Conference wahoo::fishing

1229.0. "Updating the Magnuson Act" by WAHOO::LEVESQUE (Black as night, Faster than a shadow...) Wed Aug 23 1989 15:55

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Note 749.0                  Updating the Magnuson Act                  2 replies
WAHOO::LEVESQUE "Black as night, Faster than a shadow..."  63 lines  23-AUG-1989 14:10
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 Everyone knows what a tuna is. It's a fish that comes in a 6.5 oz can. Every
supermarket has literally thousands of these cans, right? So there must be
like zillions of tuna, right? Wrong.

 With the passing of the 200 mile limit, we prevented foreign fisheries from
coming into the exclusive economic zone of the United States and stripping
us of our stocks of fish. This was done largely in response to the japanese,
who overharvested their fisheries to the point where very little of the
fish sold in markets in Japan comes from the waters surrounding Japan.

 Now all inshore fisheries are protected. Hooray, right? Wrong again. Tuna
are a very nomadic species. They spend the vast majority of their time
in very deep water. And they move vast distances during the course of the
season. Take giant bluefin tuna, for example. They spawn in the Gulf of
Mexico. Then they come around the Florida peninsula, and through the strait
between Bimini and Florida's east coast. They ride the gulf stream up through
New England (where they are now) up as far as Nova Scotia. As fall begins,
they return to the Gulf for another spawning season. Those that don't get 
caught, that is.

** The United States is the only country in the world that does not include
tuna in its species management acts. **

 Currently, a congressional panel is deciding whether tuna and billfish (marlin
and sailfish) ought to be included under the protection of the Magnuson Act.
(Swordfish, though billfish, are already included under this act).

 The problem is that commercial interests do NOT want to allow this to happen.
Tuna are extremely lucrative fish to catch, especially bluefin tuna. Fish at
the dock generally bring in from $5 to $14 per pound. With fish often weighing
in at 500 to 1000 lbs, it is obvious that a single fish can bring in upwards
of $10K, a most inviting prospect.

 The latest figures available (1987) indicate that stocks of 10-30 year old
fish are 85% lower than in 1981, and a similarly steep drop in the stocks of
juvenile fish (which we rely on for future breeders). This should hoist large
red warning flags to all. Instead, the lure of the almighty dollar brings us
ever closer to the collapse of the entire fishery.

 There are two types of license that the little people (like you and I) can
get: a harpoon license, and a general purpose license. The purse seiners,
large boats with immense nets which take 75% percent of the total tuna quota
yearly, are in a class by themselves, having galvanized their el dorado through
liberal application of "financial assistance" into the correct fingers. Back to
licenses. A Harpoon license allows a boat to harpoon as many fish as it can
until the "harpoon quota" is filled. Some years it gets filled early, after
which you are SOL. On the other hand, if you get several fish in a day, you
can make the entire summer profitable. A general purpose license allow you to
take a single tuna each day by either harpoon, hand line, or rod and reel.

 Problem: since these fish are so damn valuable (primarily to the japanese),
NOBODY releases a giant tuna when they catch it. EVERY caught fish is a dead
fish. This makes it difficult for the species to sustain itself.

 What is needed is to bring tuna, marlin and sharks under the auspices of the
Magnuson Act, so the species can be properly managed. Every other country
does this. We should too.

 Gerry Studds (D- Mass) is chairing the committee studying whether to include
these fish under the Magnuson Act. It is of utmost importance that we put 
pressure on him (to counter the pressure exerted by commercial interests).

 The Doctah

    Thanks for entering that doc, saved me a lot of typing. See the
    last issue of the fisherman for the complete story. Get those
    cards and letters out quick or I may never catch a tuna.....
    
    Capt. Codfish