I think, frankly, we have an extraordinary group of experts here 

 today. The date for this hearing was set months ago, it was moved 

 by 1 week because of the Senate schedule. But it is simply abso- 

 lutely fortuitous, some might say unfortunate, but fortuitous that 

 we happen to wind up here in the same week as the Canadian sei- 

 zure of two New Bedford scallop vessels. So, I do not want you to 

 think that we are subliminally here as a consequence of that event, 

 but that obviously underscores the nature of the problem. So, in a 

 way, it is simply a dramatic statement about how significant this 

 hearing is, and how timely it is that we are getting together right 

 now. 



I am the vice chairman of th^ National Ocean Policy Study, that 

 is a subcommittee of the full Commerce Committee. We have juris- 

 diction in the Senate over all fisheries issues. So, I am essentially 

 the person under Senator Fritz Rollings, who graciously gives me 

 a significant amount of leeway on this issue, responsible for the re- 

 authorization of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Manage- 

 ment Act, and of the U.S. Senate on fisheries issues. 



As you all know, we are lucky to have Gerry Studds in the House 

 of Representatives who is chairman of the Merchant Marine and 

 Fisheries Committee and has a similar responsibility on the House 

 side. So, you happen to be fairly fortunate in that your congres- 

 sional delegation from Massachusetts can represent the fishing in- 

 dustry, and we try to do that. 



I will tell you candidly there is not one day that goes by that peo- 

 ple on my staff are not working on one aspect of fishing issues or 

 another. And I am glad to do that, because I care enormously about 

 this resource, I care enormously about the industry. I consider the 

 maritime industry to be part of my blood as a son of Massachu- 

 setts, but also, quite frankly, historically it is part of my family and 

 part of my upbringing which has always been right out here on 

 Buzzard's Bay. I've been able to enjoy our clams and our bluefish 

 and our stripers and so forth since I was a kid, and I want to do 

 that and pass it on to my children, too. 



So, I understand the importance of these issues, and I know the 

 emotions involved. 



We have a group of people around this table who have worked 

 on this issue as long or longer in some cases than I have, and who 

 also understand it very, very deeply. We're lucky to have them here 

 today. 



Jonn Bullard, who is now performing extremely important re- 

 sponsibilities on the Federal level, has responsibility for developing 

 concepts to keep this industry going and how to save the resource. 

 He is doing it not just for this region, but for the northwest Pacific, 

 the southern Pacific, for the various species, from the shrimp fish- 

 ermen of Louisiana, along with the scallopers and longliners of 

 New England. He is a former mayor of this city who needed a good 

 excuse to get back here but did not need any excuse to understand 

 this issue. 



Chip Collins of Winslow Management is another person who has 

 had a long time involvement in this issue. He is the author of a 

 paper which was really a groundbreaker and forced people to con- 

 sider reality called "Beyond Denial — Northeastern Fisheries Crisis, 



