20 



process as was intended by the Congress in the first place. Thank 

 you, Mr. Chairman. 



[The prepared statement of Mr. Schill can be found at the end of 

 the hearing.] 



Mr. Lancaster. Thank you, Mr. Schill. Mr. Goldsborough. 



STATEMENT OF WILLIAM GOLDSBOROUGH, FISHERIES EXPERT, 

 CHESAPEAKE BAY FOUNDATION 



Mr. Goldsborough. Mr. Chairman, members of the Subcommit- 

 tee, my name is Bill Goldsborough. I am the Fisheries Program 

 Chief with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, a nonprofit conserva- 

 tion organization with 85,000 members throughout the Mid-Atlan- 

 tic area. Thank you for he invitation to address the Subcommittee 

 on what we consider to be the most important legislation this year 

 affecting inshore stocks of migratory fish. 



The mission of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation is to "Save the 

 Bay." While this catchy phrase means many things to many 

 people, to us the clearest indicator of success in this endeavor is 

 the restoration of the Bay's living resources. In support of this goal, 

 the Foundation has devoted substantial resources to the preserva- 

 tion of aquatic habitat, but it has become clear to us that all the 

 efforts underway to restore habitat cannot maintain fish popula- 

 tions if they are not accompanied by efforts to conserve fish. Thus, 

 we have become an advocate for effective fisheries management, 

 and we have found that this takes us far beyond the boundaries of 

 Chesapeake Bay. 



Virtually all of the important fisheries in the Bay depend on fish 

 stocks that are shared by other coastal States, in many cases, by a 

 dozen or more. Not only the striped bass, whose migratory ways 

 have been well appreciated by Congress, but also weakfish, summer 

 flounder, American shad, red drum, river herring, and many more 

 species move annually up and down the coast and support a variety 

 of fisheries along the way. 



Those of us in Chesapeake Bay cannot manage these fisheries. 

 Neither can those whose interests lie in Narragansett Bay or Dela- 

 ware Bay or Long Island or Pamlico Sounds. All Atlantic Coast ju- 

 risdictions share this problem. They must work together to manage 

 and maintain these joint resources. 



This need for cooperation was recognized 50 years ago when Con- 

 gress created the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. 

 While the Commission has become an important form for the de- 

 velopment of cooperative management plans, the States have a 

 poor record in implementing these plans. The result has been a 

 general decline in our coastal fishery resources. 



And the best illustration of this phenomenon from the point of 

 view of Chesapeake Bay is the American shad. While it once sup- 

 ported the most valuable commercial finfishery in the Bay and as 

 well as a vibrant recreational fishery, the American shad is severe- 

 ly depleted in the Bay now and supports essentially no fishing. In 

 Maryland waters, a total moratorium has been in place for 13 

 years with almost nothing to show for it. In contrast, after a five- 

 year moratorium on striped bass, a similarly important finfishery 

 is rapidly being rebuilt. 



