26 



STATEMENT 



OF 



DR. NANCY FOSTER 



DEPUTY ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR FISHERIES 



NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE 



NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION 



U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 



BEFORE THE 



SUBCOMMITTEE ON FISHERIES MANAGEMENT 



MERCHANT MARINE AND FISHERIES COMMITTEE 



U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 



OCTOBER 20, 1993 



Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: 



My name is Dr. Nancy Foster. I am the Deputy Assistant 

 Administrator for Fisheries of the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service (NMFS) , National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

 U.S. Department of Commerce (Department). 



I appreciate the opportunity to appear before this Subcommittee 

 to present the Department's views on the reauthorization of the 

 Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA) . My brief presentation here 

 today focuses on three points concerning the ATCA — namely: the 

 purpose and provisions of the ATCA, the role of the Department 

 and NMFS under the ATCA, and an issue which we believe should be 

 addressed during reauthorization. 



Purpose and Provisions of ATCA 



The Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) has been using the ATCA to 

 manage Atlantic tunas, particularly bluefin tuna, since 1975. 

 Other species covered by the ATCA (including swordfish and 



