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ITSHERMEN'S 

 FOUNDATIO N 



Mnrch 21, lyyi 



The Honorable Thomas J. Manton 

 Chairman/House Subcommittee on 



Fisheries Management 

 534-Ford House office Bldg. 

 Washington, D.C, 20515 



Dear Rep. Manton, 



Attached is some additional documentation that I thought might 

 give your committee some idea of the frustration many of us 

 involved with our nations' fisheries have had with the guidelines 

 outlined in the Magnuson Act, Our Foundation has repeatedly 

 voiced our opinion that we do not feel that Magnuson or it's 

 regulations are necessarily broke, but maybe we need to take 

 a closer look at some of the managers that we're asking to 

 implement these regulations. 



I would like to request that the attached letters to Mr. Frank 

 DeGeorge and the letter from the Assistant Administrator for 

 Fisheries to the former Chairman of the Western Pacific Council, 

 be included in the record, following your committees' hearings 

 on conflicts of interest. The letter to Mr. DeGeorge 

 demonstrates how some improprieties by council members, simply 

 slip through the cracks. The council members we had asked be 

 placed on administrative leave, were not only able to vote on 

 several major issues, concerning their own operations while 

 their case was pending, but each had a profound impact on the 

 outcome of these issues. Their recommendations to the council 

 were not only inconsistent with that of the NMFS, other council 

 members and the Endangered Species Act, which would have erred 

 towards conservation, but their positions could possibility 

 result in the over-fishing of resources who's long-term 

 Sustainable yield is unknown. 



These individuals were not only accused of fisheries violations, 

 but also failed to report their Involvement with one another 

 (one leasing the vessel to the , other and the lease purchase 

 agreement) on their financial/disclosure statements, all of 

 which are part of the public record and I would be happy to 

 supply your committee with copies of these as well if you wish. 

 One of these council , members even purchased an additional 



305 Hahani Street #181, Kailua, Hawaii 96734 



