WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A bright
new chapter for bluefin tuna has begun. NOAA Fisheries just issued
a strong final amendment Aug. 29 for
protecting these giants of the ocean. With the promulgation of
implementing regulations, the new amendment will help stop western
Atlantic bluefin—and approximately 80 other types of marine
wildlife—from unnecessarily dying on surface longlines, fishing
gear that is intended primarily for yellowfin tuna and swordfish,
but indiscriminately kills other species.
"NOAA Fisheries deserves great praise for significantly
increasing protections for bluefin while allowing fishing for
yellowfin tuna and swordfish to continue," said Lee Crockett, director of U.S. ocean
conservation for The Pew Charitable Trusts. "This historic action
will help western Atlantic bluefin tuna rebuild to healthy
levels."
Bluefin tuna command respect. They're as fast as racehorses,
bring fishermen to their knees, and grow to the size of a small
car. These "superfish" make transoceanic migrations, can dive
deeper than 4,000 feet, and live up to 40 years. But bluefin are no
match for wasteful fishing methods. The population of western
Atlantic bluefin tuna is just 36 percent of its already depleted
1970 level. This decline is caused in part by surface
longlining.
Surface longlines average 30 miles in length, use hundreds of
baited hooks, and often remain in the water untended for up to 18
hours. This gear catches and kills bluefin along with many other
species, including hammerhead sharks, blue marlin, and leatherback
sea turtles.
For the past half-century, surface longlines in the Gulf of Mexico have been a serious danger to
western Atlantic bluefin tuna. The Gulf is the fish's only known
spawning area. The same fishing gear poses a similar threat to
bluefin feeding off the coast of North
Carolina.
NOAA Fisheries has tried for decades to reduce the incidental
catch, or bycatch, caused by surface longlines. Fishermen have been
prohibited from directly targeting bluefin tuna in the Gulf since
1982. The agency also required gear modifications and bait
restrictions. None of those options has provided the comprehensive
solution this problem demanded.
The agency realized it needed a different approach. It spent
five years developing new management measures to help protect
bluefin tuna while also supporting fishermen who use highly
targeted methods.
Today's final amendment restricts the use of surface longline
fishing in certain areas of the Gulf of
Mexico and off Cape Hatteras,
North Carolina, while promoting highly selective gear such
as greensticks for yellowfin tuna and buoy gear for swordfish.
Ensuring that surface longlines are not used when and where bluefin
gather in great numbers to spawn and feed will dramatically reduce
the amount needlessly caught and killed.
This amendment also establishes a new annual limit on the
incidental catch of bluefin on surface longlines and 100 percent
electronic monitoring of the surface longline fleet. Thanks to
these and other changes, the agency will now be able to hold
individual surface longline vessels accountable for their
incidental bluefin catch. NOAA Fisheries will also be able to
prevent the fishery from exceeding its total allowable bluefin
catch. This limit is needed: Surface longlines catch more bluefin
tuna now than before 1982. In 2012 alone, surface longline vessels
in the Gulf and western Atlantic Ocean discarded 445,338 pounds of
dead bluefin tuna. This quantity was more than 20 percent of the
entire U.S. bluefin quota for that year.
"The two new gear-restricted areas in the Gulf are a tremendous
achievement," said Crockett. "For more than 10 years, scientists,
fishermen, and other stakeholders have urged the agency to protect
western Atlantic bluefin in their only known spawning area. NOAA
Fisheries clearly demonstrated its dedication and commitment to
restoring bluefin tuna."
One disappointing aspect of the amendment, however, is the
reallocation of bluefin tuna quota away from selective fishermen
using rod and reels and harpoons to the surface longline fleet.
Providing more bluefin to the surface longline fleet does not
promote conservation of the species and reduces fishing
opportunities for traditional bluefin fishermen.
"Despite this reallocation, this final amendment is stronger
than the draft and will help put depleted bluefin tuna on the road
to recovery," said Crockett.
Contact: Dave Bard, 202-486-4426,
dbard@pewtrusts.org
SOURCE The Pew Charitable Trusts