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Testimony of Glen Spain (PCFFA) 



— Politically distorted decision-making : Decision-making with 

 respect to environmental resources should be based on the best 

 available science, not on political motivations. Two recent examples 

 of fisheries management decision-making that was based on primarily 

 political considerations rather than scientific analysis are the 

 allocation decisions for Pacific whiting and for Klamath River Chinook 

 salmon. 



In both instances the Pacific Fisheries Management Council 

 decisions, after careful analysis by a number of scientific advisory 

 teams and based on their scientific recommendations, were summarily 

 overridden in Washington, DC, by political appointees who were not 

 part of the process. 



It has not only been the handling of the listed salmon species 

 that has us concerned. We have recently learned that the Northwest 

 Regional office of NMFS played a significant role in overturning the 

 Pacific Council's 1993 salmon season recommendations. Not only did 

 this cause a great deal of unnecessary economic pain, but it actually 

 caused more pressure on the coho salmon, the very species we should be 

 giving more protection to and not less. This is gross incompetence at 

 the highest levels of the NMFS' Northwest Regional Office. We were 

 therefore dismayed to learn that the Northwest Regional Director of 

 NMFS, who has watched over the demise of the salmon in this region for 

 six years, is now being considered for the directorship of NMFS. 

 Incompetence and malfeasance should not be awarded with promotions. 

 The Northwest Regional Director should take full responsibility for 

 the biological disaster that is breaking upon us even as we sit. 



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In summary, current fisheries management is fragmentary and 

 largely incapable of dealing with inland habitat loss problems. 



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