57 



ford who are most dependent on groundfish of all the northeastern ports. However, 

 they will not solve the problems in those ports, and they could well exacerbate rath- 

 er than reduce the fisheries crisis in other ports by shifting fishing pressure from 

 the depleted groundfish stocks to other fisheries which are already under serious 

 stress. 



Estimates of the total funding needs vary widely depending upon how they are 

 calculated and what is included, but they will require several hundred million dol- 

 lars. It is clear that a blend of funding sources will be required. However, Federal 

 and state governments and the industry groups will have to shoulder the majority 

 of the funding responsibilities. In particular, the short term relief efforts for the 

 fishermen their families and the affected communities wiU require a large scale in- 

 fusion of capital and direct aid funds. The foundation community and the non-profit 

 sector do not have the resources necessary to meet these needs. However, they can 

 help to initiate efforts and provide operating support to non-profit organizations 

 which are assisting with effort. 



The preliminary relief programs announced by the Department of Commerce do 

 not contain any provisions for a vessel buy out program or other programs to ac- 

 tively reduce fishing power in the northeastern fleet. If fishing power in the north- 

 east is not reduced, tne northeastern fishery crisis rapidly will become the Atlantic 

 Coast fishery crisis. 



Effective management of the fishery resource must be the highest priority of any 

 fisheries management system. Only with healthy fish stocks wiU there be a healthy 

 sustainable fishing industry. However, effective management can only be achieved 

 by first recognizing and accommodating the scientific uncertainty which is inherent 

 in the system and the value systems and socio-economic realities of the fishing com- 

 munities which it is intended to regulate. 



At best. Amendment 5 will reduce and possibly eliminate over-fishing. However, 

 it will not restore depleted groundfish stocks in the northeast to levels of abun- 

 dance. Early efforts to implement Amendment 5 to the groundfish plan and Amend- 

 ment 4 to the scallop plan have been a disaster. There is massive confusion in the 

 fishing sector over what regulations will actually go in to place at what time. NOAA 

 and NMFS have shown that they are unprepared to effectively deal with implement- 

 ing and enforcing the complex regulations which have been passed. The agencies are 

 losing credibility daily. 



Scientific uncertainty is an inherent component of managing a complex and dy- 

 namic marine fishery. The regional fishery management council system established 

 under the Magnuson Act has proved to be incapable of effectively contending with 

 that uncertainty. Significant resources have been and should continue to be devoted 

 to reducing the degree of uncertainty associated with management decisions. How- 

 ever, the scientific community and other stakeholders, must come to grips with the 

 scientific uncertainty that is inherent in the management process, and redesign the 

 system to effectively accommodate that uncertainty. 



The greatest challenge in managing the northeastern ground fishery and related 

 fisheries is managing the fishing community not assimilating the science. The Fish- 

 eries Management Council system has proved incapable of accommodating the com- 

 filex internecine pressures inherent in managing a "commons" resource with many 

 ragmented stakeholders. The FMC system does not eflectively assimilate a key 

 component — the fishing communities. The managers have focused on trying to man- 

 age the fishery resource when they should have been managing the people who were 

 earning their livelihoods from it. The commercial viability of certain species and 

 whole fisheries is now in question. If those stocks collapse completely, the region 

 will also lose some of its most important sources of cultural and biological diversity. 



The Gulf of Maine and Georges Banks fishing grounds comprise an ecosystem 

 which transcends political boundaries between Canada and the U.S.. Yet each coun- 

 try's waters are managed independently with little collaboration, in spite of the ex- 

 istence of the Gulf of Maine Council. Resources need to be devoted to fostering col- 

 laboration between U.S. and Canadian managers, scientists, and conservationists at 

 a number of levels. 



Development of markets for underutilized species to shift fishing pressure from 

 the species which are in the worst condition to those species which are not currently 

 considered overexploited is a major priority for Gloucester and New Bedford. These 

 proposals are opposed by small vessel fleets in Cape Cod, Maine, and at Pt. Judith 

 because of fears they will create over-capacity in those fleets. Diversification of fish- 

 ing pressures from stocks which are at a crisis stage to stocks which are healthier 

 is a legitimate strategy. However, proposals supporting the opportunities rep- 

 resented by so-called underutilized species are significantly overstated and unrealis- 

 tic. They create false expectations for political leaders and fishermen and could well 

 exacerbate rather than resolve the fisheries crisis. 



