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providing the Secretary the flexibility to improve management 

 measures submitted for approval. 



At the same time, stricter limits on Secretarial review need 

 to be imposed. Currently, Secretarial review of fishery management 

 plans and plan amendments must be completed within 95 days. If 

 Secretarial action is not taken, the plan automatically goes into 

 effect. There needs to be a similar requirement for regulatory 

 amendments. Also, the so-called 95-day clock for reviewing fishery 

 plans and plan amendments does not start until Commerce declares 

 that it has received a complete package from the council. At 

 times, the 95-day review time is shorter than the period of time 

 when plans are in the nether world between when the council acts 

 and Commerce declares official receipt of a plan for review. These 

 delays need to be eradicated. 



That concludes my statement, Mr. Chairman. Once again, thank 

 you for the opportunity to testify today before the Committee. 

 I'll be pleased to answer any questions that you, or other members 

 of the Committee, might have for me. 



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