35 



Senator Kerry. Frank, this is a hearing of the Commerce Com- 

 mittee. We are trying to go through a whole number of issues. I 

 am not trying to cut you off. I am just trying to say if we can get 

 to the point quickly without reading the entire thing. 



Mr. Cyganowski. Here's my point. I was a tuna fishermen from 

 its inception in 1962 in this area, and I was until 1982, when sud- 

 denly the National Marine Fishery Service declared a moratorium 

 on blue fin tuna fish. They cut our quota down. We used to get as 

 much as 3,000 tons that landed here in New Bedford. They cut it 

 down to 200 tons. 



I was a coowner of a boat with four partners. They cut my quota 

 down to 37 tons. I said "this is the end of the line. I see the hand- 

 writing on the wall." I offered my partners my share of the boat 

 and I sold it. I figured if they ever take the moratorium off I can 

 go back tuna fishing. 



Even though I was called the grandfather of the blue fin tuna 

 fishery in the Maine Coast Fisheries, after they raised the quota 

 somewhat and I went back to get a license they told me "sorry, you 

 don't have grandfather rights, your boat does." 



A hunk of wood and steel has got the rights, and me who pur- 

 sued that fishery for 20 years had no rights. As a result, I have 

 not been employed since then. Thanks to that. So, that's so much 

 for. 



Senator Kerry. Frank. 



Mr. Cyganowski. It's unfair to anybody to say you can fish and 

 you can't. The blue fin tuna fishery seine quota today is owned by 

 three companies, three companies. They're allowed to take 300 tons 

 of blue fin tuna. 



Mr. Davidson. And the scallop industry fell away. 



Senator Kerry. Folks, let me say to you. 



Mr. Cyganowski. We should go back to what it was before 1978, 

 trip limits and quotas and the fishery was fine. It wasn't until they 

 started mandating discarding small juvenile fish by the tons and 

 tons that the fishery began to go downhill. 



Thank you. That's it. You won't hear any more from me. 



Senator Kerry. Frank, let me just say, you can take your seat, 

 but I want to respond to you. 



Look, what you have just described is the frustration that a lot 

 of fishermen feel. But there is no way to avoid the frustration that 

 you feel. You are going to feel it one way or the other. 



Let me tell you why. 



If you do not feel it by the Government trying to limit the catch, 

 you are going to feel it because there aren't going to be any more 

 fish to catch. It is that simple. 



You are sitting here complaining to me. I did not start this. I got 

 elected to the Senate in 1984, and I have been following what is 

 happening over the last 10 years. I have watched the fish stocks 

 go down, down, down, down. 



Let me give you an example. 



Right after we closed the area on Georges Bank and then re- 

 opened it, draggers were catching up to 3,000 pounds of haddock. 

 But the trip limit was only 500 pounds. They were throwing away 

 2,500 pounds. 



