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Hi Below is a press release that Ecology Action Centre issued on the activities of vessels fishing for large pelagics in the Northwest Atlantic beyond Canada's 200 mile limit. If you have any thoughts or ideas on this issue please get in touch with me. Mark Butler 429-2202 ar427@chebucto.ns.ca 12 November, 1998 For Immediate Release Swordfish and Tunas, no Different than Turbot: Canada Must Take Strong Stance Next week Canada will be joining other nations in Madrid, Spain for the annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). The Ecology Action Centre is urging the Canadian delegation to aggressively pursue conservation objectives at ICCAT, particularly with respect to vessels fishing tunas and swordfish in the Northwest Atlantic outside of Canada's 200 mile limit. Since tunas and billfish, such as swordfish, are highly migratory--spending only a short time in Canadian waters in the summer months--they are fished by many nations and hence the need for an international regulatory body, like ICCAT. Unfortunately, the Commission has been largely ineffective in conserving tunas and swordfish and since its inception in1969 the biomass of these species has declined by 50 to 90%. To date the Ecology Action Centre has mainly focused its criticism on the Canadian fishery, in particular the practices of the domestic swordfish longline fleet. Nonetheless, we appreciate the frustration Canadian fishermen feel when they are asked to accept conservation measures, such as a reduction in quota, without the assurance that other nations fishing these species will do the same. Just as was the case with turbot and other groundfish, conservation rules have to be followed by everyone fishing a stock in order to be effective. The EAC, and other Canadian interests, are concerned about the pelagic or surface longline fishery which operates in the Northwest Atlantic and may involve more than one hundred vessels at a time. Reports indicate that there are serious problems in this fishery: -catches in excess of quotas, -keeping of undersized fish -no data on catches or difficulty in verifying data that is provided, -and the discarding of dead fish, because they are too small or not the right species. Says Mark Butler, Marine Coordinator at EAC, except for the greater distances involved, the situation is really no different than with foreign fishing for cod or turbot on the Nose of the Grand Banks, perhaps worse because there aren't even quotas for some tuna species. Ecology Action Centre is particularly concerned about discarding. Vessels fishing for tuna and swordfish in waters beyond Canada's 200 mile limit are using surface longline gear, long lines of baited hooks which float at the surface. Unfortunately, regardless of the skill of the skipper, it is not possible to avoid catching species for which the vessel has no quota or that are too small. Species that get thrown back or released, dead or alive, include small swordfish and tunas, sharks, other fishes, and turtles(usually alive). For ICCAT species like bluefin tuna and swordfish, U.S. conservation groups are asking that all dead undersized fish which are thrown over be deducted against the quota to provide a better measure of mortality. The EAC supports this measure both for Canadian and international pelagic fisheries. In the case of sharks, it is often only the fins that have any value, and practice of finning is likely widespread amongst vessels fishing in the Gulf Stream on the edge of the continental shelf. Up until recently, vessels fishing in Canadian waters were finning, but in1997 DFO successfully prosecuted a Japanese vessel for finning blue sharks in Canadian waters, purportedly making the Japanese less enthusiastic about pursuing their ICCAT bluefin tuna quota in Canadian waters. Canada must take a strong stand at ICCAT. Without international compliance on even basic conservation measures many of these species will decline further. In addition, Canadian and American fishermen are going to resist further conservation measures in their own waters unless they are assured that other nations are also doing their part. For more information call Mark Butler at 902-429-2202
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