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distant water fishing nacions are seriously seeking solutions to 

 the remaining issues. 



The frustrations and concerns that came out of the Tokyo 

 Conference surfaced this July in New York at the U.N. sponsored 

 Conference 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 conservation efforts of the 

 coastal states have been subverted by the fishery in the enclave, 

 resulting in serious environmental and economic impacts to coastal 

 fishermen. The joint statement described the impacts of these 

 unregulated fisheries as resulting in conservation crises in both 

 areas, and called for the use of all necessary measures to resolve 

 these issues. 



Mr. Chairman, HCR 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 Enforcement Act. 

 This was a good first step, one which we believe influenced 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 



