35 



One final point, when we do get Amendment One to the Bluefish 

 Plan it probably will not go into effect until the 1998 fishing sea- 

 son. That is another inefficiency of the Magnuson Act. 



If the Council does not have Amendment One in place by at least 

 July of this year, then the provisions will not be put in place until 

 the 1998 fishing season. It can be done faster through the ASMFC. 



When a rebuilding schedule for bluefish is developed, we have 

 got to stay the course. We can't say that we are going to rebuild 

 in five years and then if we have one good year class increase the 

 catch and spread the schedule out to ten years. We have done this 

 in other fisheries. We should not do it with bluefish. 



I think I will let it go there, Mr. Chairman, so we can get to the 

 questions. Thank you for asking me to testify. 



[The prepared statement of Gilbert Radonski may be found at 

 end of hearing.] 



Mr. Saxton. Thank you very much. Mr. Larson. 



STATEMENT OF KARTER LARSON, BARNEGAT LIGHT, NEW 

 JERSEY, ON BEHALF OF KEVIN WARK 



Mr. Larson. I am Karter Larson and I am speaking on behalf 

 of Kevin Wark who apologizes for not making it today. He is fish- 

 ing and trying to make a living but I am going to read his state- 

 ment verbatim. 



"Chairman Saxton and members of the Subcommittee on Fish- 

 eries, Wildlife and Oceans, thank you for holding this hearing to 

 consider one of New Jersey's most important fisheries, for your con- 

 tinuing interest in all of New Jersey's living marine resources and 

 for your support of New Jersey's working fishermen, recreational 

 fishermen and the multi-million dollar industries that they all sup- 

 port. 



"My name is Kevin Wark. I am a commercial fisherman and a 

 resident of Barnegat Light, New Jersey. I have owned and operated 

 my own boat, the FA^ Endeavor, for ten years and have worked on 

 other boats for five years previously. 



"My boat is a gillnetter and for most of the year I fish out of the 

 Viking Village dock in Barnegat Light, primarily for weakfish, 

 shad, bluefish and monkfish. I am a member of the Atlantic States 

 Marine Fisheries Commission's shad and bluefish advisory commit- 

 tees, the Joint Mid-Atlantic/New England Fisheries Management 

 Council's monkfish advisory committee and several New Jersey 

 Marine Fisheries Council advisory committees. I am also a member 

 of the New Jersey Commercial Fishing Congress." He is a busy 

 man. 



"As you are well aware, Barnegat Light is an important commer- 

 cial and recreational fishing port. My boat is one of a fleet of 

 gillnetters based there that for part of the year specialize in blue- 

 fish. 



"By providing the freshest, highest quality product and capitaliz- 

 ing on a very successful marketing effort by the people at Viking 

 Village, we have developed a demand for premium Barnegat Light 

 bluefish. 



"Through participating in this fishery over the years, through my 

 contacts with other fishermen working the inshore and offshore wa- 

 ters of the Mid-Atlantic, and through following and then participat- 



