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unable to effectively implement and enforce an interstate fishery 

 management plan, the federal government can be called on to aid in 

 plan implementation and enforcement through imposition of a 

 moratorium on fishing in non-compliant states for the species at 

 issue. Upon full implementation and enforcement of an interstate 

 fishery management plan for all states, the federal government 

 would withdraw preemptive actions in previously non-compliant 

 states. The draft bill recognizes the states' proper and 

 recognized jurisdiction over Atlantic Coastal fisheries by ensuring 

 that all federal actions are contingent on determinations by the 

 Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. 



The lAFWA supports the approach embodied in the proposed bill 

 for Atlantic Coastal state interjurisdictional fisheries. This 

 support recognizes the role of the Atlantic Coast states in 

 developing the draft language of the bill and the support of the 

 Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. We refer the 

 subcommittee to ASMFC's testimony for a discussion of some minor 

 changes to the draft requested by the Atlantic Coastal states, 

 which would address some specific management concerns of the 

 affected states. 



However, the situation along the Atlantic Coast that is being 

 addressed by the draft bill is unique due to the specific migratory 

 characteristics of Atlantic Coastal fishery resources, the history 

 of fishing on these resources, the large number of states traversed 

 by these fish, and the precedence established by the Atlantic 

 Striped Bass Conservation Act in inviting federal assistance to 

 ensure compliance with interstate fishery management plans among 

 the Atlantic Coast states. Similar situations do not exist along 

 the Gulf and Pacific Coasts. 



While we support the general provisions of the current bill, 

 we would not support a similar approach to address management of 

 fisheries resources along the Gulf and Pacific Coasts. We make 

 this distinction because of the significant differences along the 

 three coasts between the biological characteristics of fish stocks 

 and between the existing mechanisms for cooperative management 

 among states. We urge the subcommittee to resist the temptation to 

 apply such an approach to the Gulf and Pacific Coasts. Other 

 innovative cooperative fisheries programs will be needed in those 

 areas, and we would be pleased to work with the subcommittee on 

 specific concerns for those areas. 



Thank you for the opportunity to share our position with the 

 subcommittee and I would be happy to answer any questions. 



