[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 133 (Thursday, October 10, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S10388]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. COLLINS:
  S. 3110. A bill to require further study before amendment 13 to the 
Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Management Plan is implemented; to 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Fisheries 
Management Fairness Act in order to provide New England fishermen with 
a guarantee that the fisheries management decisions that affect their 
lives will not be made without the benefit of sound, reliable data.
  Fishing is more than just a profession in New England. Fishing is a 
way of life. This way of life is being threatened, however, by 
excessive regulations and unnecessary litigation. Despite scientific 
evidence of a rebound in fish stocks, fishermen are suffering under 
ever more burdensome restrictions. As a result of recent litigation, 
fishermen have seen their days at sea slashed, struggle to implement 
new gear changes, and are squeezed into ever smaller fishing areas.
  Everyday, I hear from fishermen who struggle to support their 
families because they have been deprived of their right to make an 
honest living on the seas. The ``working waterfronts'' of our 
communities are in danger of disappearing, likely to be replaced by 
tourism and development. Once the culture of fishing is lost, it will 
be all but impossible ti replace.
  On September 11, 2002, the National Marine Fisheries Service 
announced that the trawler gear used on the NOAA research vessel 
Albatross IV had been calibrated incorrectly, casting suspicion over 
the data it had collected since February of 2000. The miscalibrated 
gear had been used to conduct the last eight stock abundance surveys, 
which measure long-term increases and decreases in stock populations.
  Data gathered by these surveys are the basis for regulations in 
fisheries management plans governing the rebuilding of overfished 
stocks. These regulations take the form of ``amendments'' to the New 
England's overall groundfish management plan, covering a complex of 
thirteen groundfish species. Amendment 13, the next set of regulations, 
is supposed to be ready for implementation by August 22, 2003.
  Although the National Marine Fisheries Service has conducted an 
observation cruise and a performance review workshop with industry to 
examine the extent of the damage in the survey, the agency has 
concluded that additional research is required to determine the full 
extent of the damage caused by the flawed gear. The Service has pledged 
to conduct a ``short-term experiment'' to determine the extent of the 
damage to the survey. This short-term experiment will rely on video and 
sensor equipment to gather data, and a subsequent workshop to examine 
the data and produce a report that can be used in updating groundfish 
assessments.
  It is unlikely that this experiment will provide the quality of data 
necessary to develop Amendment 13 by its court-ordered deadline. The 
type of data necessary to develop fisheries management plans can be 
produced only after years of research that demonstrate long-term stock 
trends. Theoretical modeling of past data of questionable quality is 
simply not good enough to develop the regulations of a plan that will 
affect the survival of our fishermen.
  When fishermen's livelihoods depend on the quality of survey data, we 
owe it to them to get the data collection right. There is no room for 
second-rate science and faulty data.
  My bill addresses these problems by preventing Amendment 13 from 
being implemented for two years, enough time to allow the Northeast 
Fishery Science Center and the National Marine Fishery Center to 
determine the reliability of the data collected by the Albatross IV and 
to collect accurate data on which to base future amendments.
  I will not stand idly by and let New England's fishing community die 
without a fight. I pledge to work with my colleagues in the Senate to 
work to pass this legislation. If we cannot pass it as a rider to 
another bill during this session, then I plan to reintroduce it and 
fight for its passage when we reconvene next year.

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