Wayne Gilchrest: “Mr. Chairman, if we could just look at this photograph over here for a second, what I want to try to display to my…”

“Mr. Chairman, if we could just look at this photograph over here for a second, what I want to try to display to my colleagues is the present condition of the marine ecosystem under the present law. When we talk about bycatch, that means discarded fish, that means discarded marine mammals, that means discarded reptiles, that means discarded turtles, sea turtles, many of which are endangered. If we look at this picture, up in the right-hand corner we will see sharks that are discarded in the present process of fishing techniques. If we look at this photograph here, we will see in this trough immature tuna that will not be able to spawn, that will not sustain the population. The basic point I want to get across here is that we need to find new methods of fishing, new techniques. Unless we change what we are doing at the present time, and unless we have an agreement with other countries to try to preserve and sustain the resources of our coastal oceans, we cannot do it alone.”