On the other hand, fishing within State waters, that is, waters within three miles 

 of the coast, is managed by State governments. While a State can impose any appro- 

 priate regulation on fishing activity in its State waters, the States recognized that 

 the regulation of close coastal fisheries required coordinated action aimong the 

 States. To facilitate this management task, all the States bordering the Atlantic 

 Coast established an interstate marine fishery management commission. 



Earlier this week. Chairman Studds joined with Subcommittee Chairman, Tom 

 Manton, to introduce H.R. 2134. Under this legislation, the coastal States, working 

 through the Commission, would continue to develop multi-State fishery manage- 

 ment plans covering State waters. However, H.R. 2134 would profoundly change the 

 process after adoption of a plan. 



Under the current system, a State that did not support a plan, or for that matter 

 a State that supported a plan, is not required to take any action to implement that 

 plan. However, under H.R. 2134, once the States voted in the Commission to impose 

 a plan, each State would be required to take appropriate steps to implement that 

 plan. If a State failed to act witlun the time frame established by the plan, the Com- 

 mission would report that failure to the Secretary of Commerce. The Secretary 

 could then impose on that State a moratorium on fishing for the species covered by 

 the plan. 



The goal of this legislation is to assure that States take coordinated action to pro- 

 tect threatened fish species. While I have some concerns about this bill, I welcome 

 this opportunity to hear more about this important matter. 



[Statement of Mr. Hughes follows:] 

 Statement of Hon. William J. Hughes, a U.S. Representative from New Jersey 



Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding today's hearing on interjurisdictional fisher- 

 ies management on the Atlantic Coast. This issue is of great importance in South- 

 ern New Jersey and I commend you for your initiative. 



Commercial and recreational fishing provide an important economic resource for 

 New Jersey. The Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay have provided livelihoods for 

 New Jersey residents for hundreds of years. However, in recent years, there have 

 been declining fish stocks and concomitant economic depression. It has been neces- 

 sary to place severe restrictions on catches and fishing moratoria on many species. 



The state of the weakfish, striped bass, and summer flounder fisheries provide ex- 

 cellent examples of the problems being encountered by our fisheries resources. 

 These species have declined to seriously low levels and current conservation meas- 

 ures are causing severe economic restrictions on local fishermen, commercial and 

 recreational alike. 



Recently, I have been contacted by many constituents concerned about the fluke 

 management plan. Specifically, their concerns focus on the 6-fish bag limit for recre- 

 ational fishermen and criticism that all States are not implementing similar conser- 

 vation measures. I would appreciate the panel addressing these concerns. 



Management of these fisheries is primarily within the jurisdiction of the Atlantic 

 States Marine Fisheries Commission, a compact of 15 Atlantic States. Such a cooper- 

 ative interstate approach to the management of highly migratory species is essen- 

 tial. Indeed, management of a fishery by one State will have little impact unless 

 similar measures are adopted all along the migratory range of the species. Further- 

 more, the burden of conservation measures must be borne by all States involved in 

 a fishery, not by a select few. 



Accordingly, I am pleased to be an original co-sponsor of the Atlantic Coastal 

 Fisheries Cooperative Management Act, legislation which seeks to bring equity to 

 coastal fisheries management. 



This Act requires the adoption of the necessary regulatory measures by Atlantic 

 States to fully implement a fishery management plan to allow a fishery population 

 to recover. In the event that a State does not implement a fishery management 

 plan, the Act gives the Secretary of Commerce the authority to impose a moratori- 

 um on that State's fishery until it comes into compliance. 



This Act is a necessary measure if we are to save several coastal fisheries from 

 collapse. Just as the Striped Bass Act has led to the successful rebuilding of Atlantic 

 striped bass stocks, this legislation will help rebuild other impoverished stocks in a 

 fair and equitable manner. 



I strongly support an interjurisdictional approach to the management of highly 

 migratory species and intend to work with my colleagues to see this legislation 

 become law this Congress. 



