55 



Oceantrawl 



Question 1 : Mr. Somerville has testified that the closure of the pollock roe fishery has 

 a great cost impact on US fishermen. Would you please elaborate as to 

 what you see as the cost of the closure of this fishery? 



Answer 1 : Two-thirds of the total income to US fishermen in the pollock fishery occurs 

 during the roe season. There is no biological reason to limit this portion of 

 the fishery beyond what is recommended by the scientists charged with the 

 responsibility of assuring the continuing propagation of this resource. In 

 fact, scientists do not believe that a roe fishery, under the current quota, is 

 detrimental to the health of the pollock resource. 



Question 2: Have there been any studies that correlate the decline in pollock stocks in 

 the Aleutian Basin with declining populations of Steller sea lions and harbor 

 seals in that same area? The decline in these mammal stocks appear to 

 have been first detected in the Aleutian Islands/Bering Sea and are now 

 spreading to areas east. 



Answer 2: There is no apparent link between the decline of marine mammal population 

 and the condition of the pollock resource. The following graph shows that 

 the pollock resource has been stable or increasing while stellar sea lion 

 numbers have declined. However, there are studies which indicate that 

 water temperature, salinity and currents are correlated with the decline of 

 the marine mammal population. 



Question 3: What are the economic consequences of fishermen being restricted from 

 fishing in international waters? 



Answer 3: If question number 3 is a reference to US fishermen, I don't think one can 

 generalize. For example, "The Donut Hole" fishery is composed of 

 "straddling stocks", most of which spawn in US waters and the balance 

 spawn in Russian waters. The conservation of these stocks in the Bering 

 Sea is essential to the United States. We can monitor catches within our 

 zone but it is extremely difficult to monitor catches in international waters. 



My understanding is that the "Peanut Hole" in the Sea of Okhotsk is similar 

 in that "straddling stocks" originate in Russian waters and that they have 

 the same concern about conservation. I would hope that by negotiation we 

 would be able to resolve the issue of excessive exploitation. However, I 

 would be opposed to US law prohibiting US fishermen from fishing in 

 international waters because there may well be places in the world where 

 it would be acceptable. 



