Mathews, entitled "Today's Catch — and Tomorrow's: An orgy of 

 over-fishing is depleting the oceans and endangering future food 

 supplies." This editorial discussed the crisis in global fisheries 

 management, and emphasized the need to strengthen international 

 fisheries management. Today's hearing focuses on these concerns, 

 particularly the serious overfishing of world fish stocks. 



According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organiza- 

 tion, FAO, recent declines in fisheries harvest levels indicate a ceil- 

 ing to what was once thought to be a limitless resource. A recent 

 FAO report estimated that about 60 percent of all marine fish for 

 which the population size is known are fully or overharvested or 

 depleted. 



The FAO attributes the depletion of once-abundant and valuable 

 marine resources to improvements in fishing technology by large 

 subsidized fishing fleets of industrialized nations. The size and effi- 

 ciency of these modern fleets can exceed the productivity of their 

 traditional coastal harvesting areas. Fishery managers of coastal 

 nations have generally reacted to such excess harvesting capacity 

 in their coastal fisheries by imposing stricter management regimes. 

 As a result, some vessels have been displaced and have sought al- 

 ternative fishing opportunities in distant waters. FAO warns that 

 unless industrial fishing fleets are controlled through national and 

 international regulation, there may be disastrous social and eco- 

 nomic consequences for the entire industry. 



The United States has taken the lead in promoting international 

 fisheries conservation through its initiation of the multilateral 

 Agreement to Promote Compliance With International Conserva- 

 tion and Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High 

 Seas. The administration has transmitted implementing legislation 

 to Congress, the High Seas Fisheries Licensing Act, which would 

 establish a system of licensing, reporting, and regulation for Amer- 

 ican vessels fishing on the high seas. Three nations have already 

 implemented the agreement, and U.S. action should prompt other 

 nations to follow in the near future. 



I applaud the administration for taking the lead to address glob- 

 al fisheries concerns, and I look forward to reviewing today's testi- 

 mony from the administration, industry, and environmental organi- 

 zations on continuing efforts to address these concerns. 



Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



Senator Kerry. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In the last few years. 

 Senator Stevens and I and some others in the committee, but par- 

 ticularly Senator Stevens and I, have been involved in the effort to 

 ban driftnets. And we have, on a number of occasions, signalled the 

 committee's deep concern with the trends in international fishing 

 practices. 



We will shortly be marking up the Magnuson Fishery Conserva- 

 tion and Management Act in this committee, after doing a consider- 

 able amount of work and holding a series of hearings to examine 

 the issues regarding the management of fisheries and international 

 fishing concerns. I wish we were coming to this hearing capable of 

 saying we are turning the comer, and, indeed, that things were 

 getting significantly better, but they are not. 



And I think if ever there was urgency, the urgency is greater 

 today, notwithstanding some advances that we have made in the 



