hope, Mr. Chairman, that if this becomes necessary we will have 

 your support and the support of the negotiating groups. 



Several years ago, the National Marine Fisheries Service kept 

 2,000 fishermen and processing workers in Alaska out of work for 

 six months, working people, because of a threatened lawsuit by an 

 environmental group regarding fishing interactions with marine 

 mammals. I am not going to have my people thrown out of their 

 jobs again. We are going to have a bill on the President's desk or 

 we will just extend what we have. 



So I am asking all of you at the witness table, try to work with 

 our staffs and come out with a final agreement. It is necessary to 

 protect the marine mammals and also necessary to protect, I be- 

 lieve, a vital part of our economic life and also the well-being of 

 our people and the fisheries of this Nation. 



From coast to coast it is important that the fisheries also be rec- 

 ognized as well as the marine mammals. We will work together 

 and we will work with you to, I hope, achieve our goal by the date 

 certain. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



Mr. Studds. I thank the gentleman for his usual tranquility. I 

 also want to thank the gentleman for granting safe passage to 

 Alaska for this Committee later this month. 



Mr. Young. You better get a bill or you will never get back. 



Mr. Studds. We appreciate that. 



Mr. Studds. We will resume with Ms. Suzanne Iudicello, Senior 

 Program Counsel for the Center for Marine Conservation. 



STATEMENT OF SUZANNE IUDICELLO, SENIOR PROGRAM 

 COUNSEL, CENTER FOR MARINE CONSERVATION 



Ms. Iudicello. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



Good morning. After the exhortation from the Congressman from 

 Alaska, I will get my remarks right to the point of working with 

 your bill and moving on to a successful conclusion by September 

 30th. 



The Center for Marine Conservation served as the coordinator 

 for the environmental groups that participated in negotiations with 

 the fishing industry and who endorsed the negotiated proposal that 

 was submitted to you in June. 



Those groups are the Animal Protection Institute, Friends of the 

 Sea Otter, Greenpeace, National Audubon Society, The Marine 

 Mammal Center and the World Wildlife Fund. 



I would like to preface my remarks by thanking the Committee 

 for your encouragement to us to work together to find a common 

 ground. It is not very often that adversaries like the environmental 

 community and the fishing industry take the time to figure out 

 once we walk a mile in each others' shoes, maybe we can make 

 each other part of the solution instead of part of the problem. 



This Committee has encouraged our working together on issues 

 as early as the early 1980's with the driftnet legislation. We hope 

 that this work on the MMPA this year is just one more milestone 

 in many miles yet to go. 



It goes without saying that all of us who are interested in this 

 reauthorization are well aware of the approaching deadline. We ap- 

 plaud the Committee for your swift drafting, development and in- 



