-254- 



III. B. 5. Results of Other Analyses/Simulations 

 None available. 



III.C. Current Evaluation of Stocks and the Fishery 



The decline in bluefin catches in recent years cannot at this time 

 be attributed to a particular cause because none of the necessary analyses 

 have been done. 



IV. STATUS OF CURRENT RESEARCH NEEDS AND EFFORTS 

 IV. A. Major Research Problems 



Basic fishery models are needed for this resource, which is not 

 currently being managed. A major problem in developing the models is the 

 trans-Pacific, multi-national nature of the fishery. Better data are 

 particularly needed for the western Pacific, as there is difficulty in 

 separating northern from southern bluefin in the Japanese data. 



IV. B. Current Research Efforts 



Two research programs are currently underway on bluefin tuna. The 

 Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (lATTC) has three biologists at 

 SWFC who are 1) assembling logbook information from lATTC files, 2) writing 

 a synopsis of biological data, 3) tagging bluefin in season, and 4) 

 starting growth studies using tags and scale reading. lATTC also has a 

 biologist doing tagging studies of juvenile bluefin near Japan. In 

 addition, NMFS and CF&G have a joint project at SWFC: one biologist is 

 evaluating existing bluefin data and will attempt to develop any fisheries 

 models that are appropriate. 



IV. C. Future Research Needs 



1) An attempt should be made to merge western and eastern 

 Pacific fishery data since evidence points to a single stock. 



2) Indices of abundance need to be developed and refined for 

 both west and east. 



