20 



well as British Columbia, and they do produce 40 percent of all the 

 Nation's oysters. They have 120 members, and they are supportive 

 of Senate bill 1288. 



On behalf of Washington Fish Growers Association with 60 mem- 

 bers in the State of Washington, we produce about $30 million 

 worth of product of salmon and trout. 



I am delighted to see that the honorable Senator from Idaho is 

 here today in support of this bill, because I do represent 

 Troutlodge, Incorporated, which produces a large portion of the 

 eyed rainbow trout eggs for the Idaho trout industry. We produce 

 250 million eyed eggs, and we ship them into 25 foreign countries 

 and 30 States of the Union, Idaho being the leading State. 



Washington Fish Growers Association sees a number of benefits 

 in Senate bill 1288. We certainly support aquaculture as agri- 

 culture, and we support, as this bill indicates, that aquaculture 

 commodities are agriculture commodities. 



Senate bill 1288 brings us into the mainstream of agriculture, 

 and from this we see a number of benefits. One, of course, is in- 

 creasing the exports; the other is the creation of employment oppor- 

 tunities, primarily in rural America, and we see that the increased 

 production of fish and fish products will supply a consistent supply 

 in America as well as at competitive prices. 



We support the definition of "livestock" for aquaculture, and we 

 respectfully request a review of the definition of the "private aqua- 

 culture" definition, so that those of us who do grow fish under con- 

 tract for various Governments can be included. In the case of 

 Troutlodge, we grow 200,000 rainbow trout for the State of Wash- 

 ington every year. 



We again extend our appreciation to Senator Akaka and you, 

 Senator, for holding this hearing. Ofttimes when you deal with leg- 

 islation — and we deal with a lot of it in the State of Washington — 

 you never know what is right or wrong or how things are deter- 

 mined. Legislation is not always judged by what is right or wrong, 

 but by what is politically advantageous. We see S. 1288 as both 

 right and politically advantageous! 



Thank you, sir. 



Senator Daschle. That is the kind of legislation we like. 



We thank you for your testimony and appreciate again your con- 

 tribution to the hearing, all of you, this afternoon. 



This subcommittee functions a little bit differently. We would 

 like to direct our questions to an individual, but we really want you 

 to jump in. We want to get the most out of a good discussion about 

 this issue, so we do not want it to be a monolog or a dialog, but 

 a real discussion. So if you have got something to add as a question 

 is being asked, just indicate that you would like to be recognized, 

 and we will talk. We want you to rebut answers; we want you to 

 add to answers; and we want you to inform us to the maximum de- 

 gree possible. 



Let me call upon my colleague. Senator Cochran, for whatever 

 questions he might have. 



Senator Cochran. Mr. Chairman, my first question is in connec- 

 tion with the provision of the bill that defines the source of funds 

 as the excess section 32 funds. 



