Ellen Peel who was recently appointed as the new U.S. Commissioner to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) is in Brazil today for the start of the 21st annual meeting of the commission.
But on the eve of the 10 day (Nov. 6 – 15) summit Ms. Peel, who has been the president of The Billfish Foundation for over a decade, is not highly optimistic any strong changes will be made among the attending countries to conservation of tuna and related species.
“The past failure of ICCAT to passscience-based conservation measures forAtlantic bluefin tuna have been cited in proposals by Monaco and other nations to have the species listed by the Convention for International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES),” said Peel.
“Last month the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Interior announced that they will support a CITES listing if ICCAT fails to pass strong conservation measures during the Brazil meeting. A CITES listing would prohibit international trade in bluefin tuna but would not affect the recreational or commercial harvest and trade of fish taken within a nation’s waters.
“TBF took a position supporting a CITES listing last July,” continued Peel, “and while we stand ready to endorse a very strong conservation measure by ICCAT this year we are not overly optimistic.”
ICCAT is an inter-governmental fishery organization responsible for the conservation of tunas and tuna-like species in the Atlantic Ocean and its adjacent seas which includes the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea. The commission holds a regular meeting every other year and a special meeting in alternate years. Currently there are 48 member nations.
In October Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator, said, “We are sending a clear and definitive statement to the international community that the status quo is not acceptable. Over the past 40 years, the international body that manages bluefin tuna, ICCAT, has overseen a 72 percent decline in the adult population of the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean stock of bluefin tuna and an 82 percent decline in the adult population of the western Atlantic stock.”
TBF Chief Scientist Dr. Russell Nelson, who served as a research biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service, and was the Chief Scientist and Director of Marine Fisheries for the State of Florida is again serving on the U.S. delegation at the ICCAT meetings.
Nelson stated, “I do not believe that anything short of a fully enforced ICCAT moratorium on international trade of bluefin tuna in the Atlantic will send amessage sufficient to avoid a CITES listing. It’sfrankly unlikelythat the illegal and unreported fishing that is landing twice the tonnage recommended by the science can be controlled.”
A meeting of the member nations of CITES will take place in March 13 – 24 in Doha, Qatar.
Peel added, “We do feel somewhat optimistic though that the new Chair of ICCAT, Fabio Hazen a scientist from Brazil, is working hard to get something out of this session.
“We are also encouraged there will be a working group meeting on Sport and Recreational Fishing this week at the Brazil meetings. This is a first. Many nations do not acknowledge their sportfisheries and view them more as a nuisance rather than an economic driver and an activity compatible with conserving the resources. Many nations therefore do not collect data from their sportfisheries, hence no data, no fishery that needs acknowledgement.”
She said TBF wants to help change that, getting members from the sportfishing communities on the delegations of other nations to change the dialogue.
“If others, commercial and government, are only thinking of ?pounds of fish dead on the deck for consumption’there is no meaningful debate. This will take a long time, but we all know there are many businesses in Asia and elsewhere that benefit from sportfishing, and we need them to be part of the ICCAT dialogue.”
Many overfished species like juvenile tuna are part of the food chain for the migrating billfish. Increasingly more countries are witnessing the value of the migration of sailfish and marlin in their regions as catch-and-release sportfish adding greatly to tourism dollars and to the growth of their economy.
Headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., The Billfish Foundation works with governments worldwide advancing the conservation of billfish and associated species to improve the health of oceans and regional economies. Most recently it has been assisting with governmental efforts in numerous Central and South American countries.
Established in 1986 by the late Winthrop P. Rockefeller, TBF is the only non-profit organization dedicated solely to conserving and enhancing billfish populations worldwide. TBF’s comprehensive network of members and supporters includes anglers, captains, mates, tournament directors, clubs, sport fishing and tourism businesses. By coordinating efforts and speaking with one voice, the organization works for solutions that are good for billfish, not punitive to recreational anglers and good for the local economy.
Reach Ms. Peel at [email protected] or by phone at 800-438-8247, ext 108.
