23 



catch. Six, direct the focus of Hmited fiscal resources at stocks in 

 the Nation that truly are in need of help and are approaching the 

 threatened list or endangered list. Seven, and finally, please ac- 

 knowledge for us your interest in a balanced approach to the eco- 

 system that will enjoy not only the benefit of recovered marine 

 mammal populations but will also recognize the value and pleasure 

 of the various forms of fishing in our oceans. Thank you. 



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

 end of the hearing.] 



Mr. Studds. Thank you, sir. I apologize for having to leave brief- 

 ly. I am never going to leave again I will say to the gentleman 

 from New York. When I left, you were discussing marine mam- 

 mals. I come back and you are discussing horses. It is a most amaz- 

 ing transition I have ever heard. I apologize, Mr. Thornburgh and 

 Mr. Osterback. The final member of the panel is Mr. Richard Gut- 

 ting of the Blue Water Fishermen's Association. Mr. Gutting, wel- 

 come. 



STATEMENT OF RICHARD GUTTING, JR., BLUE WATER 

 FISHERMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



Mr. Gutting. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am Dick Gutting. I 

 represent the Blue Water Fishermen's Association. Our association 

 is very grateful to you to give us this opportunity to talk with you 

 today. 



We are very concerned that the proposal you have heard from 

 the National Marine Fisheries Service is based upon a very faulty 

 understanding of commercial fisheries and misses the real needs of 

 both mammals and commercial fishermen. Unless this committee 

 in its wisdom changes this proposal, we think we are going to 

 waste a lot of government and industry time and effort, and we are 

 going to overregulate working people that don't need additional 

 government regulation. 



For those of you that aren't familiar with the Blue Water Asso- 

 ciation, we represent the vessels along the Atlantic and in the Gulf 

 of Mexico which harvest tuna, swordfish, and other migratory spe- 

 cies. These vessels last year landed about 20 million pounds of food, 

 and when they were first sold, it was worth about $75 million. 



Blue Water was formed several years ago and has a very deep 

 and strong commitment to conservation. Since we were formed, our 

 members have tagged fish, released them alive. We have brought 

 back thousands of final samples. We are experimenting with gear 

 to avoid bycatch in the Gulf of Mexico all on a voluntary basis. We 

 believe in our hearts that we are true conservationists, and we 

 were stunned, Mr. Chairman— we were set back on our heels three 

 weeks ago when we learned from the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service that our fleet of longline vessels not only was a problem, 

 but it was one of the major six problem fisheries in the United 

 States. 



Our skipper's experience is that when they go out, marine mam- 

 mals sometimes get entangled in the lines, but it would be several 

 years of fishing before a vessel might actually kill one of these ani- 

 mals. Some of our skippers have never killed a marine mammal. 

 They were shocked that they were identified in this new PBR 



