To: HMS/NMFS/NOAA, Commercial & Sport Fisherman: Thanks & We Can Do This!
I attended the public hearing on Highly Migratory Species (Bluefin tuna are categorized as such) in Plymouth Massachusetts last night organized by the officers of the HMS Division which is part of our government's agency NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Services). So this is the Fed of fishing. I have to say, I was impressed by the professionalism and organization/presentation by HMS officers. It's always in the details and they are doing small things like giving copies of their deck out for review. This really helps so kudos to the group for a job well done.
Make no mistake, I was the severe minority here on issues around whether we decide to catch more bluefin tuna or kill more bluefin tuna. Although I was out represented by almost 30 to 1, the crowd let me speak and be heard so I thank all of the attendees for the chance to speak. Frankly I think we agree on a lot of issues and as a result I look forward to reaching out to some folks to explore ways in which we can unite. Some of the speakers have been involved in these issues for decades and as a relative newcomer, I recognize the value of the intellectual capital and look forward to more productive interaction. Instead of re-capping it all here again I decided to cut and paste the official comments I submitted to the HMS division today on the issues at stake. You will see that SaveTheBluefin supports the interests of the fish and the fisherman - both sport and commercial. Here are the requests SaveTheBluefin is making of the agency;
Request: Strengthen US Delegation at ICCAT
Overarching many of the issues discussed domestically is the state of the delegation that attends ICCAT meetings. This delegation simply needs more power to carry out the agenda for the United States’ stakeholders in regards to the species managed by ICCAT. It appears that all domestic constituents agree on this request. SaveTheBluefin will aid domestic offices such as NMFS and other agencies to help act on this measure swiftly with an end goal of being prepared for the next ICCAT meetings in 2010.
Request: Evaluate Quota Loss At Future ICCAT Meetings:
It appears that the fear of losing quota to other nations at the hands of ICCAT is driving the US internal stakeholders to request reductions of restrictions that will allow the capture of more WBFT (Western Atlantic Bluefin Tuna). The belief seems to rest on the premise that catching more WBFT will enable the US to fill more of its quota and by doing so would avoid a re-allocation of its quota by ICCAT to another nation. If there is evidence that the US quota is in danger, then SaveTheBluefin supports immediate action to oppose such a measure. If there is no such evidence, then SaveTheBluefin reiterates that killing more bluefin to protect a hypothesis is not the best choice for the rebuilding of the stocks of the WBFT.
Request: Do Not Lower The Minimum Size For WBFT to 65”
Please do not lower the smaller WBFT in the 65” class to be targeted. This would place a target on one of positive year classes for the WBFT biomass. SaveTheBluefin requests that all US stakeholders protect this class of fish both in the Western and Eastern Atlantic at all costs. The end result being that this class of fish could reach the GOM (Gulf of Mexico), spawn successfully and jump start a rebuilding process by injecting the biomass with a significant fry count. Should this scenario play out, the point in time that the stock decline would stop and start an upward trend sooner than if this cohort of fish is targeted and reduced. SaveTheBluefin supports any scientific research that estimates the effects this class of fish may on the timing and effect of a recovery plan if protected.
Request: Establish or Confirm A WBFT Stock Assessment Baseline
At two of the pubic hearings there was considerable public comment that the WBFT stocks are in much better shape than science and conservationists portray. At the Plymouth Mass, hearing on June 29th, 2009 several captains that cited being on the water earlier in the day, report seeing large schools of WBFT. There appears to be significant disagreement between the domestic stakeholders on the status of the WBFT biomass. Finding a baseline that US domestic stakeholders can agree would be fundamental in tracking how future measures perform.
Request: Close Gulf Of Mexico During Spawning WBFT Season
SaveTheBluefin requests a closure for the few Spring months that the WBFT is spawning in the GOM. This is an emergency action that should be adopted for Spring 2010 as a temporary measure to protect against a collapse of the species.
Request: Appoint Independent Evaluation of ‘Weak Hook” Test:
The announcement made at the public hearings by the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Association/Bluewater of the development of a smart hook that will straighten out when a fish over a certain size makes its first run. SaveTheBluefin supports technological solutions to better fishery management and is in favor of supporting the upcoming test in the North East where some 130k hooks will be staged as a testing period. SaveTheBluefin requests an independent agency be appointed that is approved by all US stakeholders to evaluate the effectiveness of these “weak hooks” to function as stated and further to ensure spawning WBFT would be spared as well. SaveTheBluefin supports technological solutions that can effectively protect a target species (i.e. spawning WBFT) while at the same time allowing commercial fishermen to remain fishing.
