11 



terranean fisheries that now account for more than 93 percent of 

 the total Atlantic catch. 



Thirteen of the U.S. advisors did not believe the hypothetical 

 stock division has any merit. 14 of the U.S. advisers will no longer 

 support further reductions in the restricted U.S. bluefin quota. 



In the interest of getting back to objective science and real con- 

 servation, Mr. Chairman, I regret that we must call upon Congress 

 in the reauthorization of the ATCA to transfer scientific assess- 

 ment responsibilities from the southeast fishery center in Miami to 

 the northeast fishery center in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. 



Fishermen throughout the northeast have lost all confidence in 

 the Miami scientists to objectively assess this resource. We are to- 

 tally frustrated by the repeated rejection of our earnest attempts to 

 participate in the scientific process and offer suggestions and evi- 

 dence that might help Miami scientists uncover problems that 

 cause their mathematical models to not reflect the condition of the 

 resource. 



Briefly, Mr. Chairman, in the last two years, NMFS has been 

 unable to complete the rulemaking process to implement regula- 

 tory changes affecting the current year's fishery. 



In some cases, fishermen are being forced to make business deci- 

 sions related to selection of fishing categories before the rules of 

 that category or even quota levels are finalized by NMFS. This is 

 an unacceptable situation and we request that the Committee ad- 

 dress this matter. We believe that all regulatory changes must be 

 finalized by May 15th or prior to the start of the bluefin fishing 

 season. 



We also support modifications to ATCA and Magnuson that di- 

 rects the Secretary to appoint plan-development teams to recom- 

 mend plans for the Secretary's review and adoption. 



And finally, Mr. Chairman, one of the more controversial issues 

 arising from the 1990 amendments of ATCA and the Magnuson Act 

 are the respective provisions limiting the authority of NMFS to im- 

 plement measures that place U.S. fishermen at a competitive disad- 

 vantage with foreign fishermen engaged in the same fisheries. 



We believe that Congress never intended to sacrifice the inter- 

 ests of U.S. fishermen and support industries to prod international 

 management or that U.S. fishermen should be required to do more 

 than their fair share to conserve highly migratory resources. 



We are disappointed with the NMFS position to disadvantage 

 U.S. fishermen. We urge the Committee to consider our suggestions 

 for strengthening protection for U.S. fishermen against regulations 

 that put us at a disadvantage and make us do more than our fair 

 share. 



Thank you very much. 



Mr. Manton. Thank you, Mr. Hesse. 



[The statement of Eric Hesse can be found at the end of the hear- 

 ing.] 



Mr. Manton. Our last panelist is Ms. Suzanne ludicello — I got it 

 right this time, thank you — Center for Marine Conservation. 



