APPENDIX III APPENDIX III 
In 1969 the International Commission for the Conserva- 
tion of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) was established with respon- 
sibility for the scientific study and management of tuna 
and billfishes in the Atlantic Ocean. In 1976 members of 
the ICCAT included Brazil, Canada, Cuba, France, Ghana, 
Ivory Coast, Japan, Republic of Korea, Morocco, Portugal, 
Senegal, South Africa, Spain, and the United States. The 
ICCAT has taken steps towards establishing a conservation 
program for bluefin tuna caught in the Atlantic Ocean. 
The two remaining international commissions are the 
Indian Ocean Fishery Commission and the Indo-Pacific Fish- 
eries Council. They are concerned with all the fisheries 
of the Indian and western Pacific Oceans and were established 
within the framework of FAO. Neither of these bodies has a 
research staff or permanent secretariat and, as a result, 
the work accomplished is from working groups of scientists 
affiliated with other organizations. These commissions pro- 
mote programs of fishery development and conservation and 
encourage cooperation and coordination between member nations. 
In addition to the international commissions, tuna fish- 
ermen are also affected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act 
of 1972, which placed a moratorium on the taking of marine 
mammals by any individual or vessel subject to the juris- 
diction of the United States. This act directly affected 
the U.S. tuna fishing industry, as the harvesting method 
primarily used by U.S. tuna fishermen--purse seining--in- 
volved the incidental killing of porpoise. 
The State of California has also imposed regulations on 
minimum weights for tuna. 
OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH 
Resource availability 
A 1974 NMFS report stated the western Pacific and Indian 
Oceans are the only areas in the world where large-scale 
expansion of the tuna fisheries may be possible. Within the 
Western Pacific, the catch of skipjack tuna could be expand- 
ed. The NMFS report indicated that although the current 
harvest was 200 million pounds, the annual skipjack harvest 
could range up to 2 billion pounds. This resource lies in 
an area of 11 million square miles, with U.S. flag or trust 
islands strategically positioned throughout. NMFS reported 
that with small exceptions the resource is not utilized by 
U.S. interests. The current annual harvest is made primarily 
by foreign vessels. 
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