Request: Do Not Open Closed Areas and Retain Closed Time Periods
SaveTheBluefin requests that closed areas remain closed and closed time periods remain closed until measures taken by the US prove to get the WBFT stock on an upward trend. Using the SWO as an example, once a re-build is underway, exploring ways to safely increase TAL (Total Allowable Catch) is supported. At this emergency stage, increasing these two major levers seems counter to any commitment to rebuild the stocks in the face of a species collapse.
Request: Address Consumer Awareness:
As a matter of operation, SaveTheBluefin.com is active in the blogosphere and other social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook. Consumer awareness about the problems facing the bluefin tuna has gained more momentum in the last 6 months than in the last several years. The bluefin tuna has been the subject of main editorial and opinion articles from the world’s top media organizations such as New York Times, Washington Post, UK Telegraph and many, many more. Running a Google search under “Bluefin Tuna” news will bring a fresh river of coverage from major media outlets on a daily basis. A year ago there were hardly mentions of bluefin tuna on Twitter, now there are mentions many times per day. The French Navy is now on patrol in the Med as is Greenpeace’s RainBow Warrior. In addition to this mass coverage of the issue, there are significant online properties like the Huffington Post, TreeHugger and many more with significant audiences covering this issue as well. This has led to thousands of smaller bloggers, telling this story to their audiences. Now social platforms like Twitter are abuzz with people who care about this issue. A year ago, when I founded SaveTheBluefin, there was much less buzz in all categories. Now we have a feature film (THE END OF THE LINE), movie stars protesting famous eateries like NOBU and significant retail companies like Pret A Manger and others taking bluefin off the shelves. This growing negative sentiment in the world consumer market needs to be addressed and watched. Rapid changes in consumer sentiment can destroy markets quickly and can produce negative effects for current stakeholders. SaveTheBluefin recommends that the US domestic stakeholders who are in the business of catching bluefin take a leadership position on the bluefin and get “out in front” of the consumer perception process. Taking measures to protect the bluefin should be communicated and the US should lead by example and seek other nations to do so as well. There is a massive and active conversation going on right now in the media and online and US domestic stakeholders need more of a voice.
Request: Promote / Leverage Swordfish Case Study:
The SWO (Swordfish) rebuilding process is a working, recent example that the USA can turn around a domestic fishery given the right parties’ agreements. What can be learned and applied to BFT (Bluefin tuna) from the success of the SWO rebuild? Aside from what may be gleaned from the success of the SWO rebuilding process, SaveTheBluefin recommends that the SWO story be told and promoted as an example of a HMS species success story.
Request: Do Not Fold Harpoon Into General Category:
The Harpoon Category is represented by a small (~30) group of fisherman whose lives are built on generational tradition. This is a valuable microcosm of American heritage and given their effect on the overall stocks, the benefit of maintaining their way of life and tradition is greater than the proposed movement.
Request: Charter Boats To Fish Both General / Angling Category:
Under a quota that is based on a firm commitment to re-build the stocks of the WBFT, SaveTheBluefin supports Charter boats having the ability to fish in both the General Category and Angling Category on the same day.
Request: Do Not Discard Dead Bluefin
Forcing PLL’s (Pelagic Long Liners) to discard giant bluefin seems like an unnecessary waste. The “weak hook” might be a solution here but until such a method is approved SaveTheBluefin supports finding some solution for utilizing these fish. Ideas around using the bluefin for research, local food source or sale on a limited market basis with a cap seem worthwhile as opposed to letting these fish drop to the bottom of the ocean.
In summary SaveTheBluefin is driven by the lighthouse that we as a global people and we as a domestic nation should ensure that on our “watch” the mighty bluefin tuna does not collapse into an irreparable state. Fortunately or unfortunately we all stand at this point in time where bolder measures, more ideas, creative thinking, smarter management and compassion must prevail. This can be one of the proudest moments for all of us that want a future with bluefin tuna included, but also can be one of the darkest hours, for our oceans and our ability to avoid this situation with other highly valued HMS species. SaveTheBluefin believes that the US domestic stakeholders are making significant progress in changing the ways in which we fish the oceans’ bounty. It’s our duty to propagate these practices and take a leadership position on the world stage. Assembling our internal agencies to enable the US to take a leadership position is essential if we are to lead by example and are top priority for carrying out a successful campaign now and into the future.
Make no mistake, I was the severe minority here on issues around whether we decide to catch more bluefin tuna or kill more bluefin tuna. Although I was out represented by almost 30 to 1, the crowd let me speak and be heard so I thank all of the attendees for the chance to speak. Frankly I think we agree on a lot of issues and as a result I look forward to reaching out to some folks to explore ways in which we can unite. Some of the speakers have been involved in these issues for decades and as a relative newcomer, I recognize the value of the intellectual capital and look forward to more productive interaction. Instead of re-capping it all here again I decided to cut and paste the official comments I submitted to the HMS division today on the issues at stake. You will see that SaveTheBluefin supports the interests of the fish and the fisherman - both sport and commercial. Here are the requests SaveTheBluefin is making of the agency;
Request: Strengthen US Delegation at ICCAT
Overarching many of the issues discussed domestically is the state of the delegation that attends ICCAT meetings. This delegation simply needs more power to carry out the agenda for the United States’ stakeholders in regards to the species managed by ICCAT. It appears that all domestic constituents agree on this request. SaveTheBluefin will aid domestic offices such as NMFS and other agencies to help act on this measure swiftly with an end goal of being prepared for the next ICCAT meetings in 2010.
