8 



empt from prosecution or not, damages the credibility of the Coun- 

 cils. Public confidence in the process that manages a public re- 

 source depends on the absence, in my judgment, of even an appear- 

 ance of conflict. 



What then is the solution to the legal and management dilemma 

 associated with these actual or perceived conflicts of interest? First, 

 we must find a legal means of assuring the American public that 

 the decisions made in the regional Councils are for the long-term 

 good of the industry, the resource, and the country, not just for the 

 short-term profit of Council members. 



As such, I fully recognize, and I want to reemphasize, I fully rec- 

 ognize the importance of industry participation in the Councils. 

 Certainly industry associations, companies, and individual fisher- 

 men must be invited to participate in decisions which will affect 

 their livelihood, their families' future, and the status of their com- 

 munities. 



But those interests can be represented on the Councils without 

 damaging the Councils' ability to conserve and manage such a vital 

 public resource for future generations. 



I am submitting attached to the end of my testimony a list of op- 

 tions to mitigate potential conflicts for your consideration. I hope 

 you will accept them for further studies as possible ways to en- 

 hance the management and reputation of the Councils. Let me 

 briefly describe a few of them. 



One obvious means of mitigating potential conflicts would be to 

 eliminate the statutory exemption from conflicts of interest. We 

 have found, after some research, that this exemption apparently is 

 the only example in Federal law of a direct statutory blanket waiv- 

 er from the prohibitions against conflicts of interest by Federal offi- 

 cials, which Council members are when they perform Council func- 

 tions. 



Another option would be to expand the membership of the Coun- 

 cils to include citizens with no personal financial interest, but with 

 knowledge or experience in a wide variety of disciplines and who 

 are very interested in the outcome of Council actions. 



Many members of boards of directors of Fortune 500 companies 

 have no direct ties to a particular company, but their experience 

 in banking, law, community development, or some other field are 

 helpful to the company. 



In a like manner, the Councils might benefit by including mem- 

 bers with such experience, as well as members from interested 

 consumer environmental organizations. Indeed, this Committee's 

 report on the original Magnuson Act includes a statement of the 

 Committee's expectation that conservationists, ecologists, and rep- 

 resentatives of the scientific community would be considered for 

 membership. 



Although the current language of the Magnuson Act allows for 

 the selection of a wide range of members, more explicit language 

 in the Act may indeed send a strong signal that such diverse mem- 

 bership is needed to minimize the conflicts of interest. 



Other items we suggest for your consideration are: establishing 

 a mechanism by which Council members recuse themselves from 

 voting on matters affecting their personal financial interests and 



