59 



The worst part about this decision was not that most of the harvest went to the factory 

 fleet, or that local fishing families will see less money in their pocketbooks this season. 

 The worst part is the feeling of betrayal local folks feel. They went before the Pacific 

 Fishery Management Council last year and presented their case. They heard the 

 testimony of the biologists and the ecologists, who told them how much fishing 

 pressure the resource could bear. They listened to economists, who described how 

 important the whiting harvest is to a fishing industry that puts almost 90 percent of 

 the $80 to $100 million per year the fishing industry generates into the hands of their 

 friends and neighbors who aren't employed directly in fishing. And after all of that, 

 they heard the recommendation of the PFMC, which decided that the on-shore whiting 

 industry deserved a chance to grow and prosper. 



But the Commerce Department didn't think so. Without consulting the PFMC it 

 overturned its recommendation and opened the fishery to a short, intense and high- 

 pressure fishing season that gave quick profits for a minimal investment to the large 

 factory fleet. It ignored the effects on local communities and it ignored the intent of 

 the Magnuson Act, which specifies that local agencies in 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 doesn't 

 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 about. I'd like to submit for 

 your consideration two letters I and other Oregon coastal legislators submitted to 

 President Clinton, Secretary Brown and members of the Oregon congressional 

 delegation and to the members of the House Fisheries Management Subcommittee. 

 One letter asks Congress to investigate the Commerce department decision and to 

 make findings that will ensure a better seasonal allocation process. The other letter asks 

 for specific amendments to the Magnuson Fisheries Conservation and Management Act 

 that would limit the discretion 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. 



Thank you once again for holding this hearing and allowing me the chance to convey 

 the concerns of my friends and neighbors. 



