158 



When my Government tells me I can fish to the Fishery Zone but at my own risk 

 of seizure of my vessel by Canada, what am I to do. Am I to arm myself with LAWS 

 rockets to prevent pirating of my vessel. 



Because of this, I feel' that the Magnuson Act is hindering our States ability to 

 manage our fisheries resources in the most economical way to benefit our citizens. 

 If the Magnuson Act was formed to conserve Alaska fisheries, then I agree but at 

 our fishermen's expense while our fishery has dwindled since the Act, Canada, 

 Washington, Oregon and California has increased. Since Statehood, I have seen our 

 fisheries decline, especially our troll and halibut fisheries. Our halibut fleet used to 

 remain open most of the year and our troll fleet could retain the halibut they caught 

 while fishing King Salmon year round. 



I would like to see a time set aside to take testimony from Alaska fishermen when 

 it would not interfere with our limited openings. 



My questions to you are: 



1. Why do we cater to violators of the Magnuson Act by allowing them to anchor 

 in our harbors. 



2. Is the Magnuson Act one way. Does Canada follow it. 



3. If it is not followed by Canada and not enforced then why keep it. 



4. Can I fish without being seized to our fishery zone. 

 Thank you. 



Prepared Statement of Penny Pagels, Fisheries Campaigner, Greenpeace 



On behalf of Greenpeace and its approximately 1.8 million supporters here in the 

 United States, I am pleased to present our organization's views regarding the Mag- 

 nuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act. My name is Penny Pagels and 

 I am the Northwest Fisheries Campaigner for Greenpeace. I work specifically on 

 North Pacific fisheries Issues, advocating for the conservation of living marine re- 

 sources. I am also serving my second term on the Advisory Panel to the North Pa- 

 cific Fishery Management Council. It is with great pleasure that I present this testi- 

 mony to you today. 



As an environmental organization dedicated to protecting the marine environ- 

 ment, Greenpeace is concerned with several issues that will be under review during 

 this reauthorization process. We are steering committee members of the Marine 

 Fish Conservation Network and are currently working on a national outreach pro- 

 gram to empower citizens of the United States to become involved in ocean issues. 



IMPROVING the magnuson fishery conservation and management act 



The Magnuson Act has ample room for strengthening and improvement. More em- 

 phasis should be placed on the long-term sustainabuity of the living marine re- 

 sources and the marine ecosystems that support them both inside the United States 

 Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and outside of our national jurisdiction. As we are 

 well aware, marine species do not respect international boundaries and it is there- 

 fore in our interest to include ocean policies that extend beyond 200 nautical miles. 



Almost 17 years after the passage of the Magnuson Act, the state of our nation's 

 fisheries has not improved. We have not halted overfishing and for the most part, 

 we have not allowed for the conservation or prudent management of fish stocks. The 

 National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) reports that 42 percent of the managed 

 fish stocks in this nation are overutilized. Some of this startling statistic can be at- 

 tributed to those fish stocks which were overfished before the passage of the Magnu- 

 son Act, but this does not address the issue of why these stocks, in light of their 

 depleted condition, were allowed continued exploitation. 



Today, in fact, the manner in which our fisheries are prosecuted begs the question 

 as to why we have allowed and even encouraged the U.S. fishing capacity to surpass 

 that of the foreign fisheries that once operated in what is now the U.S. EEZ. 



In this testimony, I will point out some of the egregious problems facing the sta- 

 tus of our nations fisheries and recommend specific changes that should be ad- 

 dressed during the reauthorization process. 



UNSUSTAINABLE FISHING 



Many of our nation's fisheries are allowed to continue irrespective of the manner 

 in which they are prosecuted. In the North Pacific, wanton waste is in excess of 500 

 million pounds per year. The waste and discard issue is easily highlighted in the 

 fishery for rock sole in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands area. In 1993, this fishery, 

 which is conducted by the use ol bottom trawls, reported catch figures as follows: 

 total catch 73,804 metric tons (mt), retained catch 23,411 mt and discarded catch 

 of 50,393 mt. In more familiar terms, the discards amounted an excess of 110 mil- 



