Contact: Gordon Helm FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(301) 713-2370 5/8/95
The National Marine Fisheries Service has proposed that the bluefin tuna quota allotted to all fishermen be increased from 1,235 metric tons in 1994 to 1,311 metric tons in 1995, the agency announced.
In recent years, annual bluefin quotas had been steadily decreasing because of declining stock levels assessed by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). The international body, however, granted a 76 metric tons increase in the 1995 quotas after an upward reassessment of bluefin tuna stock, the fisheries service said.
The agency, an arm of the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is seeking public comment on its proposed rule to amend regulations to accommodate the ICCAT-proposed quota increase. The public comment period will last until June 7, 1995.
The agency said, however, that it will hold the modest quota increase in reserve to protect bluefin stock from possible overharvest in 1995. The proposed 1995 adjusted quota will take into account any 1994 overharvest or underharvest in such categories as general, angler, purse seine and harpoon (see attached chart).
In addition to the proposed quota allocations, the fisheries service suggests a number of changes to operations of the general, angling, and harpoon boat permit categories. Changes to the regulations for anglers would simplify the regulations, reduce fishing mortality, and lessen information collection burdens. In the general category, the fisheries service proposes lengthening the fishing season by apportioning the annual catch into monthly quotas and setting mandatory days off. At the request of permit holders in the harpoon boat category, the proposal would curtail further expansion of fishing effort by limiting permits. The category is already subject to a limited quota.
In the purse seine category, the fisheries service proposes to maintain bluefin tuna quotas at the 1994 level. The proposed regulations would also limit purse seine fishing for any of the Atlantic tunas to vessels permitted in the bluefin purse seine category, and establish a 350 metric ton yellowfin tuna quota for vessels which have reported yellowfin landings to NMFS during 1989 through 1993. The purse seine yellowfin tuna quota would be allocated in equal shares to eligible vessels and would be transferable, in whole, to any other vessel permitted in the Atlantic tunas fisheries.
The fisheries service also recommends exploring other methods for domestic allocation of bluefin tuna for 1996 and beyond, including access control alternatives to address overcapitalization of the fisheries. Three alternatives were considered in the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement accompanying the proposed rule. The fisheries service expects to begin reviewing the alternatives -- including market driven alternatives -- later this year, and will seek public comment.
Modified permitting and reporting provisions of the proposed rule will enhance data collection and enforcement of catch restrictions to better enable the United States to collect fishery information needed by ICCAT to produce more accurate stock assessments.
Comments on the proposed rule should be sent to Richard B. Stone, Chief, Highly Migratory Species Management Division, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3282. Copies of supporting documents, including a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Regulatory Impact Review/Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis are also available.
Proposed ABT Quotas by Fishing Category
Inseason 1994
1995
Permit Category 1994 Adjustment Adjusted 1994 1994
Adjusted
Quota To Quota Quota Catch Over/Under
Quota
_____________________________________________________________________________
General 531 18 549 642 93
438
Harpoon 53 0 53 59 6
47
Incidental 113 0 113 97 -16
129
Other 4 0 4 2 -2
6
Longline 109 0 109 95 -14
123
North 23 10 33 29 -4
23
South 86 -10 76 66 -10
100
Purse Seine 301 0 301 301 0
301
Angler 219 0 219 118 -101
320
School 120 0 120 70 -50
170
School 99 0 99 48 -51
150
South 46.5 0 46.5 23.1 -23
70
North 52.5 0 52.5 24.5 -28
80
Total Allocated 1217 18 1235 1217 -18
1235
Reserve 18 -18 0 0 0
94
Total US ICCAT 1235 0 1235 1217 -18
1329
___________________________________________________________________________
Note: Overharvest/underharvest in 1994 is applied to 1994 base quotas to calculate 1995 adjusted quotas. The total 14 mt underharvest in the longline category was applied to the base quota for the southern subcategory to compensate for the 1994 inseason transfer