The human contribution to the extinction of other species continues unabated. Our systematic destruction of bluefin tuna populations in the Atlantic and Pacific is further proof of our inability to manage natural resources.
The population of Pacific bluefin tuna in the wild is on the verge of collapse. An assessment by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in March of 2013 was bleak. After a brief recovery in the 1990's from overfishing, population estimates of breeding stock and total biomass have returned to record lows. Stocks have declined by 96% since the dawn of industrial fishing operations. Now most of the fish harvested are sexually immature juveniles.
The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) was set up to sustainably manage tuna harvest, but it lacks any real regulatory power. With respect to the Pacific bluefin tuna, the IATTC has agreed to limit the annual catch to 5000 metric tons, which was reached early this month. A meeting to discuss stopping further harvest failed thanks to objections by Japan, Korea, and China.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) plays a vital role in protecting the Pacific bluefin because juveniles migrate to the coastal waters of North America. Mexico has already implemented a ban on commercial and recreational harvest for the remainder of the year, but the United States has been slow to act. NOAA's own threshold for action to protect the species was reached in April. It took a petition and threat of legal action by the Center for Biological Diversity to finally get the agency to take the first steps to classify the Pacific bluefin as critically endangered.
NMFS announces the receipt of, and request public comment on, a petition for rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act. The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), a non-governmental organization, has petitioned the U.S. Department of Commerce to promulgate regulations to prohibit fishing for Pacific bluefin tuna and to identify specific reference points used to determine if overfishing is occurring or if the stock is overfished. The petition asserts that Pacific bluefin tuna are not adequately protected under the existing Fishery Management Plan for U.S. West Coast Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species (HMS FMP). The petition also states that more robust international actions are necessary for ending overfishing of the stock. The petition seeks that NMFS take action to amend the HMS FMP and its implementing regulations for addressing domestic fishing on Pacific bluefin tuna. The petitioner also requests that NMFS develop recommendations to the Secretary of State to end overfishing of Pacific bluefin tuna at the international level, which would not be a rulemaking action.
The petition requests that NOAA take two critical steps.
“1. Prohibit fishing for Pacific bluefin tuna under 50 CFR 660.711(a). In the alternative, establish annual catch limits for bluefin tuna and a permanent minimum size requirement to protect age classes 1-2 from fishing mortality; and
“2. Identify specific values for reference points used to determine if overfishing is occurring or if the stock is overfished, such as maximum fishing mortality threshold and the minimum stock size threshold. 50 CFR 600.310(h)(2)(ii).”
If NMFS determines that rulemaking is appropriate, NMFS will notify the Pacific Fishery Management Council and recommend rulemaking through the council process.
In other words, the Center for Biological Diversity is asking our government to take meaningful action to protect the Pacific bluefin. At a minimum, harvesting juvenile Pacific bluefin should be banned to protect future breeding. Ideally, there should be a moratorium on all harvest until the population recovers to sustainable levels.
Please take a minute and make a public comment in support of a permanent ban on the harvesting of juvenile Pacific bluefin and a moratorium on the harvesting breeding stock until the population recovers to a sustainable threshold.
You may submit comments, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2014-0076, by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2014-0076, click the “Comment Now!” icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.
Mail: Submit written comments to Mark Helvey, NMFS West Coast Region, 501 W. Ocean Blvd., Ste. 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802. Attn: Pacific Bluefin Tuna.
What about a
boycott of Pacific bluefin tuna consumption? Thanks to the dwindling stocks, a single adult Pacific bluefin (500+ pounds) can fetch about $100,000. That means that very few people can afford to sample this buttery fish as sushi or sashimi. Unless you can convince the wealthy to join the boycott, it will fail and fail miserably at that. When have you ever known the rich to do the ethical and responsible thing?