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that action really do not have much to complain about. They have 

 had their shares, they have participated in the system, and ration- 

 alization can take place. 



Senator Stevens. Well, isn't the whole idea for putting these sys- 

 tems into place that there is overcapitalization and a fear that 

 there might be even greater reductions in the amount each fisher- 

 man is able to catch? 



Mr. Curry. The idea of implementing the system, as I under- 

 stand it, is, to rationalize it, the fears do — they are varied, being 

 excluded from the system, not having as much of a catch. There are 

 particular components of that particular system, but we do want to 

 see a fair system, we do want to see standard that is toward fair- 

 ness, and we are concerned that unless Congress addresses the 

 issue, that basic concern may be lost. 



The Chairman. Let me ask, Mr. Curry, because I did not want 

 Mr. O'Leary to think I was riding him, I thought his testimony was 

 excellent. Mr. O'Leary attested to the fact that he or others had 

 been to the council relative to the gear issue, but special interests 

 which comprise the council, brought pressure and he could not get 

 his proposal adopted. 



Now, that is what makes some in Washington feel maybe every- 

 body here has a particular interest and they are running their own 

 show, whether or not that is for the general good. Are we hearing 

 just from anybody here but us chickens? I mean, is your view that 

 we are running this thing and you fellows in Washington just leave 

 us alone and we will continue on. And for goodness sake, do not 

 give the Secretary of Commerce any authority. We want him to 

 lead, but we do not want him to have the authority to lead. Can 

 we get the kind of decision that you have indicated out of the coun- 

 cil? You say there must be winners and losers, but it has to apply 

 to sectors. I am back to the original observation that you made. 



Mr. Curry. Well, with regard to the first remark, I think some 

 of the discussion we have had here today highlights the complexity 

 of many of these management decisions, which is a good reason 

 why you need a local council, I think, making the fundamental pol- 

 icy call. The national standards, the job of the standards and the 

 job of the agency is to apply those standards and make sure that 

 the general rules are followed, but it would be difficult, for in- 

 stance, just for Congress to make a call that a particular gear 

 makes sense for a particular fishery. And we do have a balance 

 here, a wonderful balance actually, in terms of the act looking at 

 the reality of meeting the local expertise of fishermen to make the 

 particular calls with some meaningful oversight by Congress. I 

 think with regard to this ITQ standard, it is generalized enough 

 that if we define what sectors mean, it would have some meaning 

 and it would be useful from a department standpoint. 



The Chairman. Very good. I apologize, I interrupted you. Did you 

 complete your statement? 



Mr. Curry. Yes, sir, I did. 



The Chairman. Good. Ms. Graham. 



