51 



here today, we share the concern and interest of this Committee in insuring that 

 all highly migratory fisheries be efTectively managed and conserved. 



During my twenty years representing the interests of the U.S. tuna industry, 1 

 have served on numerous international tuna fisheries advisory committees and have 

 been a member of many U.S. government delegations that have sought to achieve 

 international cooperation in the licensing and managing of the world's tuna fish- 

 eries. 



Presently, I am a member of the U.S. delegation to the UN Conference on Strad- 

 dling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks. This Conference, which is at- 

 tempting to fulfill the management mandate envisioned by the U.N. Conference on 

 the Law of the Sea, will determine the future of most, if not all, of the international 

 fisheries that fall into the two subject categories. At the very least, the Conference 

 representatives intend to reach agreement on a set of scientifically recognized fish- 

 eries management principles that can be apolied uniformly to the international fish- 

 eries for Straddling Fish Stocks and Hi^ly Migratory Fish Stocks. 



My background and experience in international tuna management and conserva- 

 tion regimes such as the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (lATTC), the 

 International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and the 

 South Pacific Commission (SPC) has given me a unique opportunity to observe boih 

 the successes and failures of international eflbrts to manage the highly migratory 

 tuna resource. With the exception of the Atlantic Bluefin tuna stock, a stock not as- 

 sociated with our fishing vessels, these highly respected international tuna regimes 

 have been extremely successful in monitoring the world's major tuna fisheries and 

 have implemented effective management measures, when necessary. 



I say this even though it is difficult to find any article or paper written today that, 

 in commenting on the condition of international fisheries, doesn't express the view 

 that all or almost all of the world's fisheries are threatened, endangered or on the 

 verge of collapse. There is almost no good news reported when it comes to the state 

 of international fisheries. 



It is undoubtedly true that many of the world's fisheries are being overfished, 

 some even to the point of nonsustainabilitv. I am confident, however, that this is 

 not the case with the world's major tuna fisneries. 



The LATTC in the eastern tropical Pacific (ETP) and the SPC in the western Pa- 

 cific Ocean (WPO) have a long history of collecting valuable data and monitoring 

 the condition of their respective tuna fisheries. Each Commission has succeeded in 

 maintaining its tuna fishery at a healthy and productive level. Bear in mind, these 

 two major international tuna fisheries supply the world with approximately 

 2,000,000 tons of tuna annually. Even so, the international scientific community is 

 satisfied that each fishery is in a healthy condition and being fished within its maxi- 

 mum sustainable yield limits. 



This doesn't mean that there isn't a need to improve and better coordinate the 

 international cooperation that is necessary to preserve these highly valued fisheries. 

 The UN Conference's major objective is to provide the necessary framework for the 

 effective management and conservation of all international fisheries. 



Nations participating in the UN Conference have developed a draft negotiating 

 text that, if adopted by all relevant coastal nations and DWFN's, will become the 

 blueprint for the effective management of these international fisheries. While there 

 are a number of matters still to be resolved in the text, the basic premise, that 

 international fisheries should be managed and conserved on a "precautionary ap- 

 proach" basis is fully supported. 



The precautionary approach to fisheries management recognizes the need to close- 

 ly monitor each separate fishery, including the collection ofvital data on both tar- 

 geted and non-targeted stocks that are affected by the fishery. It also recognizes 

 that any management measures that are adopted for the fishery must be based on 

 recognized scientific principles of fisheries management, not just on a desire to regu- 

 late. 



The precautionary approach to fisheries management that is set forth in the UN 

 negotiating text acknowledges the importance, and also the limitation, on an eco- 

 system approach to fisheries management. The text provides that both targeted and 

 nontargeted species should be monitored (data collected) but provides that non-tar- 



feted species "should" be the subject of a management plan only, "as necessary." 

 'his sensible approach to an ecosystem based fisheries management policy is in con- 

 trast to the draconian measures proposed by some interested parties that seek the 

 elimination of all by-catch within a specified time frame. 



The scientific and technical panel of the UN Conference recognized that the elimi- 

 nation of all by-catch is technologically impossible in most commercial fisheries. 

 They also recognized that some by-catch may be necessary in order to provide a con- 

 tinuing balance in the complex food-web system of the marine environment. Fur- 



