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I.D. Current Management of the Fishery 



In 1950 the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (lATTC) was 

 formed through a Convention between the Republic of Costa Rica and the 

 United States. The convention is open to other governments whose nationals 

 fish for tropical tunas in the ETP with the unanimous consent of the 

 present members. Current members include the United States, Panama, 

 Canada, Japan, France, and Nicaragua (Ecuador, Mexico, and Costa Rica have 

 withdrawn from the Commission). 



The principal duties of the Commission under the Convention are to 

 1) study the biology, ecology, and population dynamics of the tunas and 

 related species of the eastern Pacific Ocean with a view toward determining 

 the effect of fishing and natural factors on their abundance; and 2) 

 recommend, when appropriate, conservation measures that will maintain the 

 fish stocks at levels which will afford maximum sustainable catches. 



The first conservation measure proposed by the Commission was a 

 quota limiting the annual catch of yellowfin tuna from the ETP for 1962. 

 But the first CYRA yellowfin quota was not implemented until 1966. Since 

 then yellowfin catch quotas have been imposed or recommended annually. 

 (Since 1971 these quotas have been expressed as base numbers plus the 

 possibility of one or two increments to be added at the discretion of the 

 Director of Investigations. The increments are part of an over-fishing 

 experiment designed to estimate empirically the relationship between catch 

 and effort.) 



The closure date for unrestricted yellowfin fishing inside the 

 CYRA is established when 



current catch + expected catch of yellowfin by vessels at sea 

 engaged in unrestricted fishing and by vessels 

 expected to depart on unrestricted trips within 

 the specified grace period 



= the quota - that portion of the quota reserved for the 



incidental catch of yellowfin after the closure 

 of the CYRA 



any special CYRA yellowfin allocations granted 

 during the year. (There are special allocations 

 for "small" vessels, newly-constructed vessels of 

 developing nations, and vessels engaged in 

 Commission-designated research programs.) 



Further safeguards call for the immediate curtailment of yellowfin 

 fishing if, at any time, the yellowfin catch-per-standard-days-fishing 

 within the CYRA falls below 2.7 mt. 



