115 



issue in opposition to the other members. And on most of those votes, the Alaskans 

 also had the support of the National Marine Fisheries Service regional director, who 

 represents the federal government's national interests on the council. 



The North Pacific Council is unique among all the fishery management councils 

 in that it manages a resource that is harvested entirely off the shores of one state, 

 Alaska. Overail, the council has been oriented toward conservation because a major- 

 ity of its members have been concerned about the long-term sustained yield of the 

 resource. WAFDA opposes any changes that might jeopardize this philosophy. 



In the case of council membership, the adage clearly applies that if something is 

 not broken, don't fix it. 



CONCLUSION AND SUMMARY 



WAFDA again wishes to emphasize the importance of conservation and the need 

 for Congress to give the management councils the tools they need to protect the na- 

 tion's resources. 



Additionally, WAFDA urges the committee to look at the results of the Commu- 

 nity Development Quotas and give serious consideration to making the program a 

 statutory part of the Magnuson Act. 



Again, I wish to thank the committee members for their presence in Alaska. We 

 hope you have an enjoyable stay and that the information we have provided has 

 helped make the journey worthwhile. 



Prepared Statement of Edward E. Wolfe 



Thank you Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee. For the record my 

 name is Edward E. Wolfe. Joining me is Robt. F. Morgan. We are here today testify- 

 ing before the Committee on the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management 

 Act (MFCMA) and other federal fishery management issues on behalf of Oceantrawl 

 Inc., one of the largest seafood harvesting, processing and marketing companies in 

 the U.S. As an Alaskan company, we are proud to operate in both the U.S. and Rus- 

 sian fishing zones with our three state-of-the-art factory trawlers, the Northern 

 Eagle, the Northern Jaeger and the Northern Hawk. We are especially pleased to 

 be nere in Dillingham joining our Community Development Quota (CDQ) partner, 

 the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation. 



As a former U.S. State Department Official responsible for international fisheries 

 policy, I am keenly aware that the Magnuson Act was designed to encourage the 

 development of fisheries when resources were considered to be underutilized. In the 

 North Pacific, the passage of the Magnuson Act initiated U.S. joint venture oper- 

 ations, in which American fisherman delivered their catch at-sea to foreign process- 

 ing vessels and thus began displacing foreign vessels in the U.S. zone. Subse- 

 quently, the domestic factory trawler fleet was developed to catch and process 

 groundfish. In a very short time, all foreign harvesters and processors were replaced 

 by U.S. vessels, ana the "Americanization" of our North Pacific groundfish fishery 

 was completed. 



Based on actual experience, we know now that the Magnuson Act needs to be 

 strengthened. The principle goals of the Act — conservation and management — are 

 not being achieved to their fullest extent. The Act must be amended if we are to 

 maintain our competitive edge as a world leader and wisely and efficiently harvest 

 and process our valuable resources in the North Pacific. In this regard, we suggest 

 that the Committee consider the following points relative to the proposed Magnuson 

 Act Amendments. 



• The Regional Fishery Management Councils should serve in an advisory capac- 

 ity to the Secretary of Commerce. Further, we believe that conservation and man- 

 agement can be improved only if authority is returned to the professional fishery 

 managers in the Department of Commerce, particularly, in light of recent bias and 

 self-interest allegations directed towards certain Council members. 



• The Secretary and Councils should be required to choose the management al- 

 ternative dictated by the "weight of the evidence on record," thereby reemphasizing 

 a reliance on scientific data. We believe this action would have the positive effect 

 of preventing arbitrary and capricious actions by the Councils. 



• The adequacy of ethical standards should be reviewed for Council members and 

 corresponding restrictions on individual Council members should be considered. 

 Presently, Council members are exempt from federal conflict-of-interest statutes 

 which govern the conduct of other federal officials in the course of their official du- 

 ties. We believe that Congress should require that all federal employees, including 

 Council members, should be required to disclose, for the record, any direct or indi- 

 rect financial interests prior to voting on a management measure. 