Request: Evaluate Quota Loss At Future ICCAT Meetings:
It appears that the fear of losing quota to other nations at the hands of ICCAT is driving the US internal stakeholders to request reductions of restrictions that will allow the capture of more WBFT (Western Atlantic Bluefin Tuna). The belief seems to rest on the premise that catching more WBFT will enable the US to fill more of its quota and by doing so would avoid a re-allocation of its quota by ICCAT to another nation. If there is evidence that the US quota is in danger, then SaveTheBluefin supports immediate action to oppose such a measure. If there is no such evidence, then SaveTheBluefin reiterates that killing more bluefin to protect a hypothesis is not the best choice for the rebuilding of the stocks of the WBFT.
Request: Do Not Lower The Minimum Size For WBFT to 65”
Please do not lower the smaller WBFT in the 65” class to be targeted. This would place a target on one of positive year classes for the WBFT biomass. SaveTheBluefin requests that all US stakeholders protect this class of fish both in the Western and Eastern Atlantic at all costs. The end result being that this class of fish could reach the GOM (Gulf of Mexico), spawn successfully and jump start a rebuilding process by injecting the biomass with a significant fry count. Should this scenario play out, the point in time that the stock decline would stop and start an upward trend sooner than if this cohort of fish is targeted and reduced. SaveTheBluefin supports any scientific research that estimates the effects this class of fish may on the timing and effect of a recovery plan if protected.
Request: Establish or Confirm A WBFT Stock Assessment Baseline
At two of the pubic hearings there was considerable public comment that the WBFT stocks are in much better shape than science and conservationists portray. At the Plymouth Mass, hearing on June 29th, 2009 several captains that cited being on the water earlier in the day, report seeing large schools of WBFT. There appears to be significant disagreement between the domestic stakeholders on the status of the WBFT biomass. Finding a baseline that US domestic stakeholders can agree would be fundamental in tracking how future measures perform.
Request: Close Gulf Of Mexico During Spawning WBFT Season
SaveTheBluefin requests a closure for the few Spring months that the WBFT is spawning in the GOM. This is an emergency action that should be adopted for Spring 2010 as a temporary measure to protect against a collapse of the species.
Request: Appoint Independent Evaluation of ‘Weak Hook” Test:
The announcement made at the public hearings by the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Association/Bluewater of the development of a smart hook that will straighten out when a fish over a certain size makes its first run. SaveTheBluefin supports technological solutions to better fishery management and is in favor of supporting the upcoming test in the North East where some 130k hooks will be staged as a testing period. SaveTheBluefin requests an independent agency be appointed that is approved by all US stakeholders to evaluate the effectiveness of these “weak hooks” to function as stated and further to ensure spawning WBFT would be spared as well. SaveTheBluefin supports technological solutions that can effectively protect a target species (i.e. spawning WBFT) while at the same time allowing commercial fishermen to remain fishing.
Request: Do Not Open Closed Areas and Retain Closed Time Periods
SaveTheBluefin requests that closed areas remain closed and closed time periods remain closed until measures taken by the US prove to get the WBFT stock on an upward trend. Using the SWO as an example, once a re-build is underway, exploring ways to safely increase TAL (Total Allowable Catch) is supported. At this emergency stage, increasing these two major levers seems counter to any commitment to rebuild the stocks in the face of a species collapse.
Request: Address Consumer Awareness:
As a matter of operation, SaveTheBluefin.com is active in the blogosphere and other social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook. Consumer awareness about the problems facing the bluefin tuna has gained more momentum in the last 6 months than in the last several years. The bluefin tuna has been the subject of main editorial and opinion articles from the world’s top media organizations such as New York Times, Washington Post, UK Telegraph and many, many more. Running a Google search under “Bluefin Tuna” news will bring a fresh river of coverage from major media outlets on a daily basis. A year ago there were hardly mentions of bluefin tuna on Twitter, now there are mentions many times per day. The French Navy is now on patrol in the Med as is Greenpeace’s RainBow Warrior. In addition to this mass coverage of the issue, there are significant online properties like the Huffington Post, TreeHugger and many more with significant audiences covering this issue as well. This has led to thousands of smaller bloggers, telling this story to their audiences. Now social platforms like Twitter are abuzz with people who care about this issue. A year ago, when I founded SaveTheBluefin, there was much less buzz in all categories. Now we have a feature film (THE END OF THE LINE), movie stars protesting famous eateries like NOBU and significant retail companies like Pret A Manger and others taking bluefin off the shelves. This growing negative sentiment in the world consumer market needs to be addressed and watched. Rapid changes in consumer sentiment can destroy markets quickly and can produce negative effects for current stakeholders. SaveTheBluefin recommends that the US domestic stakeholders who are in the business of catching bluefin take a leadership position on the bluefin and get “out in front” of the consumer perception process. Taking measures to protect the bluefin should be communicated and the US should lead by example and seek other nations to do so as well. There is a massive and active conversation going on right now in the media and online and US domestic stakeholders need more of a voice.
