[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 21 (Monday, March 4, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1411-S1412]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   THE MAINE ANNUAL FISHERMAN'S FORUM

  Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, last Friday night, I attended the Maine 
Annual Fisherman's Forum in Rockport, ME. This is a wonderful event 
that brings leaders from the industry together to talk about problems 
that the fishing industry is experiencing. We have a wonderful fresh 
fish dinner and then there is an auction held which annually raises 
thousands of dollars in scholarship money.
  But this year, a shadow was cast over the entire forum. We arrived at 
the forum only to learn that earlier that day, the National Marine 
Fisheries Service had unveiled a Draconian response to a Federal 
lawsuit that had been filed that affects the ground fishing industry. 
The response proposed by the National Marine Fisheries Service would 
have a devastating impact on our fishermen in Maine.
  The life of a fisherman is already a difficult one. He or she 
encounters rough weather, and we have suffered devastating losses of 
life in the fishing industry in Maine. It is a difficult life. They are 
proud, independent people who ask only that they be given a fair chance 
to earn a living.
  The fishermen of my State have been leaders in pioneering 
conservation efforts. They understand it is necessary to have some 
restrictions to preserve the fish stocks for future generations, but 
when we get into a situation where lawsuits are being filed and Federal 
regulators respond in a way that is completely indifferent to the needs 
of the fishing industry, we make the life of Maine's fishermen 
virtually impossible.
  Already we have seen years and years of escalating restrictions that 
have driven many fishermen out of business, cut the incumbent 
processors, suppliers, and fish auctions, and strained coastal 
communities that are the heart of Maine. In fact, 1,200 fishermen have 
participated in retraining programs, and the Coastal Workforce Board, 
which runs these programs, estimates that represents only a third of 
the total number of displaced fishermen.
  Since 1995, the ground fishing industry has been limited to only 88 
days at sea, a restriction that has been extremely difficult for those 
in the industry to bear. Nevertheless, they have coped, they have 
managed to endure, even under the restrictions of only 88 days at sea. 
Imagine the shock of Maine fishermen when they learned that Federal 
regulators were proposing to cut in half the number of days they can be 
at sea.
  Furthermore, they have restricted the number of days that can occur 
during the peak season for fishing. Only 22 of the days can occur 
during the peak season. This is devastating. Imagine that, our 
fishermen are being told they can only go to sea for 44 days a year in 
the Gulf of Maine.
  Some Federal regulators in the regulatory community have pointed out 
that the fishermen would still be allowed to use their full allowance 
of days during the nonseason months. Those are the months between 
October and May. Again, I wonder to whom these regulators are talking. 
Surely they know those months are not practical for a sustained fishing 
effort. Fishermen encounter low stocks, low prices, and, most of all, 
hazardous weather.

  The restrictions in the proposals put forth by the National Marine 
Fisheries Service go even further. Each day that a fisherman goes out 
to sea, no matter how short the trip, even if the fisherman is only out 
for a few hours, will be counted as a full 24 hours at sea. The 
proposal also calls for restricted fishing areas.
  In short, these restrictions will have a devastating impact on the 
ground fishing industry in Maine, an industry made up of small, 
independently owned businesses, an industry made up of proud, 
independent men and women. They are already struggling to make a 
living, given all the other restrictions that have been imposed. The 
NMFS proposal would now make it virtually impossible for many ground 
fishermen to survive.
  It comes as a particular disappointment to me that Federal regulators 
did not consult with members of the fishing community when they were 
confronted with this Federal lawsuit. It is so frustrating that the 
National Marine Fisheries Service ignored the letter I sent them asking 
that they bring all the stakeholders to the table to work out a 
response to this lawsuit. Instead, Federal regulators essentially shut 
our fishermen out of the process, and that is one reason they came up 
with such an ill-conceived proposal that does not reflect the reality 
of earning a living as a fisherman in the State of Maine.
  The proposal put forth by Federal regulators is even more surprising 
because it comes at a time when both scientists and fishermen agree 
that ground fish stocks are rebounding, that the conservation efforts 
already underway, that the regulatory restrictions already in place are 
having a beneficial impact.
  Again I stress, our fishermen are in the forefront of conservation 
efforts. They are keenly aware of the importance of rebuilding the 
fishing stocks. After all, fewer fish mean fewer activities and fewer 
opportunities for our fishermen to make a living.
  In fact, Maine's fishing industry, working together with marine 
scientists, have been pioneers in the use of conservation techniques 
and self-regulation in fishing management, but our efforts to rebuild 
our ground fish stocks are only useful if a ground fish industry 
remains. Any effort to rebound ground fish stocks must guarantee the 
survival not only of the fish but of the fishermen.
  When I think of the amount of money that has been squandered in 
costly lawsuits, it is so unfortunate because those are funds that 
could have been put into research. Those are funds that could have been 
used to bring everybody to the table to work out and devise a 
commonsense solution to the problems of rebuilding the fishing stocks.
  Let me give an example of what the impact will be on one fisherman in 
Maine. I heard from a fisherman named Sam Viola about this issue. Sam 
is a fisherman from Portland, ME, who owns two 70-foot draggers and 
fishes for haddock, hake, and cod. His brother is a fisherman, as was 
Sam's dad. That is typical in Maine. Families, generation after 
generation, will go to the sea to earn a living.
  Sam said that finally, after years of scraping by due to catch 
restrictions and limits on fishing days per year designed to restore 
the ground fishery, he

[[Page S1412]]

has been able to make a living to support himself and his family. He 
believes the seas are now teeming with fish. He has seen such a rebound 
in the stocks, and he is very worried that the latest regulations 
proposed by the National Marine Fisheries Service will put him and many 
of his fellow fishermen out of business.
  I share the grave concerns of the responsible fishermen such as Sam 
and those fishermen with whom I talked on Friday night at the annual 
fisherman's forum. They are good people. They know the sea better than 
any regulator in Washington, DC. How unfortunate it is, how wrong it 
is, that Federal fishing regulators did not involve the people who know 
the Gulf of Maine the best: The fishermen who are out there earning a 
living.
  I am going to be working with my colleagues in both the House and the 
Senate and particularly with Maine's senior Senator, Ms. Olympia Snowe, 
who is the ranking Republican on the subcommittee with jurisdiction 
over this issue, to develop a plan, to develop an alternative approach 
that recognizes we can both support our fishermen and have the seas 
teeming with fish.
  It is a false choice to say our fishermen can only go to sea half the 
number of days that they are now allowed, a restriction that is already 
extremely difficult for many fishermen and their families to accept. 
These further restrictions, the new approach proposed by the National 
Marine Fisheries Service, I fear, will spell the end for many Maine 
fishermen. It will make it simply impossible for them to earn a living; 
the restrictions are so onerous, so unreasonable, and so strict.
  We need a different approach, and I believe if Federal regulators had 
only taken the time to involve the experts in the industry, the men and 
women who are fishing in the Gulf of Maine, we would have come up with 
a far better approach, an approach that would not only continue the 
process of rebuilding the fishing stocks in Maine, in the Gulf of 
Maine, but also would allow our hard-working, proud, and independent 
fishermen to earn a living.
  This is an issue on which I will continue to be working with the 
Chair and others.
  I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Carper). The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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