21 



fishing industry, environmental groups, and the government to de- 

 velop a proposal for the Congress. We have agreed in good faith to 

 hold off promoting any specific proposal until the group is finished 

 with its discussions. 



What I can do, however, is to appeal to you to act quickly on this 

 issue. We run the risk of having fisheries shut down on a nation- 

 wide basis if Congress doesn't act by October 1, 1998. My communi- 

 ties and our fishing industry could conceivably grind to a halt. We 

 just cannot afford to sit out our fishing seasons waiting for the 

 Congress to finish the legislation. In order to help you meet this 

 timeframe, our negotiating group has put the discussions on a fast 

 track. Our goal is to have a proposal to you in the first week of 

 June. 



It is my belief that the negotiating group will succeed in narrow- 

 ing the range of issues for this subcommittee to consider. If we 

 cannot come to a consensus on an entire package, the Congress 

 must take the issues remaining in dispute and settle them as part 

 of this year's legislative process. If our negotiating group cannot 

 come to grips with these issues in the timeframe we have set out 

 for ourselves, it is not likely that more time would resolve our dif- 

 ferences. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to testify on an 

 issue of critical importance to the economic survival of my region. 

 Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



[The prepared statement of Mr. Osterback may be found at the 

 end of the hearing.] 



Mr. HocHBRUECKNER. Thank you, Mr. Osterback. Next, Mr. Guy 

 Thornburgh, Executive Director of the Pacific States Marine Fish- 

 eries Commission from Oregon. Mr. Thornburgh. 



STATEMENT OF GUY THORNBURGH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. PA- 

 CIFIC STATES MARINE FISHERIES COMMISSION, PORTLAND. 

 OREGON 



Mr. Thornburgh. Thank you. I am Guy Thornburgh. I represent 

 diverse groups of fisheries interest along the Pacific Coast — sport 

 charter boats, Indian tribes, recreational anglers, commercial fish- 

 ermen, and State fish and wildlife agencies. 



Much of the public has a serious misconception of the status of 

 marine populations and how these populations interact with fisher- 

 ies. The facts are that most marine mammal populations on our 

 west coast are not depressed, the fisheries are not jeopardizing the 

 well-being of these marine mammal populations, and many fisher- 

 ies, frankly, are quite negatively impacted by large numbers of 

 marine mammals. 



The gray whale, once hunted to depletion, has recovered to its 

 original population size. California sea lions have increased to a 

 level that they are expanding beyond their traditional range, and 

 the National Marine Fisheries Service says their abundance may 

 be higher than any historic level. Harbor seals are packing the 

 bays of Washington and Oregon, increasing at six to ten percent 

 per year. Northern elephant seals and California harbor porpoise 

 are well within the statute's goal of OSP, and common dolphins are 

 so common that their numbers exceed 270,000. The West Coast is 

 unique with its abundance of marine mammals in spite of tens of 



