44 



measures shall not discriminate between residents of different 

 states. Notwithstanding this standard, I respectfully submit 

 that NMFS would agree that the results of their regulations hve 

 been quite discriminatory against our region. For example, this 

 year the New England region's general category caught 

 approximately six hundred tons of large medium and giant Atlantic 

 Bluefin Tuna. The New Jersey region, which had been promised by 

 NMFS several years ago a fifty ton regional allocation, this year 

 has been allocated eight tons. As unfair as that allocation 

 seems, it is exacerbated by the fact that the greater New York 

 Bight area was totally shut out of the school bluefin tuna 

 fishery as well as the large school, small medium fishery. In 

 1991, 1611 boats were involved in that fishery in New Jersey. 

 Those fishing trips can never be made up, and the losses are 

 irreperable. By tightening up the monitoring process, by 

 creating "buffer" time periods in which statistical evaluations 

 shall take place, and by more carefully examining and considering 

 the historical fishery of this region, fisheries managers will be 

 able to avoid discriminating against the residents of New Jersey 

 and New York. 



Without requiring a more strict compliance with the 

 national standards in promulgating regulations of highly 

 migratory species, especially bluefin tuna, certain regions will 

 inevitably continue to suffer disproportionately under the 

 present management scheme. Moreover, without mandating NMFS 



