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The tropical tuna resources in the eastern Pacific are under management 

 by tin- Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission. The Commission's member- 

 ship Is comprised of Canada, Costa Rica, France, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, 

 Panama and the United Slates, eight in total. 



The Commission has controlled the catch of yellowfin tuna by means of an 

 annual quota. Over the period of 12 years the Commission has raised the 

 allowable take from 79,300 tons in 1066 to 210,000 tons in 1077. The yellowfin 

 Stuck is presently in a healthy condition. 



At its October, 1070 meeting, the Commission discussed the tuna-porpoise 

 situation in detail and instructed the Commission scientific staff to make a 

 comprehensive review of all existing information pertaining to the problem 

 and to report their findings and recommendations in June, 1977. That review 

 is currently underway. At this October meeting, the Commission adopted a 

 policy with respect to the tuna-porpoise complex that "The Commission should 

 strive to maintain a high level of tuna production and also maintain porpoise 

 stocks at or above levels that assure their survival in perpetuity, with every 

 reasonable effort being made to avoid needless or careless killing of porpoise." 



TROPICAL PORPOISE STOCKS — EASTERN PACIFIC 



The various porpoise stocks found in the eastern tropical Pacific represents 

 a common property resource. With the possible exception of Ecuador, the 14 

 countries fishing the area take some catch of yellowfin each year in associa- 

 tion with porpoise. The general area of the tropical tuna fishery in the eastern 

 Pacific is shown in Figure 1. The shaded area in the figure depicts where 

 yellowfin tuna are taken in association with porpoise. It is vast, exceeds some 

 five million square miles in extent and lies off the coasts of ten of our Latin 

 American neighbors. Currently only the United States is trying to manage the 

 porpoise stocks in this vast area. 



RENEWABLE RESOURCES 



Both the tropical tunas and the porpoise stocks in the eastern Pacifis repre- 

 sent renewable resources, and with proper management they can be harvested 

 in perpetuity without threat to their survival. Modern management practices 

 can ensure that society will benefit from the employment of people, the pro- 

 duction of protein to feed a hungry world and the maintenance of healthy 

 stocks of tunas and porpoise. 



