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Good Morning 



Mr. Chairman, members of th« House of Representatives 

 committee on Small Business, I an Corrado Buccheri, the owner Of B 

 and N Fishing Gear, locatad in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Through 

 my concern for Gloucester's fishing industry I as also a member of 

 the Gloucester Fisheries Commission and a member of the Board of 

 Directors of Gloucester united . 



On behalf of these organizations, myself and ny family, I come 

 this morning to seek your assistance as we work to deal with the 

 consequences of a rapidly developing set of regulations whioh 

 directly threaten the survival of my small business and the New 

 England fishing industry. Change in the ocean environment and the 

 implementation Of Amendments 5 and 7 to the Northeast Multispecies 

 Fishery Management Plan for groundfish have quicXly become the 

 largest economic obstacle our industry has faced. 



ny shop is a small business in all of the traditional senses. 

 It was built on my own initiative and my own hard work, neginning 

 in 1987. When I began the business my work was in response to a 

 commercial fishing industry which was not only the pride of our 

 city, it was the object of government support as well. 



Following the enactment of the Magnuson Act and the aoo mile 

 exclusive economic zone for fishing, the expansion of our industry 

 was encouraged by tho federal government through the Department of 

 Commerce, the National Marine Fisheries service and programs such 

 as tax credits and financial assistance to build an American fleet 

 of large draggers capable of harvesting large quantities of 

 groundfish. Around these forms of encouragement and others, our 

 fleet and our industry grew and becawe more efficient. 



Through my business of selling fishing gear I know the reality 

 of the fisning industry today, and it is not the reality of 

 yesterday when our government supported us and looked out for our 

 best interest*. The fishermen who walk through my door every day 

 tell a story of socio-economic distress which is growing. 



They come to my shop for their most basic tools: net, rope, 

 wire and other related gear whioh actually catches fish. Today, 

 however, they find it difficult to afford these most basic tools 

 because of the tremendous financial hardships they are facing. 

 Many times they buy only enough gear to get by, and in many cases 

 their purchases are based on a strained credit situation. 



