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• Time limits should be applied to Department of Commerce 

 review of regulatory amendments similar to the existing time limit 

 placed on Secretarial consideration of fishery management plans and 

 plan amendments. 



• The Secretary and the councils should be required to choose 

 the management alternative dictated by the weight of the evidence 

 on the record. This provision should be part of Section 303 of the 

 Act (required provisions of a fishery management plan) and should 

 apply as a standard of judicial review. 



• The Secretary and the councils should be required to 

 consider a range of reasonable alternatives when addressing a 

 perceived management problem. This proposed change is not meant to 

 delay council action by requiring analysis of all conceivable 

 management alternatives. This change is intended to require 

 councils to analyze those alternatives that best address legitimate 

 conservation and management concerns and not to dismiss viable 

 management options. 



• Individuals seeking to testify before a regional fishery 

 management council should be required to sign a declaration that 

 their testimony is being delivered under oath. 



2. Promoting Rational Management of the North Pacific Fisheries. 



Most U.S. fisheries are conducted under an open access system. 

 Under open access, each fisherman seeks to catch as many fish as 

 possible before the quota is reached. Crew safety is a concern for 

 those engaged in this "race for the fish. " Overcapitalization in 

 the fisheries is another consequence of open access. 

 Overcapitalization, which results in a lack of economic efficiency, 

 exists when there is excess harvesting and/or processing capacity 

 in the fisheries. Overcapitalization is a condition that is 

 pervasive in U.S. fisheries. 



Concerns about safety and overcapitalization alone ought to 

 convince Congress of the need to promote more rational management 

 systems, but there are other benefits, as well. Although fishery 

 resources within the U.S. 200-mile zone in the Pacific Ocean are 

 healthy, we can do more to ensure a sustainable yield in the 

 fisheries. There are demonstrated conservation benefits from 

 adopting a more rational management system. For example, open 

 access rewards those who fish fastest, creating a disincentive to 

 reduce bycatch of non-target species. Also, an open access 

 regulatory system provides an economic incentive to discard target 

 species under certain conditions. To reduce waste in the fisheries 

 and to avoid social and economic disruptions, the following 

 alternatives are suggested to promote rational management. 



