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the past - including as recently as August 1993 - for species 

 regulated by that body. The participation of any state whose 

 vessels fish in a region covered by international agreement can 

 only be construed as being a fundamental obligation of 

 international law. 



Stocks of fish of interest to U.S. vessels, Such as flounder and 

 plaice on the 'tail' of the Grand Banks, have been severely 

 depleted in- recent years. If the U.S. is to expect any future 

 benefit to be derived from fishing in this region then it is 

 imperative that the U.S. participate in regional efforts to 

 properly conserve and manage NAFO fisheries. 



Furthermore, U.S. membership in NAFO is critical if the U.S. is 

 to maintain credibility in international fisheries negotiations. 

 The position of the U.S. in the negotiations concerning the 

 Bering Sea, at ICCAT, lATTC and other regional fora and, most 

 notably, at the United Nations Conference on Straddling and 

 Highly Migratory Fish Stocks is seriously undermined by the U.S. 

 failure to be a full participant at NAFO. Likewise U.S. efforts 

 to pursue the adoption of an international convention for the 

 flagging of vessels to fish on the high seas - the so called 

 "flagging convention". For these and other reasons, the United 

 States' participation in NAFO, as a formal treaty member, is long 

 overdue. 



We also would encourage the Subcommittee to closely monitor the 



