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Random Quote: Wisdom is the ability to recognize a mistake when you've made it again
With the backdrop of Monaco proposing a CITES 1 listing for Atlantic Bluefin tuna and a massive ENGO worldwide campaign in support including PEW spending millions leading up to and at this ICCAT meeting, significant action was adopted by ICCAT and written primarily by the EC.
The new Recommendation will reduce catches in the Mediterranean and East Atlantic to 13,500 mt for 2010 (almost 50% reduction), allow the purse seine fishery only one month to fish (May 15 to June 15 i.e. an 11 month closure), cancellation of the of the 5 weather days and finally establishment next year of a 3 year rebuilding plan with a 60% probability of stock recovery and easily requiring another major quota reduction to somewhere between zero and 8,000 mt for 2011.
For the west, our quota remains the same as planned for 2010 (i.e. 1,800 mt). We didn't lose a pound yet and this is due to excellent talking points and arguments by Rebecca. Round One to the GOOD GUYS!!!
The fight is just beginning; A March CITES meeting still threatens our June 1 opening. The big question now is where will the US and EC stand on CITES? It is not clear. Both could still support an Appendix 1 or 2 listing and fueled by PEW supported enviro groups that want nothing more than a CITES pelt under their belt.
I will explain more after I return. The details could easily fill a book. It is Sunday evening, the meeting just ended. Glenn and I begin the return tomorrow and don't get home until Tuesday. I will be out of communication for the next two days.
We have a lot of people to thank for this including Mike Conathan, Glenn Delaney, Mark Gleason and many more. Way to go ABTA .
Thanks for your note! It was tough going but the US pushed hard and the results are pretty good. The most amazing part is that the EC and others were definitely anxious and listening to the US. Despite our continued concerns about our level of influence, the US voice is heard!
Thanks for sending Rich - he is a smart and savvy guy, and an unflagging source of support. I am very grateful for the encouragement from all of you!
All we know so far is that things went very well, the other side agreed to massive cuts as well as other changes such as shorter seasons, etc. While the meeting is going on, due to the high level nature of the meetings they are not allowed to speak to the public. Now the meeting is over but its going to take everyone 3 days or so of travel to get back, so until then we wont know any of the details. But, again, what we do know is that it went well and we will get more details once people are back in the US. Stay tuned.
« Back to All Media9/16 SSC Meeting, 9/17 NEFMC Herring Committee Meeting, 9/23 NEFMC Meeting
October 05, 2009
CHOIR Update
There have been a bunch of important herring meetings lately, with a lot of important developments. Below are short summaries of these meetings.
– 9/16 Science and Statistical Committee Meeting, Warwick RI As has been mentioned on here once or twice in the past month, there have been some major developments regarding the science pertaining to Atlantic herring stocks. Since herring is a shared resource between Canada and the US, much of the major stock assessment work is done by scientists from both countries under what is called the Transboundary Resources Assessment Committee, or TRAC. The TRAC met this summer to do an update on the stock assessment. The results showed that the herring resource is not as healthy as had been believed. Due to what the TRAC calls a “signifcant retrospective pattern”, it appears that Spawning Stock Biomass (SSB0 has been greatly overestimated in recent years, at a range of 14-56%, averaging slightly above 40%. What this means is that the models have been overestimating the size of the stock. The TRAC also noted that recruitment is down below the historic levels and that overall biomass has dropped by almost 200,000mt to 650,700mt. Instead of rehashing everything that the TRAC said, here is a link to the TRAC report: TRAC Report
The SSC met on the 16th and discussed these findings. The SSC is responsible for setting the Allowable Biological Catch (ABC) and the Overfishing limit (OFL) for all NEFMC-managed fisheries and so they had to take the TRAC data and decide how to use it. For reference, the OFL is the product of the fishing mortality rate that will produce MSY and the current biomass, and ABC is the amount of fish that can be taken by the herring fishery. The SSC, while noting that there is a lot uncertainty around the numbers, endorsed the TRAC assessment as a basis for projection of the ABC and OFL. Now, since National Standard 1 states that OFL should be below ABC, and that the “buffer” between them should account for scientific uncertainty, the SSC used the figure developed by the TRAC of 40% (which again was the average figure) to develop the buffer. As a result, this means that the ABC, as recommended by the SSC, is 90,000mt. I will attach the SSC report to this email incase anyone wants to read more about their decision and how they got to it.
