socio-economic impacts cannot be 

 made with the information available at present. It is 

 possible, however, to make some qualified assumptions, and 

 then, based on the best information available, to estimate 

 the relative distribution of potential long term economic 

 benefits under the provisions of the Agreement. The principal 

 benefit of the proposed action would be its assurance of 

 long term resource productivity, and evaluation of the long 

 term impacts on the human environment should focus on how 

 each country might benefit from that productivity. To do so, 

 it is necessary to project what long term resource productiv- 

 ity may offer in terms of annual harvests from the stocks. 



Although scientific knowledge of the fisheries affected 

 by the Agreement is less than complete, estimates can be 

 made of the potential average annual yields that may be sus- 

 tainable over the long term from the various stocks. The 

 estimates listed in Table II are based on the best current 



