136 



CONCLUSION 



We believe that the Magnuson Act provides a good blueprint for management of 

 our nation's fisheries and that major changes are unnecessary. The system isn't per- 

 fect — it's slow and cumbersome and makes timely responses to rapidly changing 

 conditions difficult — but it works. The suggestions for changes we have made here 

 are simply intended to make the system work better. Our proposals can be summa- 

 rized as follows: 



• Balance of Authority 



— Retain the current balance of authority between the Secretary and the 

 councils. 



• Conflicts of Interest 



— Broaden the disclosure provisions to include interests that are not strictly 

 financial. 



— Require council members to state applicable conflicts on the record prior to 

 each meeting. 



— Make current disclosures available at council meetings. 



— Require the disclosures to include the percentage of total income each activ- 

 ity represents. 



— Require a two-thirds majority for actions that result in significant alloca- 

 tions between fishery sectors. 



• Council Composition 



— Retain the current preference for active participants in the fishery for coun- 

 cil appointment. 



— Request more vigorous use of the Secretary's authority and the governors' 

 discretion to ensure appointees of the highest caliber. 



• Management Tools 



— Establish a time limit for agency action on regulatory amendments. 



— Extend duration of emergency rules to one hundred eighty days, with a pos- 

 sible extension of equal length. 



— Use money obtained by fisheries fees for programs in the region in which 

 it was collected, for the purpose of supplementing existing funding after devel- 

 oping guidelines for its disbursement. 



• Conservation Measures 



— Encourage programs that establish individual accountability for bycatch re- 

 duction efforts. 



— Discourage programs that make all fishermen bear the burden of the irre- 

 sponsible acts of a few. 

 We appreciate this opportunity to express our views on the Act that is the corner- 

 stone of our industry. We will be glad to work with you further during the reauthor- 

 ization process to ensure that our fisheries resources and the industry that depends 

 on them are strong and healthy. 



Prepared Statement of Arni Thomson, Executive Director, Alaska Crab 



Coalition 



I would like to express the appreciation of the Alaska Crab Coalition ("ACC") for 

 the opportunity to present testimony before the Committee at this important hear- 

 ing. The ACC played a significant role in the development of the 1990 amendments 

 to the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The ACC also took 

 the initiative to craft proposed amendments for the current reauthorization. It is 

 gratifying that major sectors of the Washington State-based fishing industry have 

 agreed to incorporate a number of those proposals into a joint position paper. I am 

 providing a copy of the industry paper for the record, and I will discuss several of 

 the more important proposals in the course of my testimony. 



The ACC believes that the enactment of the 1990 amendments, including particu- 

 larly the North Pacific Fisheries Research Plan, led to improvements in our system 

 of fisheries management. However, as reflected by the recommendation for further 

 amendments, the ACC and many other industry groups believe that the nation is 

 remains some distance from achieving the goal of ensuring that our valuable fishery 

 resources are utilized in a responsible manner. 



The Alaska Crab Coalition, a trade association comprised of the owners of more 

 than sixty-five crab fishing vessels which operate in the waters off Alaska, has a 

 record of strong support for responsible fishing. Our members experienced the costs 

 of declining Alaskan crab resources in the early 1980's and the benefits of restored 

 crab fisheries in the years that followed. The Members of the ACC are also acutely 

 conscious of the economic losses that are associated with the excessive levels of crab 

 bycatch in certain groundfish trawl fisheries of the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. 