The bottom line is that the quotas are going to be dropping significantly in the coming years as that 90,000mt figure is not the final figure. The Canadian catch, averaging just over 16,000mt a year, is subtracted to end up with a total quota of 73,700 mt for the entire herring fishery. As many of you may remember, just a few years ago there were landings of close to 90,000mt in Area 1A alone. The Council will have to set the area quotas and so nobody knows for sure what the final numbers will be, but it is possible that the Area 1A quota will be as low as 25,000mt or less. While it is impossible to say what has caused this drop, many people are thinking back to the damage that was done by the midwater boats in this region a few years back. It is unfortunate what those boats did because these cuts are going to hurt the seiners and the lobstermen who rely on herring as well.
– 9/17 Herring Committee Meeting, Warwick RI The Committee met the day after the SSC and the goal was to continue work on the catch monitoring alternatives in Amendment 5. As you all know, this process has been going on for over a year now and while going slower than many had hoped, the process is moving ahead. The main issue discussed at the 9/17 meeting was the new “streamlined” discussion document that was produced by a couple members of the Committee. While Lori Steele is usually in charge of all things relating to herring amendments, she has not had the time needed to really focus on producing an effective document. The restructuring basically split up all the alternatives and jumbled them into new sections grouped by subject. In other words, while the prior alternatives were complete packages, now you have sections on “shoreside monitoring” and “at sea monitoring”, etc. While the intentions appear to be good, many are worried about the new structure. For example, the monitoring system outlined in the prior Alternative 3 was put together as a package. When you separate out the components as has been done in the new draft you run the risk of separating things that were really meant to be kept together. While the new document is moving ahead, there is a lot of work to be done and it should be interesting to see how things turn out.
The Committee is not going to work on the monitoring issues again until February, as it will be working on developing Specifications (area quotas, etc) in the next couple meetings. But the committee made clear that when the Specs are done they hope that Lori will be able to devote all her time to the document so that it can get to where it needs to be. Lori is very good at putting together amednment documents and so it really is essential that she be able to put all her time into developing this one. I think its safe to say that most people hoped that the process would be further ahead than it is now. Some of this is due to the staff issues, and some of it is due to the complex nature of the actions being developed in the amendment. But part of the problem is that some have been made it their main goal to delay the process, which is unfortunate. That said, I think the Committee is getting frustrated about the time this taking (finally) and so hopefully when discussions resume in a couple months a lot of good progress can be made quickly.
– 9/23 NEFMC Meeting The Council met for three days last week in Plymouth, MA, and while herring was not on the agenda, it was brought up on Wednesday morning during the TRAC/SSC reports. While the SSC numbers are final, a couple members of the Council grilled Pat Sullivan (who gave the SSC report) about the recommendations. The majority of questioning came from David Pierce. The main points he and others were making pertained to the “buffer” between OFL and ABC. As mentioned above, the SSC decided to go with 40%, which was rounded up from 37%. There was a range of percentages though and Pierce and others were questioning Sullivan about why they chose 40% and whether or not they could go lower. Pierce then made a motion requesting that the SSC take another look at the numbers and see if they could go with a lower buffer. After a lot of discussion, this motion was passed on an 8-7 vote. While Sullivan pointed out that this was not likely going to change anything, he said the SSC would look at it again since the Council was requesting them to do so. Most people seem to think that nothing will change but we will keep you all posted on any developments.
There are more meetings in the near future, and we will keep you posted on what happens at these meetings.
My View: Good news on global tuna, swordfishing fronts
My View
Jim Balsiger
November 27, 2009 05:35 am
- On this day after Thanksgiving, I write about good news for all of us who want healthy bluefin tuna and swordfish populations in the North Atlantic Ocean.
In response to pressure from the U.S. delegation led by NOAA's Dr. Rebecca Lent and including NOAA Chief of Staff Margaret Spring, the nations that make up the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas lowered fishing quotas 32 percent for the bluefin tuna stock that spawns in the Mediterranean Sea.
"From the industry's perspective, we're blown away by the leadership qualities of Rebecca Lent and Margaret Spring," said Rich Ruais, executive director of the American Bluefin Tuna Association and Bluewater Fishermen's Association and a member of the U.S. delegation to the international meeting this month in Brazil. "Their ability to call home and get support shows the U.S. was serious and meant business. It made a huge difference."
New England bluefin tuna fishermen have joined the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for years in arguing for lower quotas and an end to illegal fishing of the bluefin stock that spawns in the Mediterranean Sea. This Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean stock mixes in the North Atlantic with the Western Atlantic bluefin tuna stock that spawns in the Gulf of Mexico.
U.S. fishermen benefit when both stocks are healthy and can be fished at a sustainable level.
The international commission had added pressure this year from a proposal to another international body to ban the international trade of bluefin tuna.
Gloucester is the largest bluefin tuna port on the East Coast, home to 150 commercial bluefin vessels. Some two-thirds of bluefin tuna landed in Gloucester and other East Coast ports is sold to Japan for the sushi market; the other third is sold here in the United States. Bluefins fetch as much as $30 per pound at the dock and are caught commercially in sizes ranging from 175 pounds to more than half a ton.
