6 



touch with local people and local fishing conditions should make 

 the allocation decisions. We need to hear from the Department how 

 such a thing could happen, and we need to be sure that it will not 

 happen again. 



I'll leave it to the folks in the industry to tell you their stories 

 and fill you in on some of the details the Department didn't take 

 the time to find out. I'd like to submit for your consideration two 

 letters that the Oregon coastal legislators and I have submitted to 

 President Clinton, Secretary Brown, and members of the Oregon 

 congressional delegation, as well as the members of the House 

 Fisheries Management Subcommittee. One letter asks Congress to 

 investigate the Commerce Department decision and to make find- 

 ings that will ensure a better seasonal allocation process, and the 

 other letter asks for specific amendments to the Magnuson Fisher- 

 ies Conservation and Management Act that would limit the discre- 

 tion of the Secretary of Commerce to make these sorts of arbitrary 

 decisions in the future. 



I urge you to give both of these proposals due consideration, and 

 I urge you to listen to those who have suffered as a result of this 

 decision. 



I thank you once again for holding this hearing and allowing me 

 the chance to convey the concerns of my friends and neighbors, 

 and I respectfully will defer questions to the experts who will testi- 

 fy before you this morning. Once again, I thank you. I apologize to 

 you and the rest of the folks here today for not being able to stay 

 due to our own legislative session, but I appreciate the time that 

 you have given me this morning. Thank you. 



[Ms. Rijken's statement, with attachments, may be found in the 

 appendix.] 



Chairman Wyden. Ms. Rijken, thank you for an excellent state- 

 ment. It's very helpful. I know your time is short, so let me recog- 

 nize my colleague if he'd like to ask any question of you, and we 

 can excuse you. 



Ms. Rijken. Thank you. 



Mr. KoPETSKi. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have no questions. I 

 know that Representative Rijken has to get back to Salem to the 

 State House. 



Ms. Rijken. Thank you again, and I think the key word that you 

 brought up yourself this morning, Mr. Chair, was arbitrary, in 

 regard to this decision. I think you'll probably hear that many 

 more times this morning. I hope that you can do something to help 

 this growing industry and get it back on track. 



Chairman Wyden. Thank you, and we'll excuse you. Drive safely. 



Ms. Rijken. Thank you. 



Chairman Wyden. Mr. Andrews, welcome. 



TESTIMONY OF BRUCE ANDREWS, DIRECTOR, OREGON 

 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



Mr. Andrews. Welcome and thank you. I very much appreciate 

 your opening statements and the help of both of your staffs with 

 our department on this issue. Before I proceed, I'd like to enter 

 into the record a letter from Governor Roberts, who supports this 

 industry and its efforts to seek a fair and equitable solution to this 



