Over the years, our State government, especially through the 

 leadership of Bruce Andrews, the director of the State Department 

 of Agriculture, has been involved in an intensive effort to develop 

 the shore-site processing industry, investing both money and time 

 to develop better ways of more efficiently utilizing this whiting re- 

 source. 



I would also like to thank the representatives of the offshore 

 processing industry for being here today. It may come as a surprise 

 to some that I am not against factory trawlers entirely. I simply 

 believe the council process was fair, given the history of the factory 

 trawler fleet in the whiting industry, and that this sector should 

 contribute to the wellbeing of the fishery in proportion to the bene- 

 fits they receive. 



As you may know, I recently introduced legislation, H.R. 2274, 

 the Factory Trawler Equitable Tax Act, to impose an excise tax on 

 the offshore processing of Pacific whiting. The legislation is 

 straightforward. The amount of the tax per metric ton shall be 10 

 percent of the ex-vessel value of processed whiting, which is ap- 

 proximately $7.70, or up to $8.80 per metric ton in today's market. 



Importantly, the bill directs that revenues collected from the tax 

 be dedicated to Pacific whiting habitat restorations, restoration and 

 rebuilding of fisheries and fishing stock, and by-catch gear selectiv- 

 ity and reduction research in Oregon, Washington, and California. 



The Factory Trawler Equitable Tax Act attempts to make up for 

 the competitive advantage that factory trawlers enjoy by not sig- 

 nificantly contributing to State and local taxes in the Pacific 

 Northwest, and the tax act provides revenues we need to research 

 how to rebuild our fisheries industry here on land. 



These revenues will be dedicated to important management 

 issues, such as the effect that Olympic and pulse-type fisheries 

 have on the Pacific whiting resource, as well as issues of by-catch, 

 including techniques to reduce tonnage and increase utilization of 

 that by-catch. 



Finally, I would like to thank the Department of Commerce for 

 sending a representative here today. Despite the events of the last 

 several months, I remain confident that this administration strong- 

 ly desires to do right by the people of Oregon and this important 

 onshore industry. It is my goal today to help the administration 

 begin to achieve that goal. 



Mr. Chairman, again, thank you for holding this hearing. In the 

 interest of time, I would like my longer statement inserted in the 

 record. 



[Mr. Kopetski's statement may be found in the appendix.] 



Chairman Wyden. Without objection, that will be so ordered, and 

 thank you for your leadership and your excellent opening state- 

 ment. Before we go further with our witnesses, I would like to note 

 that this is the first congressional hearing to be held since the 

 whiting decision came down, but I assure you, it will not be the last 

 hearing on this topic. Our colleague, Congresswoman Elizabeth 

 Furse, deserves considerable credit for the commitment she got 

 from the Merchant Marine Committee, the full Merchant Marine 

 Committee, to come to Oregon in August to again listen to the con- 

 cerns of the Oregon coast. Between our two committees, the voice 

 of the Oregon coast will be heard in Washington. So, we open 



