98 



COMMONWEALTH OF 



THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS 



Statement of Jesus C. Borja 



June 1, 1995 



had suspected. The arrests demonstrate what we have been saying 

 all along: There are foreign vessels fishing in the exclusive 

 economic zone surrounding our islands and no one from the United 

 States, least of all any inhabitant of our Commonwealth, is prof- 

 iting from their harvest. 



THE HAWAIIAN COMMUNITY FISHERIES ACT 



The Committee has provided us a draft Hawaiian Community 

 Fisheries Act for review. In its present form, the Act would 

 apply only to Native Hawaiians, not to other indigenous Pacific 

 islanders . 



The draft finds that Native Hawaiian people have "since time 

 immemorial, relied on their fishery resources for economic, so- 

 cial, cultural, and spiritual sustenance," and that the protec- 

 tion of Native Hawaiian fisheries practices is vital to the well- 

 being of the Native Hawaiian people. The Act would protect 

 Native Hawaiian fishing rights, involve Native Hawaiians in fish 

 management and conservation, and authorize Native Hawaiian 

 community-based demonstration projects. 



To promote these ends, the Act would add a new section 315 

 to the Magnuson Act requiring that the Western Pacific Regional 



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