Woods Hole in order to restore scientific integrity and balance and 

 the fishermen's confidence and trust in the scientific and manage- 

 ment process. 



Three, the ATCA provision limiting disadvantaging of U.S. fish- 

 ermen needs to be strengthened, and four, changes are necessary to 

 allow the establishment of FACA exempt plan development teams 

 and require important but minor technical revisions regarding data 

 collection and timing of rulemaking. 



Getting onto our first point, we believe that highly migratory 

 management under the Secretary of Commerce is sound. The deci- 

 sion by Congress in 1990 to transfer highly migratory authority 

 from the regional councils to the Secretary of Commerce was cor- 

 rect, and without question, substantial progress has been made 

 since 1990 to improve ICC AT in our domestic programs for bluefin 

 tuna and swordfish. 



We hope that Congress will see through the smoke put forward 

 by the few groups suggesting that authority be returned to the 

 councils. We believe their motivation for restoring authority to the 

 councils is to deny adequate commercial fishery representation. 



Recreational and other non-commercial interests now dominate 

 the East Coast councils and this situation prevents balanced deci- 

 sionmaking in any shared multiple council decision arena. 



We do support a continuing important role for the councils be- 

 cause this regional system affords many individuals and organiza- 

 tions an effective voice in the process. 



Moving onto our second point, Mr. Chairman, we have before us 

 a major crisis regarding the U.S. bluefin position at the November 

 ICCAT meeting this year. The crisis stems from the fact that our 

 scientists from Miami have politicized the scientific process to a 

 dangerous level, one that now threatens the Atlantic-wide conser- 

 vation of bluefin tuna and, for all practical purposes, would end 

 significant U.S. participation in the bluefin fishery. 



I have attached several important documents that provide evi- 

 dence of the problems with Miami trying to protect their controver- 

 sial two-stock working hypothesis. 



On behalf of more than 400 fishermen in our East Coast organi- 

 zation and more than 50 support industries, I am requesting that 

 your Committee carefully investigate this matter. 



We hope that the investigation will include the inappropriate ex- 

 penditure of U.S. Government funds to send seven U.S. scientists to 

 Madrid on a week-long junket to carry out their crusade against 

 the U.S. commercial bluefin fishery. 



Here are the facts, Mr. Chairman. This chart, which has been in- 

 cluded in my written testimony, shows that United States fisher- 

 men, since 1975 (the western, Atlantic catch is on the bottom and 

 the eastern Atlantic catch is on the top), U.S. fishermen are doing 

 more to conserve Atlantic bluefin tuna than fishermen from any 

 other country in the world. 



Since 1981, our bluefin quota has been reduced by 65 percent and 

 our share of the total Atlantic catch of bluefin is now less than 3.5 

 percent. 



U.S. fishermen comply with an absolute minimum size of 14 

 pounds. We have a restricted quota on fish below 66 pounds and we 

 prohibit the sale of bluefin less than 150 pounds. U.S. fishermen 



