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enforceability must be implemented. Such a mechanism is success- 

 fully embodied in the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act 

 which provides for a Federal role and conservation in those States 

 which are unwilling to enact the necessary conservation measures. 

 The draft legislation provides a similar Federal role and should 

 prove to work as well for other fisheries. 



Another provision of the Striped Bass Act which has contributed 

 to the successful management of coastal stocks has been the equal 

 involvement of both the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 

 of Commerce. The cooperative relationship between these two agen- 

 cies has brought the expertise and resources of two major Federal 

 agencies to bear on a single issue. The Department of Commerce 

 provides extensive expertise in marine fisheries and provides some 

 coordination between Federal and State fishery management plans. 

 Meanwhile, the Department of Interior enhances manageinent 

 through their responsibilities for anadromous fisheries, habitat, 

 and the wetlands programs, and administers more funding to the 

 States for marine fisheries management programs, through the 

 Sport Fish Restoration Act, than any other Federal agency. Failure 

 to include the Secretary of Interior in an equal role will greatly 

 compromise the potential success of this legislation. 



Two species which are extremely important to the recreational 

 fishing industry, weakfish and summer flounder, are so devastated 

 that the Sport Fishing Institute is concerned that implementation 

 of management measures cannot be delayed any further. These 

 species have been described as being in even worse shape than 

 striped bass were at their lowest point. The spawning biomass of 

 these stocks are at less than five percent of this historical levels. 



The original Weakfish Management Plan written almost eight 

 years ago and its subsequent amendments adopted in 1991 have not 

 been fully implemented by the States and have, therefore, not pro- 

 tected the stocks from further decline. Implementation of manage- 

 ment measures incorporated in these plans must be immediate. 



Properly instituted management programs can be costly. Al- 

 though no specific funding is included in this legislation, carrying 

 out the provisions of this Act will require joint Federal and State 

 funding initiatives. The most equitable manner in which to distrib- 

 ute the cost of interjurisdictional programs should be based on a 

 quantitative estimate such as landings, value, or participation in 

 the fishery within each State's waters or within the EEZ. 



One means of funding natural resources programs which has 

 proven to be successful and accepted in the past has been imple- 

 mentation of license and extraction fees. A growing number of 

 coastal States have implemented salt water licenses or special 

 marine specie stamps which recreational anglers support the cost 

 of fisheries management programs. 



For a license system to be successful, it must be equitable with 

 fees imposed on other users of the resource. Therefore, the com- 

 mercial fishing sector must also contribute to the management of 

 fisheries which they impact to implementation of an extraction fee 

 similar to those levied on the commercial users of other common 

 property resources such as timber, minerals, and grazing fees. 



With increasing pressure from all citizens to enjoy these common 

 property resources, the days of unlimited, free access to our fisher- 



