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we sit. Chinook salmon are the most important salmon species for subsistence 

 throughout western Alaska. The Nushagak chinook run has been struggling for the 

 past several years and we've informed the Council and NMFS of the problem. Their 

 usual response is we don't know how much of that chinook bycatch is headed for 

 the Nushagak therefore we won't do anything to slow or reduce that bycatch. 



That brings me to our next recommendation, a user tax on the North Pacific fish- 

 eries to finance more research and better enforcement. Council and NMFS decisions 

 only pass muster if they are backed up by good data. Information which supports 

 restrictions on the groundfish industries in order to reduce bycatch must be irref- 

 utable in order to survive the inevitable political and legal challenges. Users of the 

 North Pacific resources must pay a tax to finance the research, management and 

 enforcement that enables the fishermen to have a sustainable fishery. 



Finally, we urge the Congress to codify the Community Development Quota pro- 

 gram as a formal goal of the Magnuson Act. Senator Stevens, you yourself tried to 

 do just that several years ago and the success of the new pollock CDQ program 

 shows that you were right in supporting CDQs as a means to empower local commu- 

 nities and build sustainable economies. Our people have survived and prospered for 

 many years because we have used our resources wisely. Now that we nave a stake 

 in the groundfish fisheries we hope we can use our experience wisely so that the 

 North Pacific fisheries can be maintained for the benefit of our local communities 

 and for all Americans. 



Thank you for this opportunity to testify. 



["The CDQ Program— New Economic Potential for Western Alaska" may be found 

 in the committee's files.] 



Prepared Statement of Nels A. Anderson, Jr., Executive Director, Bristol 

 Bay Economic Development Corporation 



Mr. Chairman, and Senator Stevens, on behalf of the Bristol Bay Economic Devel- 

 opment Corporation, I wish to thank you for the time you are taking to hear our 

 views on the reauthorization of the Magnuson Fishery Act. My name is Nels A. An- 

 derson, Jr. and I am Executive Director of the Bristol Bay Economic Development 

 Corporation. 



There are three areas on which I would like to focus my testimony: Conservation, 

 the continuation of the Community Development Quota Program, and the member- 

 ship makeup of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. 



Conservation and management issues in the North Pacific fishery affect our daily 

 lives out in this part of the world. Residents of Western Alaska have been concerned 

 about conservation for many, many years. What happens in the federal waters of 

 the Bering Sea affects our regional salmon and herring runs. These fisheries have 

 traditionally been the economic mainstay of our region. 



Those of us who live on the coast of the Bering Sea rely heavily on salmon and 

 herring for our traditional subsistence and commercial fishing needs. We cannot 

 overemphasize the need for conservation. 



Now that the Bristol Bay region "and other coastal communities on the Bering Sea 

 coast are engaged in the Bering Sea fishery, through the Community Development 

 Quota program, we are especially concerned about the conservation of groundfish 

 stocks. We went through a hard fought struggle to obtain a federal pollock allocation 

 and we would like to be able to look forward to participating in this new fishery 

 through the next generation and all the generations that follow. 



The reauthorization of the Magnuson Act offers Congress the opportunity to help 

 guarantee this result by strengthening the conservation provisions in the act. For 

 instance, salmon by-catch cannot be tolerated on the high seas. Salmon is a species 

 of fish that is vital to all the residents of Western Alaska. We depend on the salmon 

 for our very survival. Salmon Is the single most important fish in our traditional 

 subsistence fishery which meets our cultural and nutritional needs and literally af- 

 fects every single person who lives in our region. Salmon is our most important com- 

 mercial fishery. 



It is imperative that Congress stress reduction of waste of all non-targeted fish 

 species and to devise ways and means to discourage by-catch. We are already on 

 record of supporting two observers on each CDQ trawl vessel, volumetric bin meas- 

 urement and caps on salmon by-catch. We encourage you to look at other tools that 

 the management councils can use to prevent by-catch and implement major manda- 

 tory disincentives for by -catch. 



