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maintains a much weaker role for federal involvement than are 

 found in these and other programs for managing shared natural 

 resources. Closely patterned after the Atlantic Striped Bass 

 Conservation Act, this legislation provides for an imposition of 

 a federal moratorium only after a majority of the states on the 

 ASMFC recommend such action. The federal government does not 

 establish quotas or regulations, but merely ensures the 

 enforcement of state developed management plans. This has worked 

 well for striped bass, and will work equally well with other 

 fisheries. 



Another provision of the Striped Bass Act which has 

 contributed to the successful restoration and 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 agencies has brought 

 the expertise and resources of two major agencies to bear on a 

 single issue. The Department of Commerce provides extensive 

 expertise in marine fisheries and provides some coordination 

 between federal fishery management plans and state management 

 plans for species which cross between coastal waters and the EEZ. 

 Meanwhile the Department of the Interior enhances management 

 through their responsibilities for anadromous fisheries, habitat 

 management in coastal areas and wetlands programs. Not only does 

 the Secretary of the Interior have statutory responsibilities for 

 anadromous species, but through the Sport Fish Restoration Act 

 administers more funds to the states for management of marine and 

 estuarine sport fisheries than any other federal agency. 

 Unfortunately, the draft legislation before us includes the 

 Secretary of the Interior only in an advisory capacity. This 

 will greatly compromise the potential success of the legislation. 

 We strongly urge that the Secretary of the Interior be included 

 in this legislation as an equal federal partner with the 

 Secretary of Commerce. 



Although representatives of the Departments of the Interior 

 and Commerce presently serve in an advisory capacity to some of 

 the ASMFC subcommittees, these agencies have no authority in the 

 decision making process. If unified management actions are to be 

 implemented for fish which, at some phase of their life, are 

 subject to exploitation within the EEZ, joint plans must be 

 developed with the approval of federal agencies. The ASMFC has 

 recently begun to coordinate the development of fisheries 

 management plans, such as bluefish and summer flounder, with the 

 Regional Fishery Management Councils. Such actions should be 

 mandatory in the future development of fisheries management plans 

 for migratory species which are subjected to harvest within the 

 EEZ. 



Properly instituted management programs can be extremely 

 costly and sometimes controversial. The extent of responsibility 

 of an individual state government for funding and conducting 

 research monitoring, enforcement, and other aspects of sound 

 management programs for particular species should be a function 

 of the degree of exploitation that occurs within that state's 



