104 



COMMONWEALTH OF 



THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS 



Statement of Jesus C. Borja 



June 1, 1995 



vor of indigenous peoples are lawful in the insular areas. The 

 possibility of indigenous quotas should be considered. 



The Individual Quota Limited Access Program 



The Individual Quota Program is not directly related to in- 

 digenous rights. The fees charged under the Individual Quota 

 system are restricted to the costs of administering the program 

 and are also limited by section 9701(b) of title 31 of the United 

 States Code. In the Pacific Insular Areas Fisheries Empowerment 

 Act, fees are exempted from section 9701(b). The same exemption 

 should be applied to fees for Individual Quotas. 



As with the Western Pacific Region Community Development 

 Quota Program, above, the Individual Quota Limited Access Program 

 is not particularly suited for our fisheries, where limited entry 

 restrictions have not proven to be necessary. Since the days of 

 the Olwol case, access to the fishery has not been a problem. 

 Capitalization for indigenous fishing projects has been the major 

 obstacle. 



The Western Pacific Community Fisheries Act 



This draft legislation is intended to expand the Hawaiian 

 Community Fisheries Act, discussed above, to include the Pacific 

 insular areas. The new draft changes the language of proposed 



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