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the authority to reject recommended appointees, and a screening 

 process to judge the ability of the candidates to meet this 

 responsibility. We suggest Congress encourage the Secretary to 

 use these tools more vigorously. 



While the Secretary has the ultimate responsibility to 

 ensure that the appointees are qualified for the job, the state 

 governors should also be encouraged to exercise good judgement in 

 the nominees they submit. Council membership should be regarded 

 as something more than a political plum for campaign contribu- 

 tors. In addition, over the years an informal quota system has 

 developed and now some council seats are viewed as "belonging" to 

 a certain gear type or geographic area. Because governors have 

 been reluctant to deviate from this, many council nominees are 

 completely unsuited to the job. Unless the Secretary rejects the 

 list, s/he must choose the best of a bad lot. We believe our 

 fisheries deserve better than this . 



Management Tools 



The commercial fishing industry is one of the largest 

 private employers in the nation, not only providing food but also 

 contributing to our country's balance of trade. Our fisheries, 

 when managed properly, are a renewable resource that will provide 

 benefits to the country for generations to come. This cannot be 

 achieved, however, without adequate management tools. We have 

 several suggestions to offer that we believe will enhance our 

 fishery management ability. 



As a result of a previous reauthorization, the Act now 

 includes a time limit for agency action on amendments to fishery 

 management plans. There has, however, been an unfortunate 

 byproduct to this requirement: council decisions other than plan 

 amendments receive secondary attention by NMFS because there is 

 no mandated deadline. Because of the need to allocate scarce 

 staff time and resources NMFS has been forced to delay implemen- 

 tation of regulatory amendments even though they would further 

 the conservation and management goals of the Act. We would like 

 the Act modified to place regulatory amendments on the same 