For years, U.S. fishermen have heeded strict bluefin tuna fishing quotas based on scientific advice to rebuild the stock that spawns in the Gulf of Mexico. In stark contrast, the fishing quota for the stock that spawns in the Mediterranean has been set much higher than scientists have recommended.
On top of that, significant illegal fishing has led to a dangerous decline in the Mediterranean stock's population.
The 2010 quota for the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean stock of 13,500 metric tons is a marked improvement.
Although our team argued for a quota no higher than 8,000 metric tons to guarantee the long-term viability of the fish and the fishery, I am pleased with this progress.
Our team also made unprecedented progress in holding countries accountable for complying with fishing regulations. Spurred by the United States, the commission is now identifying the nations that have not reported their catches and halted illegal fishing.
The U.S. team brought home welcome news on North Atlantic swordfish as well. The international commission's panel of scientists announced that the stock has rebounded to a healthy level that can be fished sustainably. This is the first major recovery of a fish species by any international commission.
During the swordfish discussions, our delegation successfully argued that U.S. fishermen who sacrificed to rebuild swordfish and who use techniques that protect the larger marine ecosystem should not be penalized by reducing their percentage of the quota.
I hope we can convince other nations to adopt the gear and fishing practices pioneered by our fishermen that protect sea turtles and other species. This would create a fairer international marketplace for our swordfishermen, who take on higher costs than their counterparts in fishing nations that do not protect the larger ecosystem.
One sign of progress was that Canada agreed to work with the U.S. to consider these techniques.
The United States sent a diverse team to the meeting, with representatives from the commercial and recreational fishing industries, environmental community, Congress - including from U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe's office - and our NOAA team of scientists, policymakers and negotiators. This team made real progress.
Our global oceans depend on us working together to rebuild depleted fish stocks while conserving marine ecosystems.
well from what ive been told things are different know that the US sent some powerfull people there . that the US will do thing to stop what been going on over there . we had the most powerfull delagation that went over ever i think . so they know we mean business this time
Ah, big scary people from washington. That works every time.
The only reason they acted was the threat of the nucular option - the cites listing. They know that will hurt us as well, and they managed to push it out at least a couple of years. By then, they are probably hoping either for regime change or a different set of priorities in washington.
They still have no reason to comply with the new regs. Is there even any enhanced monitoring or reporting? If not, it could be three to five years before anyone knows they are still cheating.
Sorry for the cynical attitude here. You live long enough, and you realize nothing really changes after the smoke clears.
__________________
Terry Jason 35, Yanmar 370 hp, Lots of fun at a leisurely pace
The steep Reductions in tonage is definately a step in the right direction and i know we can't have everything all at once but, over seas enforcment of the catch limits is next to non existent and without enforcment and stiff fines for the contries who dont follow the rules nothing will really change.
That said I am glad to see such a large step in the right direction.
Went to Washington yesterday for the Fish and Wildlife Cites hearing. It is clear that enviros still want blood no matter how good ICCAT changes appear. They want the Bluefin Fishermen’s pelt under their belt and the CITIES trophy on the wall.
Don't forget that ICCAT SCRS held a special scientific meeting and determined that it is likely that the current stock meets the CITES criteria for appendix one CITES. And, that FAO meets next week to determine for CITES if BLUEFIN should be included under CITIES one for the vote in March. Bluefin still remains a very political foot ball.
Went to Washington yesterday for the Fish and Wildlife Cites hearing. It is clear that enviros still want blood no matter how good ICCAT changes appear. They want the Bluefin Fishermen’s pelt under their belt and the CITIES trophy on the wall.
Don't forget that ICCAT SCRS held a special scientific meeting and determined that it is likely that the current stock meets the CITES criteria for appendix one CITES. And, that FAO meets next week to determine for CITES if BLUEFIN should be included under CITIES one for the vote in March. Bluefin still remains a very political foot ball.
Wish I could follow some of this top secret encrypted code!!
ICCAT
SCRS
CITES CHOIR Science and Statistical Committee TRAC SSC ABC OFL MSY NOAA NMFS Area 1A (near area 51? Is there now a quota on little green dudes?) Herring Committee Meeting, NEFMC
Wish I could follow some of this top secret encrypted code!!
ICCAT
SCRS
CITES CHOIR Science and Statistical Committee TRAC SSC ABC OFL MSY NOAA NMFS Area 1A (near area 51? Is there now a quota on little green dudes?) Herring Committee Meeting, NEFMC
great tuna news 
I thought something else happend down their regarding fishing.... 
