11 



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

 sponse 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. 



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 com- 

 promised 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 unsuc- 

 cessfully to conclude a multilateral agreement with the distant 

 water fishing nations. 



The frustrations and concerns that came out of the Tokyo Con- 

 ference surfaced this July in New York at the U.N. sponsored Con- 

 ference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish 

 Stocks. At the U.N. conference, the United States and the Russian 

 Federation issued a joint statement regarding the Central Bering 

 Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk. 



In the case of both the Central Bering Sea Donut Hole and the 

 so-called "Peanut Hole" enclave of the Sea of Okhotsk, the same 

 fleets have been depleting stocks of pollock despite efforts by the 

 coastal states to conserve those stocks. In both instances, the con- 

 servation efforts of the coastal states have been subverted by the 

 fishery in the enclave, resulting in serious environmental and eco- 

 nomic impacts to coastal fishermen. The joint statement described 

 the impacts of these unregulated fisheries as resulting in conserva- 

 tion crises in both areas and called for the use of all necessary 

 measures to resolve these issues. 



Mr. Chairman, H.Con.Res. 135 provides a clear description of the 

 problems facing us in trying to resolve the donut hole problem. 

 Last year. Congress passed the Central Bering Sea Fisheries En- 

 forcement Act. This was a good first step, one which we believe in- 

 fluenced the decision to adopt the two-year moratorium on fishing. 



The time is now drawing close when further action is necessary. 

 It is a matter of serious concern to us that an acceptable long-term 

 conservation and management agreement be in place prior to the 

 expiration of the moratorium. The next opportunity is coming in 

 early October, when the eighth round of talks is scheduled to take 

 place in Seoul, Korea. 



Like the joint U.S./Russian statement at the United Nations, 

 H.Con.Res. 135 calls for the use, in accordance with international 

 law, of all available measures to resolve this issue and secure an 

 acceptable long-term management regime for the Central Bering 

 Sea. We fully concur with that statement and would suggest that 

 Congress consider the following options if meaningful progress is 

 not made in the near future to develop the necessary management 

 agreement. 



I am submitting this for the record recognizing that in some 

 cases they are beyond the purview of this particular committee. 

 But we would like to emphasize the position of the state. 



