[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 125 (Thursday, September 18, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9643-S9645]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. SNOWE (for herself, Mr. Kerry and Mr. Kennedy):
  S. 1192. A bill to limit the size of vessels permitted to fish for 
Atlantic mackerel or herring, to the size permitted under the 
appropriate fishery

[[Page S9644]]

management plan; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation.


         THE NORTH ATLANTIC FISHERIES RESOURCE CONSERVATION ACT

  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, in keeping with the old adage that those 
who do not know history are doomed to repeat it, I am introducing a 
bill today with Senator Kerry which is designed to avoid repeating the 
mistakes of the past in fisheries management.
  Most of the major commercial fisheries in both the United States and 
the world are either fully exploited or overexploited. In many 
instances, these fisheries have approached or reached an overfished 
condition because the fishing fleets which targeted them became 
overcapitalized before the management system in place could respond 
effectively to this excess fishing capacity. As a result, we find 
ourselves today faced with case after case of having to make wrenching 
management decisions to reduce fishing effort that have substantial 
socioeconomic impacts on coastal communities that depend on fishing for 
their livelihoods.
  In the cases of Atlantic herring and Atlantic mackerel, however, we 
still have time. Through torturous but ultimately fortunate historical 
circumstances, the offshore stocks of these fisheries remain, at least 
according to the best information presently available, fairly abundant. 
And because of their relative abundance, these fisheries have attracted 
increasing attention from fishermen in the Northeast and the mid-
Atlantic, many of whom have been displaced from the now-depleted New 
England groundfish fishery.
  Earlier this year, however, a dramatic new proposal came to light 
which could alter the planned course of sustainable development for 
these fisheries. A United States-Dutch group intends to bring a 369 
foot factory trawler into the Atlantic herring and mackerel fisheries 
by the spring of 1998. This vessel is more than twice the size of any 
other vessel currently fishing in New England, and it intends to 
harvest 50,000 tons of fish annually. Many concerns have been raised 
from Maine to New Jersey about the potential impacts that this enormous 
vessel will have on the herring and mackerel stocks, and on the 
composition of the fisheries that have been developing in recent years 
through the hard work of many people in the region. To take one example 
of these concerns, while the National Marine Fisheries Service 
indicates that herring is, according to the best information, fairly 
abundant off Georges Bank and southern New England, there are 
legitimate concerns about the health of the Gulf of Maine stocks which 
form the major source of supply for the sardine and lobster bait 
industries, and which do appear to interact and aggregate with the 
offshore stocks at certain times of the year. Unfortunately, today's 
science cannot tell us with a high degree of precision what impacts the 
increased fishing of offshore stocks would have on all of the key Gulf 
of Maine stocks.
  The uncertainties surrounding the Atlantic Star proposal are the 
kinds of things that must be carefully reviewed, and the most 
appropriate forums for reviewing these questions are the regional 
fishery management councils established to manage our fisheries under 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Unfortunately, neither of the councils with 
jurisdiction over herring and mackerel had addressed the issues raised 
by the Atlantic Star before the vessel's owners were able to get it 
permitted. The Atlantic herring fishery does not have a federal fishery 
management plan, meaning that it is largely unregulated. And the 
existing management plan for mackerel was developed before it was known 
that the Atlantic Star would seek to operate in that fishery.
  To ensure that the Atlantic Star and other vessels of its class 
receive the thorough consideration intended in the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act, the bill introduced by Senator Kerry and I calls a temporary 
timeout on the entry of very large vessels into the herring and 
mackerel fisheries until the councils have time to act. Our bill states 
that no vessel over 165 feet or with greater than 3,000 horsepower can 
harvest these species unless the appropriate council specifically 
authorizes it in a fishery management plan or plan amendment. But 
unlike other bills that have been introduced on this issue, our bill 
ensures that this matter is addressed in a reasonable timeframe. It 
establishes deadlines for action on the Atlantic Star by the councils 
and the Commerce Department of September 30, 1998, whether the decision 
is favorable or unfavorable.
  Mr. President, this bill simply ensures that the analytical and 
deliberative process outlined in the Magnuson-Stevens Act has a chance 
to work as it was intended. And when the issue is the introduction of a 
dramatically different new fishing technology into two relatively 
healthy fisheries of substantial importance to many people who live in 
the region, the integrity of this process could not be more important. 
It is unfortunate that this issue was not resolved by the councils and 
the Commerce Department sooner, but the fact is that it was not, and 
Congress, if it is to ensure that our fisheries are managed 
responsibly, must intervene in a responsible manner. The remedy that we 
have proposed is responsible, temporary, and reasonable.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I rise today to join with my friend and 
colleague, the distinguished Senator from Maine, in introducing 
legislation on a topic of growing importance to coastal communities 
throughout the Northeast--conservation of North Atlantic fisheries 
resources.
  Since I arrived in the Senate over 12 years ago, I have worked to 
address the many challenges confronting our ocean and coastal 
resources. After all, few States draw as much of their national and 
regional identity from their coasts as does Massachusetts. My efforts 
have been principally through my participation as a member on the 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and particularly as 
ranking member of the Oceans and Fisheries Subcommittee and as co-chair 
of its predecessor, the National Ocean Policy Study.
  During my tenure, I have worked with my colleagues to develop 
innovative policy solutions to achieve the long-term protection and 
sustainable use of vulnerable marine resources. Our goal has been to 
ensure strong coastal economies and a clean, healthy ocean environment 
from the Gulf of Maine to the Gulf of Alaska.
  One of our recent successes was last year's bill to reauthorize and 
strengthen the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
(Magnuson-Stevens Act). That legislation, the Sustainable Fisheries 
Act, ultimately should provide the framework for rebuilding depleted 
fish stocks and developing management schemes to prevent overfishing. 
Unfortunately, many of the ideas and safeguards the new law contains 
represent difficult lessons learned from the devastating collapse of 
the New England groundfish fishery. In other regional fisheries, we 
have been too late to stop the depletion.
  This brings us to the issue at hand: How can we prevent repetition of 
the groundfish experience, maintain the current health of Atlantic 
herring and mackerel stocks, and encourage their sustainable use? The 
first step, of course, is through development of conservative and 
comprehensive fishery management plans. Toward that end, on June 17, 
1997, I wrote the National Marine Fisheries Service, asking it to work 
with the New England Fishery Management Council to ensure the immediate 
development and implementation of a fishery management plan for 
Atlantic herring. Such a plan is essential to protect herring stocks 
and traditional fishery participants as proposals move forward to 
expand the herring fishery in Federal waters.
  Atlantic herring is an important part of New England's fishing 
tradition. For generations, we have harvested herring for use as canned 
sardines, as bait in lobster pots, and for other products. Fishermen 
using small boats form the base of the fishery, and it is those 
fishermen, more than any others, who seek an intelligent plan for 
managing the fishery and protecting against overharvest. In addition, 
Atlantic herring play a key role in the marine ecosystem off New 
England coasts by providing a primary food source for whales, seabirds, 
and other fish including groundfish, tuna, striped bass, and bluefish.

