February 1, 1979
Page 1720
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, I am pleased to join with my colleagues Senators KENNEDY, MAGNUSON, HOLLINGS, GRAVEL, STEVENS, CRANSTON, JACKSON, TSONGAS, WEICKER, HATFIELD, INOUYE, PELL, CHAFEE, MATSUNAGA, PACKWOOD, HAYAKAWA, and COHEN in introducing a resolution to disapprove the deferral of funds under the Saltonstall-Kennedy fisheries development program.
The development activities financed under the program are of tremendous value to our fishermen, particularly at this time when our industry is moving toward the utilization of new resources available under the 200-mile fishing limit.
In Maine and throughout New England, these funds are directed particularly toward underutilized or nontraditional species such as squid, mackerel, and whiting. Major foreign markets exist for many species not traditionally harvested by our domestic fleets. Fisheries development programs hold the promise of reducing the pressure on heavily exploited traditional species such as cod and haddock, revitalizing our fishing industry — from harvesting to processing and marketing — and improving our overall foreign trade balance by creating a new export market.
I urge my colleagues to join in supporting this resolution.