To hearing from stake holders at additional hearings throughout the country this fall. I would like to first welcome both of our witnesses, dr. John quinn, chair of the Council Coordination committee, the ccc, and mr. Chris oliver, n. O. A. A. s assistant administrator for fisheries as the nymph administrator. And creating the ccc, the ccc convenes the Regional Fisheries Management Council to discuss areas of common industry and discussing concensus views on the msa reauthorization. Im also pleased to introduce chris oliver, first ever alaskan to permanent hold assista assistant, and working at the Fisheries Management council, last 17 as its executive director, as an alaskan, i can tell you we are thrilled to have you in this very important position. Based on his work in the gulf of mexico at the beginning of his career and extensive experience overseeing the largest and best managed fishery in the country, i have confidence under his leadership alaska and the u. S. Will be well represented and commercial and recreational fishermen. For alan skas and throughout the country, fishing is a way of life. As ive mentioned at this Committee Many times, our fisheries are by far the largest in the nation. Id like to say alaska is the superpower of seafood constituting 50, close to 60 of all domestic landing in the country and tens of thousands of jobs. In many communities, our fisheries are the backbone of their economy. Its my intention it assure that the next msa reauthorization guarantees continued strong coastal communities not only in alaska, but across the country. As Congress Considers whether msa is in need of changes, its important that we not rest on previous gains. In the last time since the msa was authorized technology has rapidly advanced yet legislation able to support that technology has not. Specifically, as relates to Data Collection, stock assessments and other analytical tools to help improve the accuracy of fish stock information. Better understanding the health of the stocks and how technology can assist in that regard, as well as reducing administrative burdens on our fishing industry, our topics ripe for discussion and possible elements of row authorization. In addition, as we continue to responsibly manage the fishery resources across the United States we must ensure that our nation fisheries systems supports food supply, recreational opportunities and plenty of fishing and processing jobs in coastal communities. With that i want to thank our witnesses for being here and Ranking Member. Senator peters. Thank you, mr. Chairman and thank you to the witness for the important of reauthorizing the magnusonstevens act. The 1976 act helped reduce exploitive issues in the waters. Its preserving these incredibly important natural resources. The most recent authorizations successfully rebuilt fish populations to healthy sustainable levels of coastal communities, but we still have overfishing and evoverfished populations and we should determine what is working, what needs improvement and ways to improve fishery management is why were all here today. I regret that i cant spend as much time at this hearing this morning as id like due to a scheduling conflict, but thats why we have hearing record and i look forward to learning what our expert witnesses have to share with us. Michigan, like much of the rest of the country, is full of hunters and anglers. Every year nearly 1. 8 million anglers fish on the great lakes and there are roughly 1900 charter boats operating there. This activity is estimated to have a 7 billion impact on the surrounding economy and directly supports about 50,000 jobs. While we michiganders are typically targeting walleye, trout, perch and must muskees where we live, theres a robust communities and fisheries. Michigan, like much of the rest of the country is full of seafood lovers. We want to be assured that the fin fish and shell fish that we purchase at markets and in restaurants, much of which comes from states like alaska and florida, is import and or is imported from other countries is responsibly harvested. So how we manage our federal fisheries matters to the folks in michigan. What we do about the scourge of illegal unreported or unregulated fishing occurring in the waters of other countries, and on the high seas, also matters a great deal to us. Conserving these resources through Sustainable Management so they can continue to support the businesses and communities that rely on them matters to folks in michigan. Key to Sustainable Management is making sure were using sciencedriven process. Fisheries management is complex, and needs to account for the interactions between different species, between species and their habitat. Understanding those many interactions takes a lot of study and an awful lot of data which requires a lot of monitoring. It is important to look for ways to leverage developments in technology and science to do the critical job of managing our federal fisheries better. Only by gathering and utilizing all of the environmental information necessary can we understand the ocean, the coastal eco systems, that provide us with this important and delicious natural resource. Mr. Chairman, i also want to mention while i understand that most fresh Water Fisheries issues are not within the purview of this committee, ive introduced a bill called the Great Lakes Fishery reauthorization act of 2017, this legislation which was referred to the committee on environmental and public works will solidify the scientific basis upon which fisheries in the great lakes are augmented by data methods and new cutting edge technologies. Its my hope as part of this important msa reauthorization process we might have some cross pollization ideas for federal fisheries and salt Water Fisheries. