UNIT 5 

 ATLANTIC HIGHLY MIGRATORY PELAGIC FISHERIES 



The U.S. dockside ex-vessel revenue from these 

 fishes soared from about $20 milhon (early 1980's) 

 to nearly $100 million in 1988. The average an- 

 nual commercial ex-vessel value has continued at 

 about this level since. 



Angler harvests ol large pelagic hshes are esti- 

 mated from dockside and telephone surveys. The 

 average annual catch by recreational anglers tor 

 1995-97 is estimated conservatively at 7,500 t. 

 Fishing tournament surveys indicate a substantial 

 increase in billfish fishing since 1972. Although 

 the practice of tagging and releasing of large 

 pelagics has grown in recent years, more data are 

 needed to quantity the recreational fishery trends 

 for these fishes in U.S. Atlantic and Ciult ot Mexico 

 waters. 



The value ot the recreational fisheries tor 

 highly migratory species has not been estimated 

 tor all species; however, preliminary estimates in- 

 dicate that they are highly valued. 



NMFS has classified the following Atlantic 

 highly migratory species (HMS) as overfished: west 

 Atlantic bluefin tuna, north Atlantic swordfish, 

 bigeye tuna, blue marlin, white marlin, and sail- 

 fish. Other oceanic pelagics in the HMS FMP are 

 considered fully fished. The HMS FMP and Bill- 

 fish Amendment include rebuilding plans for the 

 overfished species as well as measures designed to 

 maintain healthy stocks at the optimum yield. 

 Catch ot blue and white marlin by domestic and 

 toreign fleets has resulted in overharvesting these 

 stocks. Fishing mortalit}' rates on swordfish have 

 been excessive in recent years, prompting the de- 

 velopment ot international agreements to substan- 

 tially reduce catches beginning in 1991. U.S. har- 

 vests since July 1991 are consistent with ICCAT's 

 recommendations designed to reduce the risk ot 

 further declines. While yellowfin and bigeye tu- 

 nas are tully and over utilized respectively, no catch 

 quotas are in place tor either ot these species. 

 Western Atlantic bluetin tuna have been overhar- 

 vested to the point of being severely depleted, and 

 as a result the harvest of this species has been re- 

 stricted since 1982. The most recent assessment 

 indicates that current quotas may result in a 

 gradual rebuilding of the spawning stock in the 

 future. 



Landings (t) 

 25 - 



Total landings 



Percentage 

 of landings 



Bluefin % 



Swordfish % 



_J_ 



75 80 



Year 



ISSUES 



Transboundary Stocks 



Regulation of species that migrate across in- 

 ternational boundaries is difficult. Domestic regu- 

 lation without international agreements inherently 

 is limited, but international agreements can be 

 difficult to achieve. The latter is particularly true 

 it the primary fishing nations cannot agree on fish- 

 ing and conservation objectives, or do not abide 

 by agreements once they are adopted. An addi- 

 tional problem is that not all fishing nations are 

 members of ICCAT. The recent United Nations 

 agreement on straddling fish stocks and highly mi- 

 gratory fish stocks may help to resolve these prob- 

 lems. 



Bycatch and Multispecies Interactions 



Marlin and sailfish bycatch in tuna and sword- 

 fish fisheries are a major concern, especially as 

 commercial fisheries encounter concentrations of 

 billfish important to recreational anglers. Expan- 

 sion of the U.S. longline fishery tor Cult ot Mexico 

 yellowfin tuna and Spanish longline fishing in the 

 tropical eastern Atlantic have heightened concern 

 for distressed stock ot Atlantic tunas, swordfish, 

 and the billfish sought by recreational anglers. 



70 

 60 



Figure 5-1 



Landings in metric tons (t) 

 and percentage of landings 

 of bluefin tuna, yellowfin 

 tuna, and swordfisfi in U.S. 

 waters of tfie Atlantic Ocean, 

 1961-96. 



1 19 



