Chapter HI — Marine Mammal-Fisheries Interactions 



mid-1970s, a U.S. fleet of more than 150 vessels 

 accounted for nearly 70 percent of the fishery capaci- 

 ty. In the late 1970s and 1980s, significant shifts in 

 the fishery to overseas operations occurred. By the 

 beginning of 1990, only 30 U.S. tuna vessels re- 

 mained in the eastern tropical Pacific fishery, account- 

 ing for less than a third of the total fleet capacity. As 

 discussed in the previous Annual Report, about 45 

 U.S. purse seiners have left the eastern tropical 

 Pacific since the EI Niiio event of 1 983- 1 984 and have 

 relocated to the western Pacific. 



On 12 April 1990, the three largest U.S. tuna 

 canners announced that they would no longer purchase 

 tuna caught in association with dolphins. In response, 

 there has been a further exodus of U.S. purse seine 

 vessels from the eastern tropical Pacific. During 

 1991, only 13 U.S. vessels fished for tuna in the 

 eastern tropical Pacific and, of these, only two to six 

 vessels fished for tuna by setting on porpoises. 



Despite the decline of the U.S. fleet in the eastern 

 tropical Pacific, the United States remains an impor- 

 tant market for tuna caught in that area. Prior to the 

 announcement by U.S. canners of their "dolphin safe" 

 purchasing policy, about 44 percent of tuna caught in 

 the eastern tropical Pacific was sold in the United 

 States, about 30 percent in Latin America, about 20 

 percent in western Europe, and about 5 percent in 

 Asia. Although the full extent of any market shift that 

 may have resulted from the "dolphin safe" policy of 

 U.S. canners is unknown, it is believed that the U.S. 

 share of the market for eastern tropical Pacific tuna 

 has declined since April 1990. 



The decline of the U.S. fleet in the eastern tropical 

 Pacific during the 1970s and 1980s has been offset in 

 large part by a growth of foreign fleets in the area. 

 The Mexican fleet, now with 44 vessels, increased by 

 nearly 50 percent during the 1980s to displace the 

 U.S. fleet as the primary participant in the fishery. 

 The Venezuelan fleet more than tripled in size during 

 the 1980s and now has 21 vessels participating in the 

 fishery. The other major participants in the eastern 

 tropical Pacific tuna fishery are Vanuatu and Ecuador, 

 with ten vessels and nine vessels, respectively. Ecua- 

 dor's vessels, however, are not currently fishing for 

 tuna by setting on dolphins. 



A parallel shift has also occurred in the tuna 

 canning industry. During the early years of the purse 

 seine tuna fishery, most of the tuna canning industry 

 was controlled by U.S. interests. In the 1960s, 12 

 tuna canneries were in operation in southern Califor- 

 nia, others were located on both coasts of the United 

 States, and two canneries were operating in American 

 Samoa and two in Puerto Rico. Today only two 

 canneries, both in southern California, remain in 

 operation in the United States. Three canneries are 

 operating in Puerto Rico and two remain open in 

 American Samoa. The country with the most drama- 

 tic increase in canned tuna production during the past 

 decade is Thailand, which began caiming tuna in the 

 early 1980s and now is one of the world's largest 

 producers. Other nations that substantially increased 

 canned tuna production during the 1980s are Italy, 

 France, Mexico, the Philippines, and C6te d'lvoire. 

 More recently, Indonesia has experienced considerable 

 growth in its tuna caiming industry and is currently 

 building more canneries. 



As the eastern tropical Pacific tuna fishery shifted 

 to foreign control, so did the problem of incidental 

 dolphin mortality. Recognizing this trend, Congress 

 amended the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1984 

 to require foreign nations exporting yellowfin tuna to 

 the United States to adopt dolphin-saving programs 

 equivalent to the U.S. program and to achieve an 

 incidental mortality rate comparable to that of the 

 U.S. fleet. In 1988, the Act was further amended to 

 provide more specific standards with respect to what 

 would constitute acceptable foreign programs and 

 comparable mortality rates. 



As discussed below, the Marine Mammal Commis- 

 sion, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. 

 Congress, the U.S. tuna industry, the Inter- American 

 Tropical Tuna Commission, and others continued to 

 devote substantial attention to the tuna-porpoise issue 

 in 1991. Now that the U.S. fleet has largely left the 

 fishery and is making very few sets on dolphin 

 schools, most of this effort was directed towards 

 seeking further reductions in dolphin mortality by 

 foreign fishing fleets. Discussions of the Commis- 

 sion's past activities and a summary of earlier efforts 

 to resolve the tuna-porpoise problem are presented in 

 previous Annual Reports. 



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