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Senator Tarr? 



Mr. Tarr. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



I think the comments of the mayor are very illustrative them- 

 selves of the fact we are indeed facing a crisis. Those types of crises 

 bring people together. They have brought the State together with 

 the various cities. I would echo not only the city of Gloucester, but 

 the city of New Bedford has been active in trying to redevelop and 

 revitalize its fishing industry. 



Along those lines, Massachusetts has gone a long way toward 

 funding through the Industrial Services Program retraining and 

 counseling centers in each of the major ports, again, Mr. Chairman, 

 testifying to the fact that this is a crisis. We don't need counseling 

 for things that are not crises. 



The fact is, Mr. Chairman, we have engaged in a very aggressive 

 marketing program for underutilized species, which the secretary 

 and the mayor and I and others attended, called "Making a 

 Splash," trying to develop an identity for things such as mackerel 

 and dogfish and skate and herring, things that could be a protein 

 resource domestically and to the world. 



We have also engaged in programs in the Seaport Bond Bill, 

 summaries of which I presented to you, to retrofit vessels, to try 

 to rebuild our shoreside infrastructure, because today the commer- 

 cial lending community simply will not make loans to the Glouces- 

 ter fishing community, based on the prediction of financial disaster 

 which is impending as a result of Federal regulation as a result of 

 natural conditions. So, Mr. Chairman, we have engaged in many of 

 those things. 



One of the things that I think is important to point out is the 

 type of economic disaster that we are facing. I have for the Sub- 

 committee, and I will present them to you at the conclusion of our 

 testimony, actual landing slips from the vessel Virginia Surf. 



Mr. Chairman, what these landing slips testify to is the fact we 

 have an additional disaster taking place, and that is the flooding 

 of Canadian fish into U.S. markets, driving the price down even as 

 fishing effort is being reduced. 



These landing slips testify to the fact that x-vessel prices for 

 some cod are as low as 56 cents. That, Mr. Chairman, is not the 

 lowest it has been. That is why we agreed to retrofit, that is why 

 we need to support the fish auction you are going to hear about 

 today in both Gloucester and New Bedford. There is $500,000 for 

 those auctions in both New Bedford and the city of Gloucester in 

 the Seaport Bond Bill. 



We understand what we need to do. As you have pointed out, as 

 the mayor has pointed out, and as others will point out, this ad- 

 ministration and this legislature in Massachusetts knows the na- 

 ture of the crisis. That is why we have got retrofitting and market- 

 ing and the investment in the State fish pier, to be able to diversify 

 into transition. It is critical that we continue to have SBA assist- 

 ance to take advantage of those opportunities. Just as Congress- 

 man Jackson has pointed out, we don't want to miss those opportu- 

 nities in the face of a crisis. But even as we do, we can expand 

 them into something that will be prosperous in the future. 



Chairman Torkildsen. Thank you, Senator Tarr. 



Secretary Coxe, did you wish to add anything? 



