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sources we hope are forever and there will be ordinary routine 

 management of fisheries into the future. 



My role today here, I think, is to speak for the fishery council. 

 I am about to be replaced on the fishery council, but I've served 3 

 years as a member of the New England council. 



Rather than paraphrasing my remarks, which people can read at 

 their leisure, I'd like to tell you a brief little story about my history 

 with the New England council. 



When I began as a council member in 1991, I had just served on 

 a Massachusetts commission which was very critical of the fishery 

 council and general councils in general, and the New England 

 council in particular with this management of groundfish. 



On going to the council, I was somewhat skeptical thinking I 

 would find a self-serving network of ole boys that were basically 

 parsing out the groundfish to their own advantage. I was com- 

 pletely surprised, but really not so because I know fishermen, this 

 was not the case at all. 



In fact, what I found was a very dedicated and very frustrated 

 group of people trying to deal with extremely difficult working 

 rules, extremely sketchy and sparse information, and very mixed 

 messages to what they were supposed to do. I've come out of the 

 process with great respect for the council members, great respect 

 for the council process, and would hope that that process will be 

 strengthened into the future. 



My written testimony provides specific recommendations that I 

 would like to see incorporated into the Magnuson Act which would, 

 I believe, further empower the councils. 



My general message for my opening remarks would be this. 

 Please don't micromanage the councils. Please try to retain the con- 

 fidence that was articulated in the original draft of the Magnuson 

 Act in 1976 that basically delegated power to the communities, to 

 the people, the people in the fisheries, and the people around the 

 fisheries, the conservationists, the recreational fishermen and com- 

 mercial fisherman. It is where the best decisions will be made. This 

 is where the fair decisions will be made. This is where the door is 

 always open, where there is an opportunity for broad public debate 

 and discourse, and where ultimately the decisions that will be of 

 lasting value once this crisis has passed us will be best made and 

 the public best served. 



Thank you very much for this opportunity to testify. 



Senator Kerry. Thank you very much. Captain. 



STATEMENT OF CAPT. MARK SIMONITSCH, OWNER-CAPTAIN, 

 NANTUCKET SOUND FISH WIERS, INC. 



Captain Simonitsch. Senator Kerry, these are the seven points 

 I'm going to make to you. 



Those seven points for benefit of the roundtable discussion come 

 from 28 years of fishing, every spring and summer in Nantucket 

 Sound, and every winter except last winter running sea scallopers, 

 fishing Greorges Bank, raising my family. 



I have good credit. I have no long-term mortgages. I catch 

 underutilized fish, and when I ran my trap operation this year I 

 could not catch enough fish to make a living. 



