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Title III - NATIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM 

 Section 301 NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR FISHERY CONSERVATION AND 

 MANAGEMENT 



98-623 - It is imperative that language is added to the Magnuson Fishery 

 Conservation and Management Act that protects the shoreside processors, 

 seafood distributors and their employees. The Magnuson Act accomplished its 

 specific objectives quite well since its enactment in 1978. However, with the 

 changing economic and social coastal community interdependence on the 

 fishery resource, coupled with the national per capita consumption of seafood, it 

 is imperative that the United States government continue to acknowledge and 

 support the fishermen and their families, but also acknowledge and support 

 through the Magnuson Act, the processors and distributors that depend on this 

 national resource for their livelihood. This significant piece of legislation cannot 

 be exclusive of the processing and distribution families who insure that this 

 national resource is properly processed and efficiently distributed for our nation 

 to enjoy. According to National Marine Fisheries Service statistics, there are 

 almost 73,000 families from the processing and distribution segment that depend 

 upon this resource. 



This statistical information does not include the retail seafood counter 

 employees and the restaurant wait staffs that sell and promote this 

 national resource to the American consumer. 



