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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 37 Number 5
January 2010
Fishing industry petition aimed at stopping US FWS support for bluefin CITES listing
SALEM, NH – The fishing industry has launched a campaign to stop what it increasingly believes is the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) intent to support an international ban on the trade of Atlantic bluefin tuna.
On Dec. 2, 18 members of the American Bluefin Tuna Association (ABTA) traveled to Washington, DC to attend the sole hearing that FWS held to take public comment on which species the US should support for listing at the March meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
ABTA Executive Director Rich Ruais praised the fishermen who made the trip at significant personal expense, as well as the impressive efforts of associate Glenn Delaney, who explained the industry’s carefully documented position to the agency. But Ruais said he was sobered by the reception they received.
“I fear the people at FWS have made up their minds about bluefin and that public comment will not change them,” he said.
Trying a different tack, the ABTA has created an online petition in hopes of convincing the Obama administration and members of Congress that a CITES listing for bluefin tuna is unnecessary and will undo all the progress made for bluefin conservation at the November meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).
Within days, the petition had nearly 1,200 signatures. It demands that the US government oppose any listing of bluefin under CITES and stresses that bluefin are not endangered.
“The latest 2008 stock assessment … estimates that there are at least 5,170,000 bluefin prospering in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea,” the petition states.
“Atlantic bluefin tuna are not remotely close to being endangered with extinction. Nor could fishermen chase down the last several hundred pairs of a highly fecund tuna, which produce millions of eggs and are widely distributed from Argentina to Norway,” it continues.
The petition briefly explains the significant steps made at ICCAT that resulted in long-time violator nations agreeing to a strictly enforced, multiyear conservation plan that is in line with scientific advice, as well as additional sacrifices western Atlantic fishermen are making to rebuild the stock on this side of the ocean.
“A CITES listing would only hurt the US fishermen who have been conserving the resource, doing more than our share, and following the scientific advice since 1981,” the petition states.
Ruais said he hoped that all fishermen would take a moment to go online to electronically sign the petition. It may be found at this address: <www.petitiononline.com/tuna09/petition.html>.
Enviros adamant
There are two kinds of CITES listings. Appendix I is applied to species threatened with extinction and under it, commercial trade between consenting countries is not permitted. Appendix II is applied to species that could become threatened with extinction unless trade is strictly regulated and typically involves extensive documentation requirements for any trade between countries.
In October, the Principality of Monaco officially proposed listing bluefin tuna as an Appendix I species. FWS will determine whether the US will support the Monaco proposal.
Following the ICCAT meeting, which concluded Nov. 15, environmental groups were adamant that not enough had been done to protect overfished bluefin stocks and that CITES remained the last hope to save the big fish.
“Now more than ever, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) sees a global trade ban as the only hope for Atlantic bluefin,” said Sergi Tudela, head of WWF’s Mediterranean fisheries branch. “Common sense says that a trade ban supported by a temporary fishing closure is currently what is needed for the recovery of Atlantic tuna.”
Greenpeace, too, said a CITES listing was justified.
“ICCAT’s own scientists recently demonstrated that the current bluefin tuna reproductive population is less than 15% of what it once was before fishing began, meaning Atlantic bluefin tuna meets the criteria for a such a trade ban under CITES Appendix I listing,” said Greenpeace.
Industry argument
The ABTA has put forward a long list of reasons why a CITES listing for bluefin is unjustified and could potentially hurt the long-term health of the bluefin tuna resource and the fishery. The reasons include the following.
Bluefin tuna are “not remotely” threatened with endangerment or extinction due to their high fecundity, meaning their ability to produce many offspring.
Said Ruais, “I have not seen any suggestion by any mainstream, credible bluefin tuna scientist that mankind is capable of fishing to extinction a species with the reproductive capacity and wide distribution of bluefin tuna.”
Furthermore, he added, economics would force the end of the fishery far before the last several hundred or several thousand pairs of bluefin could be harvested.
The latest ICCAT stock assessment estimates that there are now over 5 million bluefin in the Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea and that about 1 million of those are spawners. This compares to the total annual US harvest, which is less than 15,000 fish for all fisheries combined.
Reduced catches in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean in the last few years already are having a positive impact on bluefin availability in the US, Norway, United Kingdom, and Brazil.
ICCAT adopted a rebuilding plan that reduces catches even further in 2010 and again in 2011 and beyond in line with scientific advice. Starting in 2011, this new rebuilding plan has a 60% probability of achieving a biomass that will meet maximum sustainable yield targets by 2023.
ICCAT also finally has turned a corner in terms of countries actually complying with the agreements they sign.
“The chairman of ICCAT, Dr. Fabio Hazin, proclaimed that ‘The days of funny numbers are over at ICCAT,’” said Ruais. “This is further evidence that this course change is irreversible.” And,
A CITES listing likely would undermine all of this progress because countries that disagree with the restrictions have the right to file a formal objection or “reservation” to the listing. Countries that object to agreements do not have to comply with them.
“Japan has objected seven times to CITES listings of marine species,” Ruais said. “It is likely that Japanese markets will remain open to bluefin tuna if a CITES Appendix I listing is obtained. Libya, Turkey, Algeria, Taiwan, the Philippines, and other countries likely would seek windfall profits to supply shortages caused by countries like the US that are likely to abide by a CITES decision.”
UN on bluefin
In mid-December, an advisory panel of 22 independent fishery experts from 15 different countries convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations met for six days before issuing recommendations on several proposals to limit trade under CITES.
Interestingly, the panel did not reach 100% consensus regarding a proposed CITES Appendix I listing for bluefin tuna, although a majority of the panel did agreed that “the available evidence supports the proposal,” the FAO said.
However, the panel did reach consensus that “the evidence available supports the inclusion of Atlantic bluefin tuna (under) Appendix II,” the FAO said.
Dogfish, sharks
The panel also issued a finding on spiny dogfish, another species important to the Northeast fishing industry that environmental groups have targeted for trade restrictions under CITES Appendix II.
The panel found that dogfish did not meet the criteria for such a listing. At the same time, it said that inadequate management in some areas is a cause for “serious concern” and urged that these shortcomings be “remedied.”
The US dogfish fishery is widely viewed as well managed, while European stocks are seriously overfished.
Additionally, the panel recommended Appendix II listings for several species of sharks, including oceanic whitetip, porbeagle, and scalloped hammerheads, as well as great hammerheads and smooth hammerheads for enforcement purposes because they are considered scalloped hammerhead look-alikes.
Lorelei Stevens
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