Highly Migratory Species Report

This famous tuna, which created recreational trolling for tuna off the New Jersey coast, is again the subject of discussion at this year’s first ICCAT advisors’ meeting. Their first advisors’ meeting was held on September 9 and 10 in Silver Spring, MD. Their second meeting, where a US position on the issues will be created, will be held on October 21 and 22, again in Silver Spring, MD. Most of these meetings are closed to the public. A short time period at the beginning of the session is usually the public’s time to address the advisors and NMFS staff.

Again, the European Union and African States will support a quota far above 32,000MT which is 7,000 above ICCAT’s scientists’ recommendation for MSY at 25.000 mt. The total disregard of ICCAT mandates by the European and African Countries makes ICCAT a worthless organization. In fact, conservationists often refer to ICCAT as the International Convention to Catch All the Tuna. This is as close to the actual ICCAT situation as you can get.

The latest issue is tuna farming. Bluefin Tuna farming has gone from “0” ten years ago to 21,000 Mt. in just the Mediterranean Sea alone for 2001.

The European observance of their mandated quotas is best illustrated by the Spanish report of bluefin tuna sold in their Murcia region. In their official report to ICCAT, by Spain, they reported 1999 landings from the Murica region were 76.4 mt of bluefin tuna. The Spanish version of the US Chamber of Commerce, the Economic and Social Council of the Region of Murcia reported bluefin tuna farm production of 3,196 mt with a value of 62.8 million euros for the same 1999 year for the same area. When the mismatch between officially reported landings and actual sale exceeds 400%, how can anyone consider that Spain’s reported landings are complying with ICCAT mandates?

Forget everything else, the fact is the Eastern Atlantic Nations have refused to control or regulate their landing, sale or farming of Bluefin tuna. Meanwhile, the US imposes draconian rules on US commercial and recreational landings for bluefin tuna.

Satellite tagging programs begun by the US 8 years ago have proven beyond all doubt that US bluefin conserved tuna swim across the Atlantic and are then caught and sold by the nations on the rim of the Mediterranean Sea. It has been documented that US fishermen support the absurd NMFS unilateral conservation of HMS species. The fact that US fishermen continue to support the NMFS absurd policies blows my mind.

Keep in mind the US has been part of ICCAT since 1976. The fact that the European and the African states have never observed the ICCAT obligations is totally provable. But other than slapping the wrist of a few small third world countries, ICCAT has never forced the major European fishing countries to comply with ICCAT mandates. If they have refused to follow the rules for 28 years, what miracle will happen to make it worthwhile for the US to continue to be part of this ineffective organization?

Now The Good News

US conservation resulted in massive bluefin tuna year classes in 1995/96. Two years ago this huge body of fish became sexually mature. This year in New Jersey there was the best showing of two-year-old 24/25-inch fish in the last 20 years. There were huge numbers of sub-legal fish seen plus caught and released alive. If these fish are not hammered by the longliners and international fishers this winter, we will have one of the finest showing of 28 to 34 inch fish on record.

Another Good Report

Mahi-Mahi were seen and caught in major numbers inshore and offshore this year. Large 15 to 20 pound fish were caught within 15 miles of the inlet in many New Jersey ports from early August to early September, when winds from hurricane Frances caused a major shift in productive waters. Such large Mahi had become rare catches once longlining in the Florida straights overfished this species over 20 years ago. The moratorium imposed on longliners in Florida has had a major impact on the return of large Mahi to recreational catches. The sad note is that NMFS, in the manner that is typical of their totally biased decision-making, eliminated all meaning to the commercial regulations from the recently approved dolphin/Wahoo management plan. The result was “recreational only” rules and regulations since all meaningful limits on commercial fishermen were eliminated when NMFS approved this new management plan. They did this despite having revised the plan several times and returning the plan to the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council for revisions. After the revisions were made and approved, they gutted the commercial limits in the plan.

Is the Pew report correct in proposing that the current NMFS management group be replaced with a totally new system? Pew wants to separate fishery science from the management’s regulatory decisions and change the regulatory structure. Based on NMFS deplorable and biased choices in the Mahi plan where NMFS gutted all key commercial regulations, there does not appear to be any alternative for recreational anglers to support.

IGFA Conservation Notes

In the latest IGFA magazine, “International Angler” their Conservation notes had the following article about the threats to sea turtles caused by Ocean longlining and pelagic gill nets. A panel of experts of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization released a report in June that recommended closing ocean fisheries that pose the greatest threat to critically endangered Pacific leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles.

The report urges that fisheries, such as gillnets and longlines that pose the worst threats to sea turtles should be subjected to closures. This statement is based on a new report that documents that longlining for tuna, swordfish, and shark kills more than 30,000 turtles per year in the Mediterranean Sea alone. Total turtle deaths in all oceans are many times 30,000 and will clearly cause the extension of oceanic turtles in less than 20 years.

I sure hope the United Nations FOA management is more successful than ICCAT.

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