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TUNA & Big Game TUNA - Offshore Fishing for Tuna and Other Big Game

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Old 03-05-2009, 08:57 AM   #1
buckman
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Tuna hearing update.....

After attending the hearing with Chris, Jeff, Mike amd Bob this is my outlook.

Size limits will not change for the 09 season

retention limits could change

There will be very little if any help from The Feds in the tuna fishermens efforts to retain the US quota.

There is going to be a new effort to organize a more poweful group of tuna fishermen to lobby and protect us.

A little concerning was a commercial guy pushing for (1) fish per week for the Angler catagory. This is hypocritical to our effort to retain the qouta and seemed a little out of place at the hearing.
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Old 03-05-2009, 01:05 PM   #2
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Was that the same guy that said that no recs are reporting their catch and the ones catching more than one per week are selling them to the black market and that NMFS knows this and isn't doing anything about it? Thats a bunch a bull. Like that really helped anything, some of those guys will never change.

One thing that I'm hearing from rec guys is that maybe we should make up catches so we fill the quota. First of all it's illegal and secondly the recs already exceeded there quota for 2007 and 2008 and all this would do is shut down the season earlier. Its not the rec quota that needs to be filled, its the commercial guys that have too many constraints against them and can't come up with the allowable quota. Oh yeah, it seems to me if things get approved as is then the angling category will not be able to keep that one fish over 73", just another screwing.

A lot of guys put together well thought out speeches in favor of the various categories and my applause goes out to those guys. It seems like a lot of guys are on board to do what ever is required to save our quota, I'm just not sure anyone at NMFS gives too %$%$%$%$s.

Last edited by clcharette; 03-05-2009 at 01:47 PM.. Reason: spelling
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Old 03-05-2009, 01:46 PM   #3
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There is a plan, it began before the meeting. The meeting is just part of it and the start of a revoloution for the American Bluefin Tuna Fishermen. We will not be stepped on any more! A new orginization is formed "NBTA" and needs your support and funding. Help organize the new group that will be unified in its objectives and representive of recreational and commercial fishermen. Following is an application and some more information.



Northeast Bluefin Tuna Association


Mission Statement


The name of this association is the Northeast Bluefin Tuna Association (NBTA). The principal office will be located in Salem N.H. The fundamental purpose of the NBTA is to advance the common, consensus interests of fishermen and companies participating and benefiting from commercial and recreational fishing activities for Atlantic Bluefin Tuna. Five principal objectives are:

To protect the U.S. historical 54% share of the international western Atlantic quota mandated under agreements authored by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT);
To generally protect the traditional domestic program and recreational categories under the Final Highly Migratory Species FMP; and
To protect the forage base and ecosystem conditions that would provide adequate food source to attract and maintain tuna on Northeast fishing grounds. And, to advocate balanced fishery policies regarding competitive or nuisance species abundance such as with spiny dogfish known to hinder effective fishing for bluefin tuna.
To assure that reasonable opportunities are provided to bluefin tuna fishermen to catch quota under the minimum number of regulations necessary and desirable under NMFS management.
To provide for a Board of Directors representative of the main fisheries today to decide specific policies, objectives and strategies.
To provide a means of communication and distribution of information among individuals and companies involved in the fishery primarily through electronic communications and occasional newsletters.
The NBTA founding partners will consist of volunteer reps of the NSCTA, GCTA and ECTA and serve as a temporary Board of Directors until elections from the membership can be considered. This Board will also initially propose a balanced structure for a permanent Board to represent the cooperating user groups.

The Annual Dues for fishermen will start at $50.00 payable to NBTA at P.O. Box 447, Salem, N.H. 03079. The new Board will decide Associate Members dues.

Name Incl. Boat:

Email Address:

Mailing Address:


Phone #’s:
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Old 03-06-2009, 05:08 AM   #4
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If they want to absorb the quota in the USA more specifically the east coast then let recs take 3 fish and the General category unlimited fish 73" or greater. This would use up the quota, inject a lot of $$$$$$ into the local and regional economy, and keep the price of fish where it is rather than drive it down. Instead of calling in and then getting numerous call backs just email them of the catch and the vital statistics. Easier for everyone involved. To curb the so called black tuna market place huge fines that are actually imposed on both the buyer and seller. One huge fine seizure of assets or business closure and all the selling if it is going on will stop.

