143 



• Designate one voting seat on the Pacific Fishery Management Council for a Na- 

 tive American representative, the existing seat occupied by a tribal fishing rep- 

 resentative would revert to an at-large seat as currently designated in the act. 



4. ETHICS ISSUES AND THE REGIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCILS 



One purpose of the Magnuson Act is to involve participants in the fisheries in the 

 decisionmaking process as federal appointees to the regional fishery management 

 councils. Council members, however, are exempt from federal statutes that govern 

 the conduct of federal officials faced with conflicts of interest during performance 

 of their duties. Serious and legitimate questions have been raised about whether the 

 existing federal requirements and standards are sufficient to maintain propriety in 

 the management process. 



• Council members, prior to a council vote, should be required to state on the 

 record any interests, financial or otherwise, affected by the council action under con- 

 sideration. 



• Also, council members should be required to provide more detailed disclosure 

 of interests. Interests should be defined to include direct and indirect financial in- 

 volvement. For example, fishing industry members should be required to disclose 

 what species they harvest/process/market, and what gear type is employed (or in- 

 volved). Trade association representatives, those representing views of sport fishing, 

 consumer and environmental organizations, and those working for individual com- 

 panies should disclose similar information about their employers or clients. 



• A report detailing the interests, financial and otherwise, of council members 

 supporting a proposed rule should be a part of the internal decisionmaking memo- 

 randa prepared for consideration of Commerce Department officials. 



The Washington State-based organizations have achieved a consensus view on a 

 number of critical issues that Congress needs to address during the Magnuson Act 

 reauthorization process. This is not a comprehensive list of issues of concern to the 

 parties listed below; during the reauthorization process, each organization will likely 

 provide additional views to Congress. 



ALASKA CRAB COALITION STATEMENT ON THE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON 



ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT 



On April 3, a Preparatory Committee comprised of delegations from the nations 

 of the world concluded its historic task of paving the way for the United Nations 

 Conference on Environment and Development, which will take place this June in 

 Rio de Janeiro. Among the landmark accomplishments of the Preparatory Commit- 

 tee was a universally agreed set of principles, guidelines, and commitments for the 

 conservation and sustainable use of living-marine resources. 



The Alaska Crab Coalition, an organization focussed on the conservation of the 

 valuable fisheries of the North Pacific, closely followed the developments of the five- 

 week preparatory meeting. We were veryinipressed with the outcome. 



The UN Committee agreed that, "States commit themselves to the conservation 

 and sustainable use of living marine resources" both in the Exclusive Economic 

 Zones and on the high seas. It was recognized that, "overcapitalization and excessive 

 fleet sizes * * * insufficiently selective gear, [and] unreliable data bases" are among 

 the problems plaguing the world's fisheries. 



The UN Committee further agreed that, "it is necessary to * * * promote the de- 

 velopment and use of selective fishing gear and practices that minimize waste of 

 catch of target species and minimize by-catch of non-target species * * * preserve 

 rare or fragile ecosystems as well as habitats and other ecologically sensitive areas 

 * * * take measures to increase the availability of marine living resources as 

 human food by reducing wastage, post-harvest losses and discards, and improving 

 techniques of processing, distribution, and transportation * * * [and] develop and 

 promote the use of environmentally sound technology under criteria compatible with 

 the sustainable use of marine living resources including assessment of environ- 

 mental impact of major new fishery practices. * * *" 



There was a consensus achieved, as well, on the principle that, "States should 

 identify marine ecosystems exhibiting high levels of biodiversity and productivity 

 and other critical habitat areas and provide necessary limitations on use in these 

 areas, through, inter alia, designation of protected areas." "Priority should be ac- 

 corded" to specific kinds of areas, including "spawning and nursery areas". 



The Committee did not neglect the central issue of data collection and analysis. 

 It was agreed that States should "promote enhanced collection and exchange of data 

 necessary for the conservation and sustainable use of the marine living resources 

 under national jurisdiction." 



