119 



which was last year, for which full figures were available, was that 

 19 percent of the U.S. domestic consumption was yellowfin taken on 

 porpoise. That was 19 percent, not 50 percent. 



Mr. Leggett. I do not think — I did not intend to say that. 



Mr. Butler. Perhaps I 



Mr. Leggett. Quoting the figures that were presented, I think I 

 said 140,000 tons of 



Mr. Butler. But it is necessary to be careful in quoting the figures 

 of tuna caught by seine boats and tuna caught by seine boat on por- 

 poise. Because there is a distinction. 



Mr. Leggett. I understand. 



Mr. Butler. Anyway, I thought I would pick that up. Perhaps 

 I heard it incorrectly. 



Mr. Leggett. I think that what I concluded was that 30 percent 

 of all of the tuna consumed in the United States, both imported and 

 domestically produced, were probably caught off of porpoise. 



Mr. Butler. The figures for 1975 in that regard were 19 percent. 

 I cannot swear to the 1976 figures. I have not seen an affidavit on it. 



Mr. Leggett. I think the 50 percent covers the American-produced 

 tuna, not the foreign. 



Mr. Butler. It was the total U.S. consumption. These were the 

 Government figures. I can submit the report, But I thought it was 

 necessary to point that out. 



Next of all, I think that the impression has been left that for this 

 period of time, from January through March, the U.S. fleet, by and 

 large, has not been taking porpoise, and foreign boats have been, 

 and therefore the total amount of porpoise killed will be greater 

 for this 3-month period than if the U.S. fleet had taken porpoise, 

 since foreign boats kill more porpoise per set than U.S. boats. This 

 is manifestly not true. The foreign fleet is only about a quarter to a 

 third as large as the U.S. fleet, and they were fishing on porpoise last 

 year just as they are fishing on porpoise this year, so that the in- 

 creased take of porpoise by foreign boats is going to be minimal, and 

 you need only subtract the total amount of porpoise that was taken 

 last year by the U.S. fleet to see porpoise are better off this year. 



So the total amount of porpoise that is going to be taken during 

 this 3-month period is going to be significantly less than last year, 

 even if the foreign fleets take more per set than the U.S. fleet. The 

 foreign fleet has not grown that dramatically since last year. So 

 more porpoise will not be killed this year than last. This was a 

 point that I might have misunderstood, but I thought it was a 

 concept that was erroneously left in the Chair's mind. 



Mr. Leggett. There is only so much tuna, 210,000 is going to be 

 taken out of the CYRA area. 



Mr. Butler. That is right. 



Mr. Leggett. And I would imagine that the bulk of that will be 

 taken off of porpoise. 



Mr. Butler. I think that is not correct, I think the Chair earlier 

 made the statement that most of that CYRA quota will be taken 

 by foreign boats. It will not, It will be taken by U.S. boats. The U.S. 

 fleet is out there. It is significantly larger than the foreign fleet, and 

 even if its U.S. fleet is catching less than last year, still it can fish 



