46 



in 1985. This had grown to a reported catch of 1.447 million 

 metric tons in 1989. By 1991 the reported catch had dropped to 

 around 290,000 metric tons. By 1992 the fishery had collapsed to 

 the point that a little over 10,000 metric tons was reported 

 harvested . 



The collapse of the Aleutian Basin stock has had a significant 

 impact on U.S. fishermen. In 1991, the Aleutian Basin pollock roe 

 fishery in the U.S. zone alone was valued at $106 million. In 

 response to the obvious need to conserve the Aleutian Basin 

 stock, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council took action in 

 1991 to close the fishery for 1992 in U.S. waters, and to prohibit 

 U.S. vessels from fishing in the donut hole. The fishery remains 

 closed today at great cost to U.S. fishermen. Even so, the U.S. 

 industry has strongly supported this closure in order to conserve, 

 and hopefully rebuild, the stocks to healthy levels. In this 

 regard, we have been joined by the Russian Federation, which has 

 taken similar actions in order to conserve the Aleutian Basin 

 stock. Unfortunately, the efforts of the United States and the 

 Russian Federation to conserve this stock have been severely 

 compromised by the lack of action by the distant water fishing 

 nations . 



During the past two and one-half years, the United States, joined 

 by the USSR and later the Russian Federation, has tried 

 unsuccessfully to conclude a multi-lateral agreement with the 

 distant water fishing nations of Japan, PRC, ROK, and Poland to 

 conserve and manage fishery resources in the Central Bering Sea. 



