"...Why are we here?  We are here because the Bering Sea ecosystem is, as we all know, the most productive marine ecosystem in the United States, and one of the most productive, if not the most productive, marine ecosystem in the world. We are here because we want to be able to make that same statement about the Bering Sea ecosystem 10, 20, 50 and a hundred years from now. We are here because we care about this ecosystem and we want to make sure that there is adequate science to protect the system and to allow managers to make the right decisions about the system so that it will thrive for generations and generations to come.

When I was first asked by the Secretary to take a hard look at the Bering Sea ecosystem about a year and a half ago, I was amazed at the statistics that underscore its importance. I think most of you in this audience know what those statistics are but, unfortunately, very few people in the rest of the United States know. What are those statistics?

The Bering Sea provides 56% of the Unites States' fisheries production. The total commercial value of the catch exceeded one billion dollars in 1994. The Bering Sea has the largest international aggregation of seabirds in the world. It represents 43% of all breeding seabirds in the United States. I could go on and on about it's importance, and we will hear much more about it's importance from all of the speakers. We all know it is worth spending these two days to explore what we know, what we don't know, how we can fill the research gaps of what we don't know, and how we can cooperate better, all of us collectively, to make sure that the system is known well enough to manage thoroughly..."