[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 11 (Thursday, February 12, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S785-S786]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             DUNGENESS CRAB CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT ACT

 Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, soon after the upcoming recess, I 
will join my colleague, Senator Slade Gorton, to introduce the 
Dungeness Crab Conservation and Management Act. The ocean Dungeness 
crab fishery in WA, OR, and CA has been successfully managed by the 
three states for many years. The states cooperate on season openings, 
male-only harvest requirements, and minimum sizes; and all three states 
have enacted limited entry programs. Although the resource demonstrates 
natural cycles in abundance, over time the fishery has been sustained 
at a profitable level for fishermen and harvesters with no biological 
problems.
  The fishery is conducted both within state waters and in the federal 
exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Although state landing laws restrict 
fishermen to delivering crab only to those states in which they are 
licensed, the actual harvest takes place along most of the West Coast, 
roughly from San Francisco to the Canadian border. Thus, it is not 
unusual for an Oregon-licensed fisherman from Newport to fish in the 
EEZ northwest of Westport, WA, and deliver his catch to a processor in 
Astoria, OR.
  In recent years, federal court decisions under the umbrella of U.S. 
versus Washington have held that Northwest Indian tribes have treaty 
rights to harvest a share of the crab resource off Washington. To 
accommodate these rights, the State of Washington, has restricted 
fishing by Washington-licensed fishermen. This led Washington fishermen 
to request an extension of state fisheries jurisdiction into the EEZ. 
The Congress partially granted this request during the last Congress by 
giving the West Coast states interim authority over Dungeness crab, 
which expires in 1999 (16 U.S.C. 1856 note). The Congress also 
expressed its interest in seeing a fishery management plan established 
for Dungeness crab and asked the Pacific Fishery Management Council 
(PFMC) to report to Congress on this issue by December, 1997.
  The PFMC established an industry committee to examine the issues, 
which developed several options. At its June meeting, the PFMC selected 
two options for further development and referred them for analysis to 
the Tri-State Dungeness Crab Committee which operates under the Pacific 
States Marine Fisheries Commission. After lengthy debate, the Tri-State 
Committee recommended to the Council that the Congress be requested to 
make the interim authority permanent with certain changes, including a 
clarification of what license is required for the fishery, broader 
authority for the states to ensure equitable access to the resource, 
and clarification of tribal rights. The Tri-State Committee agrees that 
each state's limited entry laws should apply only to vessels registered 
in that state. I ask unanimous consent to include the report of the 
Tri-State Dungeness Crab Committee and the membership list of the 
Committee in the Record following my remarks.
  On September 12, 1997, the PFMC unanimously agreed to accept and 
support the Tri-State Committee recommendation. The Council agreed that 
the existing management structure effectively conserves the resource, 
that allocation issues are resolved by the restriction on application 
of state limited entry laws, that tribal rights are protected, and that 
the public interest in conservation and fiscal responsibility after 
better served by the legislative proposal than by developing and 
implemeting a fishery management plan under the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act. This legislation will fully 
implement the Tri-State Committee recommendation and ensure the 
conservation and sound management of this important West Coast fishery.
  I look foward to the Senate's timely consideration of this bill.

Report of the Tri-State Dungeness Crab Committee to the Pacific Fishery 
 Management Council on Options for Dungeness Crab Fishery Management, 
                             August 7, 1997

       The Tri-State Dungeness Crab Committee met on August 6-7, 
     1997 to review the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) 
     Analysis of Options for Dungeness Crab Management. A list of 
     the attending Committee members, advisors, and observers is 
     attached. After completing that review, the Committee 
     discussed the merits of each option and offered the following 
     comments for PFMC consideration.
       There was general agreement within the Committee that 
     Option 1, No Action, would not satisfy the current needs of 
     the industry. There was unanimous opposition, however, among 
     Oregon and California representatives to Option 3, 
     Development of a Limited Federal Fishery Management Plan 
     (FMP). Washington representatives were not strongly in favor 
     of a FMP, but viewed it as the only realistic means to 
     address their concerns for the fishery. After an extended 
     discussion, it