  The challenge now is to prevent a flood of new or displaced boats 
from entering the herring fishery and overwhelming the harvesting 
capacity of the resource. The National Marine Fisheries Service 
estimates that herring stocks are now at levels that

[[Page S9645]]

would support an expanded harvest level. However, New England's past 
has taught us that in an unregulated environment, this current healthy 
condition could rapidly be reversed. Given the present lack of a 
Federal fishery management plan for herring and questionable scientific 
information on the status of the stocks, the uncontrolled expansion of 
this fishery could have devastating consequences.
  We need to slow down the increase in fishing power entering the 
herring fishery, and we need to give the New England Council the time 
to develop a thoughtful Federal management plan for herring that 
responds to local interests and needs. While I had hoped that the 
council and the Secretary of Commerce would be able to accomplish these 
goals through the process established by the Magnuson-Stevens Act and 
other fishery laws, it has become clear in recent weeks that we must 
impose temporary legislative safeguards until that process is complete.
  The bill which Senators Snowe, Kennedy, and I are introducing today, 
the North Atlantic Fisheries Resource Conservation Act, provides those 
safeguards. First, by September 30, 1998, the New England and Mid-
Atlantic Councils and the Secretary of Commerce are required to develop 
and implement both a fishery management plan for herring and a plan 
amendment for Atlantic mackerel. Second, a fishing vessel that is 
longer than 165 feet or has engines that exceed 3,000 horsepower is 
prohibited from harvesting either herring or mackerel until the 
councils and the Secretary have addressed the potential impact of such 
vessels in the management plan.
  While the provisions of the North Atlantic Fisheries Resource 
Conservation Act are specific to two Northeast fisheries, the issues 
which they address should become part of a broader national policy 
debate about our vision for the American fishing industry in the 21st 
century. For over two decades, our fishery policies have focused on two 
goals: conservation and management of U.S. fishery resources and 
development of the domestic fishing industry. We have succeeded beyond 
our expectations in achieving the second goal of developing the U.S. 
fishing industry. I am optimistic that the Sustainable Fisheries Act 
will move us toward achieving the first goal of improving conservation 
and management. With the achievement of those goals, however, come new 
questions. What do we want our fishing industry to look like in the 
years to come? What should we as a nation do to preserve traditional 
coastal communities centered on small-boat fishermen? What restrictions 
if any should be placed on enormous factory trawlers? In New England, 
these large ships conjure up memories of foreign factory trawlers 
vacuuming up and destroying U.S. fishery resources in the days before 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Are such ships an appropriate element in 
other U.S. fisheries?
  The legislation before us today focuses on the actions needed to 
safeguard the Atlantic herring and mackerel fisheries. However, I look 
forward to the broader debate. By the prompt enactment of this 
legislation I hope we can contribute to that debate and begin to shift 
the national example set by New England fisheries from one of 
overfishing and painful rebuilding toward one of conservative 
management that is successful in preserving both the fishermen and the 
fish.
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