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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 36 Number 9
May 2009
Groups ask Congress to help save HMS quota
SALEM, MA – A coalition of groups representing US swordfish and bluefin tuna fishermen is asking Congress to intervene in domestic and international highly migratory species (HMS) management in a last-ditch effort to preserve US quota shares.
“We have reached the unfortunate conclusion that the domestic HMS management process is fundamentally broken and completely unable to respond to the changing dynamics of our fisheries,” the group wrote in a March 26 letter to 18 US senators.
Specifically, the letter says that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has failed to provide a “reasonable opportunity to harvest” the quotas granted to the US by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).
The resulting quota shortfalls are making it nearly certain that – unless action is taken at the highest levels of government – ICCAT will move to reallocate US quota to other countries, including those with poor conservation track records and little history in the fisheries.
Another serious problem identified by the coalition is the fact that the US is represented at ICCAT by NMFS and midlevel State Department staffers.
In stark contrast, the European Community, Asian fishing nations, and even many of the developing nations such as Mexico, Belize, Senegal, and Morocco, send diplomats of the highest level to ICCAT, demonstrating the high priority these countries give to fisheries production, food economy, and fishing related employment.
“The plain truth is that the US is severely outgunned, out-maneuvered, and increasingly dismissed in these international negotiations by coalitions of nations formed specifically to thwart US objectives,” the letter stated.
The letter was signed by representatives of: Blue Water Fishermen’s Association; Garden State Seafood Association; North Carolina Fisheries Association; North Shore Community Tuna Association; East Coast Tuna Association; General Category Tuna Association; Northeast Bluefin Tuna Association; and Stellwagen Bank Charter Boat Association.
Recommendations
The authors specifically asked the senators to demand that NMFS make “relatively modest, common sense revisions to domestic regulations that would enable our fishermen to use more of our sustainable ICCAT quotas.”
Many of those suggested revisions were presented to NMFS at an HMS Advisory Panel meeting in February and a March public hearing on the proposed rule for the 2009 bluefin tuna season (see CFN April 2009).
They include: apply the three-fish-per-day bluefin limit to each day of multiday trips to allow boats to travel and fish further offshore where bluefin have been available in recent years; reduce the minimum size for commercial sale of bluefin to 65"; make modest increases in bluefin bycatch limits during directed swordfish trips; allow fishing year-round; and expedite research in selected closed areas by swordfish longline vessels to demonstrate the effectiveness of circle hooks and other bycatch reduction fishing methods, training, and tools.
On the international front, the authors asked the senators to follow through on a Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act amendment that requires the secretary of commerce to designate “a senate-confirmed senior official to personally represent the US in all international fishery negotiations, including ICCAT.”
They further asked the senators to “develop and implement an effective strategy to achieve US objectives, including a serious effort to secure the support of other ICCAT nations for US interests.”
This, the letter’s authors said, would require a “thoughtfully planned and aggressively implemented diplomatic effort at an elevated level within the US government that must begin well in advance of each ICCAT annual meeting.”
In conclusion, the letter stated, “The US HMS fisheries need your help now. It is clear to us that what Congress intended is not being implemented and we are soon going to permanently lose our swordfish and bluefin tuna quota shares. This is bad for the fish, terrible for US fishermen, and the US coastal economy, and will lead to the loss of thousands of more jobs.” /cfn/
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