Swordfish, Tunas, and Sharks

Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 14:25:09 -0400 (AST)
From: Mark Butler <ar427@chebucto.ns.ca>
To: sust-mar@chebucto.ns.ca
Precedence: bulk
Return-Path: <sust-mar-mml-owner@chebucto.ns.ca>

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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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