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, mr. Peters. Now i ask senator nelson Ranking Member of the Commerce Committee if hed like to make an Opening Statement as well. A couple of comments. One of the great things about this committee is the broad jurisdiction that it has in areas that are so important to the country as a whole. You think about this, the 1970s, theres senator magnuson from washington. Theres senator stevens from alaska, and they knew that there was a problem in new england. In senator markys area because it was getting overfished. And so, they set about to do something about it and thats more than three decades ago. And we are the beneficiaries of that kind of bipartisan effort. Clearly, mr. Chairman, your state of alaska is one of the most fertile fisheries around. By the way, thats one. Reasons we have one of the most Important Reasons of why we have the u. S. Coast guard up there. It not only is given the task from the United States navy of protecting our national security, but its there to protect that big, big fishing fle fleet. And then, as its interesting that the members of the committee, we have a number of members that represent landlocked states. They dont have a direct outlet to the ocean. Yes, you are the great lakes, but yet, they participate and understand the importance of the magnusonstevens act, and so, thank you for having this hearing and of course, my state, when it comes to downright recreational, charter boats, as well as commercial fishing, were known as the capital of the fishing world, and i can speak that sounds more impressive than the superpower of seafood. [laughter] and i can speak for senator wicker, that there is a great deal that comes from the livelihoods of the people along the gulf and in the course and the case of the atlantic when senator markey comes back, all up and down the atlantic, that comes from the commercial fishing. The gulf is such an important resource and of all types and we know that we have to protect it. Interestingly, also, the gulf happens to be off of florida, the largest testing and Training Range for the United States military in the world. And so, we have, for our national securitys sake, likewise, reasons to protect that gulf. Ill just close by saying that one of the greatest challenges that i saw was when five Million Barrels of oil were spilled in the gulf and that immediately affected the livelihoods of a lot of people, not only in the fishing indust industry, but also it cut out an entire season of our Tourism Industry on the gulf coast because people thought the beaches were covered with oil. It is a unique environment and this committee is particularly suited to protect this kind of ocean environment. And so, i am very grateful that youre bringing up for discussion the magnusonstevens act, thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, senator nelson. And i want to again welcome our witnesses today, mr. Chris oliver, assistant administrator for the National Marine fishery service. Nmf. And i want to thank for the selection of chris, i dont think he could have found a more qualified capable director and dr. John quinn of the north Fisheries Management council. Youll have five minutes to deliver an oral statement, a longer written statement will be included in the record if you so desire. Mr. Oliver, the floor is yours. Is it on . Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I participated in both the 1996 and 2006 reauthorization processes in my previous role and while im wearing a different hat today in this administration has yet to take former position on specific issues, my fundamental perspectives remain built upon the success of the act as evidenced by Sustainable Management in the North Pacific fisheries and success in fisheries across the United States. I would like to describe some of the agencies successes under the act, but i want to focus on some challenges that remain. Essentially the act has been an outstanding success. The partnership with the councils, commissions and stake holders weve effectively ended overfishing in the country and are rebuilding fish stocks across the board, with a sustainable supply of seafood for the nation in the future. The magnuson act the magnusonstevens act created broad goals for management and a unique Management Structure centered around the council. I can personally attest to the value of that system which encourages a bottom up process, including fisherman, states, tribes and the federal government. Working together, fishermen and management brought back numerous resources in fisheries across our country. Im especially proud of the accomplishments in alaska and our approach has been recognized as one of the most successfully managed fisheries in the world. We have challenges remaining. Our west coast ground fish species and rebuilt several important stocks, in recent years, fishermen are leaving available harvest in the water due to outrated regulations and we have to maximize and overall with our longterm conservation goals. I think those for our commercial fisheries and recreational as well. Salt water Recreational Fishing is one. Favorite pastimes. And were proud to be partnering to host a National Summit on salt Water Fisheries in 2018. While annual catch limits are a cornerstone of successful management, we have to look at Accountability Measures, its been a major challenge for many new fisheries and thats the case for commercial as well as recreational fesh fisheries when harvest data can be can ult to report and may differ from commercial fisheries. Additional flexibility how we apply, as well as rebuilding schedules could expand our collected