have apparently not been approved by the administration and the 

 group's deliberations seem to have stalled. The last meeting of the 

 working group was in July 1994. There are a variety of proposals 

 before the committee today. I will not take time to comment on 

 each of these now, although I have done so in my written testi- 

 mony. 



Using the Federal draft as a starting point, the Commonwealth 

 has developed additional proposals to accomplish these purposes. 

 Attached to my written statement is draft legislation we offer for 

 your consideration. 



Our proposal is basically one, we ask that our traditional right 

 to our fish and waters be recognized. Once it is recognized, all of 

 our other proposals naturally flow because these are our traditional 

 waters, resources and submerged lands. It is only natural that our 

 people realize revenues from them, help plan how to manage and 

 conserve them, negotiate access agreements with foreign fishing 

 nations, and prosecute violations in our Federal court. 



None of these proposals contravene our covenant with the United 

 States. We respect and honor the Federal authority over national 

 defense and foreign affairs. We respectfully request that the Fed- 

 eral Government recognize our interest in these resources and that 

 Congress legislate a practical program for cooperative conservation 

 and management of our fisheries resources. 



Thank you. 



[Prepared statement of Mr. Borja appears in appendix.] 



Senator Inouye. Thank you very much, Governor Borja. 



May I now call upon the High Chief Alo Paul Stevenson. 



STATEMENT OF HIGH CHIEF ALO PAUL STEVENSON, MAN- 

 AGER, BHP PETROLEUM, SOUTH PACIFIC, INC., PAGO, AMER- 

 ICAN SAMOA 



Mr. Stevenson. I bring you greetings from the Governor, who 

 unfortunately could not be here this morning. 



Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for allowing me the opportunity to 

 testify before your committee today. 



I'm a fisherman from American Samoa and a member of the 

 Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council. I support 

 the proposed amendments to the Magnuson Act that would allow 

 recognition of our native fishermen and their fishing rights in Sa- 

 moan waters. 



In Samoa, fishing and the sharing of fishing and formal presen- 

 tation of nearshore and offshore fish to village chiefs and council 

 members has always been a central part of our culture, our iden- 

 tity and our survival. Our elders and our tautai or master fisher- 

 men often share stories of fishing and proverbs that tell of the cul- 

 tural significance of certain fish and certain types of fishing. We 

 believe that American Samoans should be the ones most directly 

 involved in managing and developing our fisheries. We also believe 

 that we Samoans should have preferential access to offshore fish 

 stocks and our portion of the EEZ should limited entry manage- 

 ment of these stocks become necessary in the future. 



What we have always known from our ancestors and elders has 

 been confirmed by outsider scientists as well. Our generations have 

 fished for offshore fish like atu, pelagics, bottomfish and lobsters. 



