they are more costly as fishery stocks are depleted by pollution, by 

 habitat destruction and by the relentless pursuit of the fleets that 

 I have discussed previously. 



The decline in populations of fish conversely increases the com- 

 petition among nations, and increases the fishing effort. And so we, 

 in a sense, strip away all aspects of the ecosystem, rather than 

 allow them time to replenish. 



Most of the ways in which this competition has been responded 

 to have not positive. Some positive efforts, as I have mentioned, 

 have taken place, but far too slowly. We in the United States ex- 

 tended our management of the coast out to 200 miles and others 

 have done so. Canada has now attempted to extend the jurisdiction 

 in the Atlantic beyond 200 miles to protect coastal fisheries. We 

 have become embroiled in disputes over stocks that straddle coastal 

 borders, such as our ongoing tug of war with Canada over the Pa- 

 cific salmon. 



And we are also receiving reports of foreign fieets traveling 

 throughout the world on the high seas, fishing both legally and ille- 

 gally, as they try to locate the dwindling stocks of very valuable 

 species, such as bluefin tuna and swordfish. 



So, today we are going to focus on the challenge of building sus- 

 tainable fisheries. It is an enormous challenge. And I want to see 

 this administration step up to it and take the lead, because there 

 is a desperate need for worldwide leadership to promote global fish- 

 ery conservation. 



We have made some progress on the driftnets. We have com- 

 pleted new international agreements to manage Pacific tuna and 

 Bering Sea pollock. And although the Atlantic bluefin stock is of 

 concern, as I have suggested, I think there is hope that our invest- 

 ment in strengthening the International Commission for the Con- 

 servation of Atlantic Tunas may pay off in restoring those stocks. 

 That does not diminish the crisis that I have talked about. 



I certainly applaud the FAO efforts to develop an international 

 code of conduct, and I am glad the United States is seeking a bind- 

 ing agreement with respect to the U.N. Conference on High Seas 

 Fisheries. I think it is critical we get a binding agreement with dis- 

 pute resolution capacity. 



I also think it is important, in view of these trends, to examine 

 today the U.S. participation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries 

 Organization — NAFO — in order to determine where we are headed. 



Now, I would like to call to the attention of my colleagues and 

 others a glaring example of what I am talking about that occurs 

 right in my backyard, New England. Yesterday, a front-page story 

 in the Boston Globe talks about lobstermen hauling up empty 

 traps. It is a long story detailing the lobster decline in New Eng- 

 land. 



It is a decline that the article accurately points out has been 

 going on for the last four consecutive years. We have known this. 

 We have not only known it, but the Federal Government proposed 

 to do something about it by extending the minimum lobster catch 

 size by fractions of an inch. And that met with resistance from the 

 fishermen. 



