66 



67th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY-1993 Regular Session 



Senate Joint Memorial 21 



Sponsored by Senator BRADBURY; Senators S. BUNN, DUKES, YIH 



SUMMARY 



The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject 

 to consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's brief statement of the essential features of the 

 measure as introduced. 



Memorializes President and Congress to investigate decision of Department of Commerce to 

 award majority of Pacific whiting catch to Puget Sound factory trawlers against recommendations 

 of its subordinate agencies; to review department's procedures and policies for fisheries manage- 

 ment; and to convene hearing in Oregon about impact of department s decision on coastal commu- 

 nities and make recommendations for cooperation between industry, local and regional management 

 agencies and department. 



1 JOINT MEMORIAL 



2 To the President of the United States, the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United 



3 States of America, in Congress assembled, and the Secretary of the Department of Commerce: 



4 We, your memorialists, the Sixty-seventh Legislative Assembly of the State of Oregon, in legis- 



5 lative session assembled, respectfully represent as follows: 



6 Whereas communities along the Oregon coast have witnessed steady declines in many of the 



7 fisheries that have historically supported their economies and provided livelihoods for their families; 



8 and 



9 Whereas many of those communities have endeavored to develop other fishery resources and 



10 diversified industries based on those resources that would meet the needs of both the communities 



11 themselves and of the marketplace; and 



12 Whereas for more than a decade many Oregon coastal communities have relied on a growing 



13 harvest of Pacific whiting to sustain themselves and to serve an expanding west coast and Asian 



14 market for surimi and other whiting products; and 



15 Whereas members of the whiting industry have formulated plans and made investments of time, 



16 expertise, equipment and capital to develop this fishery with the expectation that their efforts would 



17 be rewarded with the fruits of the stewardship they have exercised; and 



18 Whereas these industry members have in good faith abided by the regulations, mandates and 



19 procedures set forth in rule and statute for the sustainable management of the fishery, obeying the 



20 directives of the Pacific Fishery Management Council and cooperating with other agencies with 



21 regulatory jurisdiction over the resource, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin- 



22 istration and the National Marine Fisheries Service; and 



23 Whereas with its decision overturning the recommendations of these agencies and thereby jg- 



24 noring the substantial scientific evidence and economic data that clearly favored continuing their 



25 long-standing policy to award the majority share of the whiting allocation to shore-based processors 



26 and their associated near-shore harvesters, the United States Department of Commerce has de- 



27 stroyed the credibility of the very regional decision-making processes it has historically fostered and 



28 encouraged and has contributed to substantial job and income losses in coastal communities de- 



29 pendent on this resource; and 



30 Whereas the department has not adequately explained the reasoning behind its decision of April 



NOTE: Matter in boldfaced type in an amended section is new; matter [ttaltc and bracketed] is existing law to be omitted 

 New sections are in boldfaced type. 



