50 



the United States, which has taken the time and the effort to im- 

 plement effective management measures that are compatible with 

 other areas where the resource is found. 



We deal with 16 island countries in the Western Pacific that par- 

 ticipate in a tuna treaty with the United States. Of those 16 island 

 nations, 12 of them are very small island nations. I sit on the in- 

 vestment development board of two of these small nations. I can 

 assure you that every time someone agrees to pay you x number 

 of dollars to fish in the exclusive economic zone, there is a willing- 

 ness to accept the money and allow the fishing. It is an economic 

 necessity for some of these countries, regardless of how it affects 

 the resource. 



Therefore, the United Nations conference is extremely important. 

 The conference must establish some framework for the effective 

 management of these highly valuable and renewable fisheries re- 

 sources of the world. We should not abandon the conference be- 

 cause it has such a difficult task ahead of it. 



The substantive provisions of any conference agreement will an- 

 swer the question for me, as to whether binding dispute settlement 

 is acceptable or not. 



If the substantive provisions do not protect those management 

 agreements that we have already accomplished, obviously, there 

 would be no reason to subject them to dispute settlement. On the 

 other hand, if we are able to include in the substantive provisions 

 of the conference agreement meaningful management measures 

 that everyone around the world agrees to adopt, then it would be 

 in our best interest to agree to dispute settlement. 



The value of the conference cannot be judged at this time. We 

 have got a long way to go. I would encourage the United States to 

 stay involved and to take an active leadership role, especially if the 

 objective is to produce a binding convention. If this is the objective 

 of the conference, there are a lot of questions yet to be answered. 



We are a distant-water fishing industry. The United States is 

 unique in that it is both a distant-water fishing nation and a major 

 coastal state. We, therefore, have a responsibility to the world com- 

 munity to take a leadership role at this conference. I am confident 

 that if we do this, we can walk away with a final text we cannot 

 only live with, but one which will go a long way to protecting the 

 international fishery resources in the future. 



Thank you. 



[The prepared statement of Mr. Burney follows:] 



Prepared Statement of David G. Bur.\ey 



I appear here today on behalf of the U.S. Tuna Foundation, a non-profit trade as- 

 sociation consisting of the major U.S. tuna processors and all of the U.S. purse seine 

 vessels operating pursuant to the South Pacific Tuna Treaty. 



We welcome this opportunity to address, what we believe to be one of the most 

 serious challenges facing the international fisheries community. Simply put, the 

 community must provide for the effective management and conservation of all inter- 

 national fisheries if we are going to sustain, in perpetuity, this highly nutritional 

 and valued resource. In our opinion, this can only oe accomplished through the close 

 international cooperation of all Coastal Nations and all relevant distant water fish- 

 ing nations (DWFN). 



The U.S. tuna industry has long recognized the need for a coordinated and effec- 

 tive management regime for the highly migratory fisheries resources of the world. 

 Tunas have been considered to be among the most valuable of these highly migra- 

 tory fisheries resources. Therefore, we not only welcome the opportunity to testify 



