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OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY — COASTAL CAUCUS 



Even leaving aside the economic Impact that resulted from ignoring the PFMC's determination that 

 the shore-based whiting processors should be favored with the bulk of the available harvest so that 

 they could build their indusules, the disproportionate harvest that followed the Commerce Depart- 

 ment decision has had a negative impact on the resource itself and on other fisheries. An untimely 

 opening for the season provoked a high discard rate among factory trawlers seeking better-quality 

 whiting; furthermore, the very nature of the factory trawler's operation ensures a large — and 

 generally unutilized — by-catch. It was these and similar consequences of poor and uninformed 

 decision-making that Congress intended to avoid with its enactment of the Magnuson Act, and it Is 

 this sort of decision-making the Coastal Caucus now calls upon the Fisheries Management Sutxrom- 

 mittee to prevent with appropriat« amendments to the Act. 



We have enclosed a proposal containing language that we, along with the chairs of the eight 

 regional fishery management councils, believe will temper the wide-ranging and oft-abused discre- 

 tion of the Secretary of Commerce on fishery allocation decisions and return the primary re- 

 sponsibility for fisheries management policy to the regional councils, as envisioned in the Act. We 

 hope you will carefully consider these amendments and incorporate them into the Act when you 

 deliberate on its reauthorization this summer. 



Respectfully, 



Rep. Tim Josi, Chair 

 Coastal Caucus 



Sen. Bill Bradbury 

 Senate District 24 



Sen. Stan Bunn 

 Senate District 2 



Sen. Joan Dukes 

 Senate District 1 



Rep. Tony Federici 

 House District 1 



Rep. Hedy Rijken 

 House District 4 



Rep. Veral Tarno 

 House District 48 



Rep. Jim Whitty 

 House District 47 



Rep. Chuck Norris 

 House District 57 

 Affiliated Member 



Enclosure: proposed amendments to Magnuson Act 



