To date, there have been seven multilateral conferences and nu- 

 merous other meetings convened to establish a management agree- 

 ment. But these efforts have produced little progress, and it was 

 not until the fisheries collapsed that fishing was voluntarily sus- 

 pended. 



Last month, I was in Japan to raise this issue with members of 

 the Japanese Diet, European parliament and Russian General As- 

 sembly. The shared concern expressed by these legislators is re- 

 flected in a letter we sent to each of the six countries that have 

 fished in the Donut Hole. I would like to submit a copy of this 

 letter for the record, along with a list of the countries that received 

 it. 



Mr. Manton. Without objection. 



[The information can be found at the end of the hearing.] 



Mrs. Unsoeld. Mr. Chairman, with the next international meet- 

 ing scheduled for early next month in Seoul, Korea, we can send a 

 strong signal with Representative Young's resolution that a long- 

 term multilateral agreement must be reached for managing the 

 fisheries of the Donut Hole. 



As a cosponsor, I urge prompt action to move this resolution for- 

 ward. On behalf of my colleague, Mr. Young, I would like to ask 

 unanimous consent that the statements of all committee Members 

 appear in the record. 



Also, I would request that a statement on H. Con. Res. 135 from 

 the American High Seas Fisheries Association be included in the 

 record. 



Mr. Manton. Without objection, it is so ordered. 



Mrs. Unsoeld. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 



Mr. Manton. Without objection, at this time we will enter into 

 the record a statement of the Chairman of the Full Committee, Mr. 

 Studds. 



Statement of Hon. Gerry E. Studds, a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, 

 AND Chairman, Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee 



Today the Subcommittee meets to hear testimony on two international agree- 

 ments intended to conserve and manage fisheries stocks on the high seas. While 

 these two agreements are very far apart geographically, ideologically they are very 

 much related. 



In the North Pacific, the U.S. seeks a management regime for pollock stocks that 

 originate in U.S. waters but migrate to the Donut Hole, an area of international 

 waters. There, the stocks are heavily fished upon by nations such as Poland and 

 Japan. Through negotiations we hope to manage and limit the catch of these na- 

 tions to ensure the long-term health of the pollock fishery. In the Northwest Atlan- 

 tic, the situation is quite similar. The Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization 

 (NAFO) sets management guidelines and harvest quotas for fisheries such as cod, 

 flounder, squid, and hake, many of which originate in Canadian waters. Yet, in this 

 case, the U.S. is currently not a party to the NAFO agreement. 



We live in a world growing steadily smaller, where activities in the waters off our 

 coasts have the potential to impact resources of concern to other nations, just as 

 their activities have the potential to impact our resources. As the United Nations 

 Conference on straddling stocks re-emphasized last month, the United States and all 

 coastal States have a responsibility to participate in international organizations 

 such as NAFO that provide responsible management and conservation for shared 

 resources on the high seas. 



In the Donut Hole, we are seeking the cooperation of Japan and Poland. In the 

 Atlantic Ocean, we are seeking the cooperation of Mexico, pressuring them to join 

 ICCAT and adhere to management guidelines for bluefish tuna stocks that are of 

 great economic importance to our fishermen. Earlier this summer, when a closure 

 was imposed on U.S. fishermen who fished for cod on Georges Bank and Canadian 



