33 



biomass. Why? We don't know. Please let me just point out one 

 thing with regard to the chart attached to my testimony. 



Please look at this NMFS' data with regard to a 50 year running 

 average on bluefish. You will recognize that stock collapse occurred 

 one time, and one time only, around the time of World War II. 



Does that call into question the issue of what fishing effort has 

 done to the condition of stock? It certainly does. If there was a 

 stock collapse, when theoretically there was much less fishing ef- 

 fort, something is wrong. By the way there was another significant 

 decline right around 1924 and 1925. 



Unless we reexamine the year base, unless we get a better idea 

 of the dynamics of this fishery, any management plan including the 

 amendment will be deficient. We respectfully hope that the Com- 

 mission/Council system and, ultimately, the overseers of those sys- 

 tems, those being you, consider that there are other factors that 

 have to be incorporated. Thank you. 



[The prepared statement of Ray Bogan may be found at end of 

 hearing.] 



Mr. Saxton. Thank you. Mr. Radonski. 



STATEMENT OF GILBERT C. RADONSKI, AMERICAN 

 SPORTFISHING ASSOCIATION 



Mr. Radonski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am Gil Radonski 

 and I am here representing the American Sportfishing Association. 

 The American Sportfishing Association is a trade association made 

 up of 700 member companies which supply recreational fishermen 

 a broad array of fishing equipment. We are made up of manufac- 

 turers, retailers, wholesalers, advocacy groups and state and Fed- 

 eral fishery agencies. 



I will not go through my entire statement, just hit on the high 

 points. You have broken this down into three general areas, with 

 the status of the bluefish stocks as the central focus. If we are look- 

 ing for a smoking gun on what is wrong with the bluefish stocks, 

 it is easily found. It happens to be a double-barreled shotgun. Both 

 barrels, pulled at the same time, are overfishing and the cyclic na- 

 ture of bluefish. 



The only question now is how far can we let overfishing, or con- 

 tinued over exploitation, continue to drive the stocks lower, how 

 low can we safely let them go and still have a chance to rebound. 

 That topic was briefly addressed in the last panel. 



I am a strong proponent of using scientific information in fish- 

 eries management. What we tend to argue about is the precision 

 of that information. We have been looking mostly at the nature of 

 trends in fisheries. 



We do have real-time data gaps. We don't have the money to get 

 the scope of data needed for the management that a lot of people 

 are looking for. 



The second area of concern is the shift of authority from the Mid- 

 Atlantic Council to the ASMFC. My organization favors the Mid- 

 Atlantic Council abandoning the Bluefish Plan not for the reasons 

 given, efficiency in government or reduction in paperwork, but to 

 have a focal point for the management of fisheries, in this case, 

 bluefish. 