As a caveat to this above statement, I dont think there is any reason for recs to keep 3 fish a day other than to fill up the quota. I also believe that this is counterproductive in terms of species growth/population regeneration. Keep only what you will use and dont kill these fish for the sake of killing them. And here lies the conundrum; boost up the limits and make the quota but hurt the future stocks of the tuna or leave the limits where they are and lose the quota. Pick your poison.

Now for the larger picture, as long as commercial and recreational anglers are at odds and 2 separate entities the ICCAT folks have us where they want us; 2 factions that war with each other rather than aligned and focused on one goal. When everything is all said and done we will all be scratching our heads going/saying what happened to the fishery and how did this happen.

When all angling parties grow up and unify for the betterment of the species and fishery then we as a whole will make headway. Until then we will just keep pissing in the wind. We aren't the problem the structure and ICCAT leaders are. If ICCAT was truly concerned about the fish and the fishery rather than their coffers they would impose stricter limits and eliminate pound nets, tuna pens, et al., and the horrific Mediterranean slaughter that goes on year after year over there. They kill/harvest way more than we do and until that is realized what we do in terms of conservation measures really won't add up to much.

And then there is the foundation for propegation of these and the rest of the fish BAIT. But that is for another time.



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Old 03-06-2009, 07:53 AM   #5
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TUNA FISHERMEN JAM NMFS MARCH 04 HEARING



Gloucester, MA: Bluefin tuna fishermen packed the new NMFS Gloucester headquarters yesterday afternoon for a public hearing on the 2009 bluefin tuna specifications. The standing room only auditorium was jammed with over 100 fishermen angry and frustrated by the upcoming fishing season reduced tuna quotas but more importantly, the lack of NMFS proposals for any changes to restrictions to allow the U.S. to catch more than 24% of the commercial tuna quotas as was the case in 2008.

The 2009 and 2010 western Atlantic quota has been reduced by ICCAT to 1,900 metric tons (mt) and then 1,800 mt in 2008. Under the new 2009 U.S. quota the General category baseline quota will drop to 475 mt this year. The eastern quotas were also reduced from 28,500 mt in 2008 to 22,000 mt in 2009 but few expect compliance and most expect that eastern and Mediterranean catches will remain in the 40,000 to 61,000 mt range identified in recent years by ICCAT scientists and World Wildlife Fund investigators.

Fishermen after fishermen took to the microphone to complain that the current NMFS regulations require U.S. fishermen to conserve more than fishermen from any other country in the world. They also protested that all the extra unilateral restrictions such as daily bag limits, seasonal restrictions, size limits, charter boat restrictions and restrictions on landings of longline incidental catches were leading towards more loss of U.S. quota.

It was pointed out at the meeting that already 175 metric tons (mt) of bluefin quota has been lost to Mexico and 100 additional mt to Canada with nothing in return to U.S. fishermen. The loss of 2,690 mt of swordfish quota of the last several years to countries with no history of swordfish fishing also sets a dangerous precedent for the bluefin situation.

Several specific alternatives were presented by fishermen urging NMFS to take emergency action to change the catch stifling U.S. bluefin tuna rules. Proposals for multiple daily catch limits for offshore giant tuna fishermen, reduction in the size limit for commercial sale to 65” from the current 73” limit, proposals to allow charter/headboats to conduct both recreational and commercial fisheries on the same day and increase longline incidental landings of bluefin tuna were made. NMFS representatives did their best to explain the bureaucratic hurdles of FMP amendments, regulatory amendments and other laws preventing timely relief to U.S. fishermen by NMFS.

Several in the crowd of fishermen supported a new more powerful tuna lobbying organization be formed to demand legislative action to change the unilateral catch restrictions and prevent the loss of U.S quota share for future generations of American fishermen. For further information on the new developing organization you can contact ralph.pratt@verizon.net .



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