Request: Promote / Leverage Swordfish Case Study:
The SWO (Swordfish) rebuilding process is a working, recent example that the USA can turn around a domestic fishery given the right parties’ agreements. What can be learned and applied to BFT (Bluefin tuna) from the success of the SWO rebuild? Aside from what may be gleaned from the success of the SWO rebuilding process, SaveTheBluefin recommends that the SWO story be told and promoted as an example of a HMS species success story.
Request: Do Not Fold Harpoon Into General Category:
The Harpoon Category is represented by a small (~30) group of fisherman whose lives are built on generational tradition. This is a valuable microcosm of American heritage and given their effect on the overall stocks, the benefit of maintaining their way of life and tradition is greater than the proposed movement.
Request: Charter Boats To Fish Both General / Angling Category:
Under a quota that is based on a firm commitment to re-build the stocks of the WBFT, SaveTheBluefin supports Charter boats having the ability to fish in both the General Category and Angling Category on the same day.
Request: Do Not Discard Dead Bluefin
Forcing PLL’s (Pelagic Long Liners) to discard giant bluefin seems like an unnecessary waste. The “weak hook” might be a solution here but until such a method is approved SaveTheBluefin supports finding some solution for utilizing these fish. Ideas around using the bluefin for research, local food source or sale on a limited market basis with a cap seem worthwhile as opposed to letting these fish drop to the bottom of the ocean.
In summary SaveTheBluefin is driven by the lighthouse that we as a global people and we as a domestic nation should ensure that on our “watch” the mighty bluefin tuna does not collapse into an irreparable state. Fortunately or unfortunately we all stand at this point in time where bolder measures, more ideas, creative thinking, smarter management and compassion must prevail. This can be one of the proudest moments for all of us that want a future with bluefin tuna included, but also can be one of the darkest hours, for our oceans and our ability to avoid this situation with other highly valued HMS species. SaveTheBluefin believes that the US domestic stakeholders are making significant progress in changing the ways in which we fish the oceans’ bounty. It’s our duty to propagate these practices and take a leadership position on the world stage. Assembling our internal agencies to enable the US to take a leadership position is essential if we are to lead by example and are top priority for carrying out a successful campaign now and into the future.
Comment
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Comment by John LoGioco on July 6, 2009 at 12:01pm -
Hi there. Thanks for the feedback. I edited the above to include definitions for the various acronyms so hopefully that will make it easier for all to read and understand.
I agree on the discard issue that we can't make a fishery out of this but I still retain that there has to be a better solution that cutting them off. Let's see if creative thinking can prevail.
Yes WBFT is Western Atlantic Bluefin. Agreed that there is some mixing, but the number is low enough to identify the majority of the stock that swims off our coast as the Western population that moves up and down the Western Atlantic coast and breeds in the Gulf of Mexico. From a management perspective this stock seems easier to deal with thus my efforts here on the catch and release program.
Yes I would love to have a harpooner on the site that could provide comments, pictures or even videos. I would love to have some commercial folks blog about their day's adventures here on the site.
Thanks for participating, I enjoy your feedback.
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Comment by Thunnus Thynnus on July 2, 2009 at 10:31am -
This is a great post John. I planned on attending but was on a flight.
I must disagree with your point-of-view on discard of dead bft. If regulations allow longliners to retain bi-catch, it provides an incentive to target bft. And after a couple years of keeping bft bi-catch, longliners will claim that they are entitled to their tonnage. As sad as it seems, we are far better off letting giant-bft's sink to the cold, dark bottom to be eaten by hag-fish than to be sliced and diced onto gleaming white plates in restaurants.
One other question- I noticed your references to WBFT. Do you mean western bluefin tuna? If so, that may be a bit of a misnomer given the evidence of the mixing of stocks. It is important to note because of the mass destruction of stocks in the eastern atlantic and Mediterranean.
BTW, I know of a stick boat captain who's pretty vocal and knowledgeable on stock management. I'll see if I can recruit him over to this board to share some thoughts and different points of view.
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