Mr. DINGELL. Our next witness is Mr. Steve Edney, president, United Cannery and Industrial Workers Union. San Pedro. Mr. Edney has been before this committee on many occasions in connection with this matter and his testimony has always been very helpful. Mr. Edney, we are happy to welcome you. STATEMENT OF STEVE EDNEY, PRESIDENT, UNITED CANNERY AND INDUSTRIAL WORKERS UNION, SAN PEDRO, CALIF. Mr. EDNEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman and members of the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. My name is Steve Edney. I am president of the United Cannery and Industrial Workers of the Pacific, S.I.U. and AFL-CIO, and Chairman of the Fishermen and Cannery Workers Conference of the Seafarers International Union of North America, AFL-CIO. I am also authorized to speak for the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO on this matter before you here today. I am most happy to have this opportunity to testify before this distinguished subcommittee of the House of Representatives, and it is our hope that Congress will deal with the matter of tuna boat seizures for what it is, and it is piracy. Ecuador may call it police action, but we call it piracy and very lucrative at that when you consider since January 1, 1971 over $750,000 in ransom has been paid during the months of January. If these acts of piracy are not stopped, the future of the tuna industry in the United States will be doomed. When we hear of a tuna boat being subjected to harassment and fines, our thoughts turn to the fishermen and the boatowner. However, the boatowner and the fishermen are not the only ones affected. There are 4,000 cannery workers on Terminal Island who have invested a great number of years of their lives in the tuna canning industry. Every ton of tuna diverted because of these acts of piracy represents time lost to the cannery worker and is never regained. If this industry is destroyed because of the inability to procure fish supplies, these workers will be out of a job. It will be very difficult to find other employment, especially in view of the high rate of unemployment in the State of California and the Nation. American enterprise and American workers built the tuna canning industry as we know it today, and perhaps it is significant that tuna canning started here on Terminal Island and it could be here on Terminal Island, that a spark may be ignited and a resolve made by the American Government to protect what so many have labored so hard to build. I am confident that if Ecuadoreans are forced to recognize that more can be lost than gained by such acts of piracy, then this problem will become manageable. We propose that Public Law 90-482 of 1968 be amended to direct the Secretary of State to withhold an amount equal to the total of ransom paid and other costs, from any funds earmarked for assistance to any such country and then such funds being withheld shall be made available immediately to the boatowners in the amount of ransom paid and other costs, for payment of wages and other costs incurred by such acts of piracy, et cetera. The above mentioned suggestion will serve to aid the fishermen and also tend to make piracy unprofitable, that is in cases where American taxpayers money is used in assistance to the country in question at a given time. If Ecuador can make its claim of 200 miles extended boundaries offshore stand, others may be tempted to extend even farther, then a very serious situation could exist that might lead to armed conflict. In closing I would take this opportunity to thank you Mr. Chairman, for your courtesy and interest in this matter. I would also thank all of the members of your committee for their interest and especially our own Congressman, the Honorable Glenn Anderson. I would also be remiss if I did not include in this expression of appreciation the members of your staff. Thank you. Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Edney, the committee wishes to thank you for a very helpful and very carefully thought out statement. The Chair is particularly pleased that you would express the kind remark about our colleague Mr. Anderson, and also that you would have some remarks about the members of our staff. The committee is blessed with a wonderful and able staff in the House of Representatives. I, and I am sure my colleagues here with me are most proud of them. We are accompanied today-I might just indicate-by Mr. Sharood, minority counsel who is extremely capable and a dedicated member of this staff; Mr. Al Dennis and Mr. Ned Everett, who are equally valuable members of the staff and of whom the Chair is most proud. Was there any questions of Mr. Edney? Mr. LEGGETT. Mr. Edney, do you think that if we amended the law to provide for a more freewheeling system of reimbursement so that the fishermen could be reasonably secure from loss because of the seizures both because of time and indirect cost to the lay up of vessels, et cetera, that there might be more heat on the State Department to resolve the matter by negotiations since the loss and indemnity on the part of the United States rather than on the part of the fishermen ? Mr. EDNEY. Yes. That is the purpose of the suggestion, that is to get the State Department to move vigorously in this area, and also to give the message to the Ecuadoreans and the other countries that you are going to lose if you pursue this course to a point where you are putting a hardship on our people. Also this proposal would aid the fishermen where he would not have to wait so long to get this money back, so that he could get back on fishing. Mr. LEGGETT. You would either have to have a contingency fund created by appropriation so the fishermen would be paid immediately, or how would you suggest that be done. Mr. EDNEY. I would suggest that in this case we look at the past history of a given country, say Ecuador is the one at this time, if we had-let us say for sake of discussion $10 million set aside for foreign assistance to Ecuador, and their history has shown that they have had ransoms or seizures of say $2 million then this amount would be withheld and made available immediately to the fishermen. Mr. LEGGETT. Without the necessity of appropriation? Mr. EDNEY. That's right. Mr. LEGGETT. That's all the questions I have. Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Anderson? Mr. ANDERSON. Steve, I want to thank you for coming here and presenting your recommendations to us. I intend to look into them and see if we can't put them into legislation and present them when we get back to Washington in about 10 days. Steve Edney represents one of the most important industries in my district. That industry has been to a great extent the organization, the people, who have contacted me urging us to bring the subcommittee to California to hear their story. Steve was one of those who not only talked to me on the phone but wrote me letters along with members of his organization. I want to compliment you, Steve, on your presentation here today and I will attempt to do all I can to carry out some of your suggestions. Mr. EDNEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Edney, we are grateful for your presence and it is always a pleasure to have you before the committee. Our next witness is an old friend of the committee; one who has been with us in connection with many fishery problems over many years, Mr. August Felando, general manager, American Tuna Boat Asesociation, San Diego. Mr. Felando, the Chair notes that you have a number of gentlemen present who you may wish to have seated with you at the table. The Chair will afford you the opportunity after having identified yourself first fully by name and address for the record, then you may call these gentlemen forward to participate in such manner as you might direct. The Chair would appreciate it if you would have those seated with you also fully identified for purposes of the record. STATEMENT OF AUGUST FELANDO, GENERAL MANAGER, AMERICAN TUNA BOAT ASSOCIATION, SAN DIEGO; ACCOMPANIED BY MANUEL CINTAS, SKIPPER, SS "APOLLO"; EDWARD X. MADRUGA, MANAGING OWNER, SS "APOLLO"; DOMINIC CASTAGNOLA, CREW MEMBER, SS "ANTONINA C." Mr. FELANDO. Yes. I am August Felando. I am the general manager of the American Tuna Boat Association. I would like now to introduce Mr. Manuel Cintas who is the skipper and part owner of the Tuna Clipper Apollo. I would like to introduce also Mr. Edward X. Madruga who is the managing owner of the Apollo. I would like to introduce Mr. Dominic Castagnola who is a member of the family who owns the Antonina C. Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Cintas, Mr. Madruga and Mr. Castagnola, we are happy to welcome you to the committee this morning, and we are very happy to welcome our good friend, Mr. Felando. Gentlemen, you may proceed. Mr. FELANDO. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I have a prepared statement but before I go to the prepared statement I think to meet the specific objectives of this subcommittee, I |