toolbox and our ability to address many issues which have been raised in reauthorization discussions. I can assure you, we stand ready to assist any way we can as those approaches are being considered. Americas seafood industry sets a global standard for sustainability. However, the majority of seafood we consume is imported. Theres enhanced wild stock, we believe that its agua culture, and were making that a priority in the agent with bugetary incentives. Coordination of the regulatory and permitting process is a key area where we can be more efficient. With more efficient regulation of wild stock fisheries we can position to make inroads on the seafood deficit. The current act works very well for most fisheries, however, i believe there are opportunities to provide additional flexibility to allow us to more effectively manage some of those fisheries particularly those that have different catch accounting challenges or could benefit generally from a alternative approaches. Although some of those remain in the nearterm. Overall the economy in general can be realized as fish population grow and catch limits increase in the longer term. In that sense i believe we can have it both ways. I believe that we can maximize opportuniti opportunities, take opportunities to maximize our domestic harvest potential without compromising the longterm sustainability of the resources we manage. I, and n. O. A. A. Fisheries are committed to working with congress throughout this reauthorization process to achieve just that goal and at that, concludes my opening comments, mr. Chairman. Again, i know there will be questions, ill be happy to try to answer them. Great. Thank you, director oliver. Dr. Quinn. Thank you very much, chairman sullivan, Ranking Members peters. My name is john quinn, im here to testify on above of the council coordinating committee. By way of background, the law program at Massachusetts School of law in dartmouth, which is right next door to the port of new bedford one of the leading fishing ports in the nation. Ive been involved in fishery issues the last 30 years as a lawyer, state legislature and last five years of the new england fishermans council. Commercial and recreational are key to our coastal communities and the nations economy. The councils are the cornerstone, and as a group were a strong believer in its benefits. Well highlight issues detailed in the recent statement, grouped into three, need for management flexibility, importance of our public process and a need for adequate resources. I again with management flexibility. The wide havevarieties in fisheries, we should have a flexible legal frame work that allows for a wide range of Management Solutions. To that end, requiring that a stark and Poor Condition must be rebuilt within ten years, this arbitrary timeline can cause problems. Imagine that every home owner could only choose a 10year mortgage while purchasing a home. That would work for some, but not for all. I want to make it clear, we believe that targeted changes to the law would enable the development of better rebuilding plans. Its not just the council at that reached this conclusion, this is in report by National Search council in 2014. There is also a need for flexibility at the fact cal level. Connell needs to be able to consider a wide variety of tools without burdensome requirements. They may not be the best tools to manage in all fisheries. And most have fishing permits to conduct Scientific Research that leads to Management Solutions and the new requirements for the efp process would greatly reduce the ability to approve in a timely manner. Fisheries would suffer as a report. A transparent process is critical to maintaining public trust, this need could be met in a variety of way, but specific webcasts would ignore the technical difficulties encountered when Holding Meetings in isolated fishing ports. All proposed actions are carefully examined, the analysis duplicates those in the act and applicable law. Weenl that alternative analysis should be in the frame work of the act. With 40 Years Experience the councils provide a wellknown timetested forum for fisheries issues. When others limit fishing that public process is often side stepped. If all federal fishing regulations are promulgated under section 302 of the act, with our fishery resources throughout the range. As the resources, article effectively managed fisheries, a significant investment is needed at all steps. Process. We rely heavily on data provided by nmf. And there will be increased foreign sea forward. Increased stocks assessment funding and the need to collect the data, and one of the best investments that administration can make in u. S. Fisheries. Data availability continues to be one among the greatest challenges for the management of Recreational Fisheries. And changes to the n. O. A. A. s programs have only been partially implemented and little to increase catch estimates. They do not provide the data needed for reliable monitoring. Addressing this problem will require increased sampling rates which can only occur with increased funding. We recognize that Strategic Planning is necessary, it creates Unfunded Mandates for the council. We should fulfill existing regulatory requirements before any new mandates are required. Finally, i believe its important to acknowledge the supportive relationship between the councils and National Fishery service. The regional offices and Science Center are critical to our process. Its unfortunate that mr. Oliver decided to transfer to the second best part of the partnership, but we look forward to working with him in the future. Again, thank you for the opportunity to address the committee and im happy to answer any questions.