Pacific Highly Migratory 

 Pelagic Fisheries 



INTRODUCTION 



The fishes in this group range the high seas 

 and often are outside U.S. fisheries management 

 jurisdiction. Some species are sought vigorously 

 by both commercial and sport fishermen. The sta- 

 tus of many is either uncettain or unknown. 



Inuring 1976-80, the eastern tropical Pacific 

 tuna fishery expanded and was dominated by the 

 U.S. fleet. Fishing became less profitable in the 

 1980's, and many U.S. fishermen quit or moved 

 to the central-western Pacific, leaving Mexico, with 

 more than SO purse seiners, the dominant fleet in 

 the e.istern tropical Pacific. In the next decade, 

 the U.S. fleet declined to about 7 vessels in 1993- 

 97 in response to domestic regulations that ad- 

 dressed dolphiii mortality concerns. Purse seiners 

 (all countries) in the eastern ttopical Pacific in 



1997 numbered about 189. Until 1980, the In- 

 ter-American IVopical Tuna Commission (lA T PC) 

 regulated the international fishery with catch quo- 

 tas. Since then, lATTC regulations have been sus- 

 pended because Mexico with its dominant fleet is 

 not a Commission member. Currently, there is no 

 international tuna management in the eastern 

 tropical Pacific; each coastal nation regulates fish- 

 ing within its own exclusive economic zone (EEZ). 

 Also, since there is not yet an overall resource 

 management ptogram in the central-western Pa- 

 cific, the South Pacific Fotuni Fisheries Agency 

 (FFA), which represents the South Pacific island 

 nations, has instituted a licensing progtam for for- 

 eign (distant-water) fishing fleets through access 

 agreements. The U.S. fleet is currently limited to 

 SS purse seiners in the region under an access 

 agreement called the South Pacific Regional Tuna 



Unit 



18 



NMFS SOUTHWEST 

 FISHERIES SCIENCE CENTER 



La Jolla 

 California 



and 



NMFS SOUTHWEST 



FISHERIES SCIENCE CENTER, 



HONOLULU LABORATORY 



Honolulu 

 Hawaii 



Yellowfin tuna. 



1 93 



