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Testimony of 



Rolland A. Schmitten 



Assistant Administrator for Fisheries 



National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 



U.S. Department of Commerce 



Before the 



Subcommittee on Environment and Natural Resources 

 Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries 

 U.S. House of Representatives 



June 30, 1994 



Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: I am Rolland 

 Schmitten, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National 

 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) , U.S. Department of 

 Commerce. I am pleased to be here today to discuss the recovery 

 of salmon stocks in the Pacific Northwest that are listed as 

 threatened amd endcuigered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) . 



Before proceeding, I want to take this opportunity to recognize 

 the hard work of the Snake River Salmon Recovery Team (Team) in 

 developing recommendations for the recovery of the three listed 

 stocks of Snake River salmon. The Team spent hundreds of hours 

 addressing mciny difficult issues, including downstream passage of 

 juvenile salmon, protection and restoration of spawning and 

 rearing habitat, harvest levels, hatchery management, euid the 

 recovery goals and criteria for delisting. In a recent letter, a 

 member of the Team said that he was "astonished at the extent to 

 which my team colleagues carried their sense of responsibility, " 

 and I believe this strong sense of responsibility is reflected 

 throughout the Team' s recommendations . 