[[Page S786]]

     was the consensus of the Committee that a modified version of 
     Option 2, Extension of Interim Authority, was preferred.
       There were three common themes that appeared during the 
     discussion. No Committee members believe that there should be 
     fishing or processing of Dungeness crab in waters of the EEZ 
     under PFMC jurisdiction by any vessel not permitted or 
     licensed in either Washington, Oregon, or California. The 
     Committee generally accepted that additional tools beyond 
     area closures and pot limits could be needed to address 
     tribal allocation issues. Finally, the Committee also agreed 
     that as a matter of fairness, vessels fishing alongside each 
     other in an area should be subject to the same regulations. 
     On that basis, the Tri-State Dungeness Crab Committee 
     recommends that:
       1. The PFMC immediately request that Congress make the 
     current Interim Authority a permanent part of the Magnuson-
     Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, applying 
     only to Pacific coast Dungeness crab, with the following 
     adjustments.
       (a) delete the limitations listed in the current Section 2 
     of the Interim Authority so that state regulations will apply 
     equally to all vessels in the EEZ and adjacent State waters; 
     and
       (b) clarify the language in the current Section 3B of the 
     Interim Authority to prohibit participation in the fishery by 
     vessels that are not registered in either Washington, Oregon, 
     or California.
       2. The PFMC defer action on a Dungeness crab FMP until 
     March 1998 to determine whether Congress will be receptive to 
     this extension of the Interim Authority.
       Proposed draft bill language for an extension of the 
     Interim Authority is attached.
       This recommendation is not made without reservations on 
     both sides. Washington representatives were reluctant to 
     totally withdraw consideration of a federal FMP option, in 
     the event that efforts to extend the Interim Authority fail. 
     They expressed little confidence that a request for 
     Congressional action would be successful. Representatives 
     from Oregon were concerned that discriminatory regulations 
     could be enacted in the future by other states that could 
     effectively exclude them from participation on traditional 
     fishing grounds. They preferred this risk over the 
     involvement of federal agencies under a federal fishery 
     management plan.

  Tri-State Dungeness Crab Committee Meeting, Attendance--August 6-7, 
                           1997, Portland, OR


                           Committee Members

     Dick Sheldon, Columbia River Dungeness Crab Fishermen's 
         Association, Ocean Park, WA
     Ernie Summers, Washington Dungeness Crab Fishermen's 
         Association, Westport, WA
     Larry Thevik, Washington Dungeness Crab Fishermen's 
         Association, Westport, WA
     Terry Krager, Chinook Packing, Chinook, WA
     Paul Davis, Oregon Fisher, Brookings, OR
     Bob Eder, Oregon Fisher, Newport, OR
     Tom Nowlin, Oregon Fisher, Coos Bay, OR
     Stan Schones, Oregon Fisher, Newport, OR
     Russell Smotherman, Oregon Fisher, Warrenton, OR
     Joe Speir, Oregon Fisher, Brookings, OR
     Rod Moore, West Coast Seafood Processors Association, 
         Portland, OR
     Harold Ames, CA Fisher, Bodega Bay, CA
     Mike Cunningham, CA Fisher, Eureka, CA
     Tom Fulkerson, CA Fisher, Trinidad, CA
     Tom Timmer, CA Fisher, Crescent City, CA
     Jerry Thomas, Eureka Fisheries, Inc., Eureka, CA


                                Advisors

     Steve Barry, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 
         Montesano, WA
     Paul LaRiviere, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 
         Montesano, WA
     Neil Richmond, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, 
         Charleston, OR


                               Observers

     Tom Kelly, WA Fisher, Westport, WA
     Mike Mail, Quinault Tribe, Taholah, WA
     Nick Furman, Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission, Coos Bay, 
         OR

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