Expressing the sense of the Congress that the United States should seek a review of compliance by all nations with the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas' conservation and management recommendations for Atlantic bluefin tuna and other species, and should pursue strengthened conservation and management measures to facilitate the recovery of the Atlantic bluefin tuna, and for other purposes.

        [Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 229 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

1st Session
H. CON. RES. 229

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

November 14, 2007

Received and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Congress that the United States should seek
a review of compliance by all nations with the International Commission
for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas' conservation and management
recommendations for Atlantic bluefin tuna and other species, and should
pursue strengthened conservation and management measures to facilitate
the recovery of the Atlantic bluefin tuna, and for other purposes.

Whereas Atlantic bluefin tuna are a valuable commercial and recreational fishery
of the United States and many other countries;
Whereas the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas
(hereinafter referred to as ``the Convention'') was signed in 1966;
Whereas the Convention established the International Commission for the
Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (hereinafter referred to as ``the
Commission'') to coordinate international research and develop
conservation and management recommendations on Atlantic bluefin tuna and
other highly migratory species in the Atlantic Ocean and the adjacent
seas, including the Mediterranean Sea;
Whereas in 1974, the Commission adopted its first conservation and management
recommendation to ensure the sustainability of Atlantic bluefin tuna
throughout the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, while allowing for
the maximum sustainable catch for food and other purposes;
Whereas in 1981, for management purposes, the Commission adopted a working
hypothesis of two Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks, with one occurring west
of 45 degree west longitude (hereinafter referred to as the ``western
Atlantic stock'') and the other occurring east of 45 degree west
longitude (hereinafter referred to as the ``eastern Atlantic and
Mediterranean stock'');
Whereas since 1981, the Commission has adopted additional and more restrictive
conservation and management recommendations for the western Atlantic
stock, and these recommendations have been implemented by nations
fishing west of 45 degree west longitude;
Whereas despite adoption and full implementation of a science-based rebuilding
program for the western Atlantic stock by countries fishing west of 45
degree west longitude, catches and catch rates remain very low;
Whereas in contrast to the conservation and management measures implemented for
the western Atlantic stock, total allowable catches for the eastern
Atlantic and Mediterranean stock have been consistently set at levels
significantly above scientific recommendations intended to maintain
bluefin tuna populations at levels that will permit the maximum
sustainable catch;
Whereas compliance with eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean stock quotas by
parties to the Convention that harvest that stock has been very poor,
most recently with harvests exceeding such total allowable catch levels
by over 50 percent for each of the last 4 years;
Whereas poor management and compliance with recommendations for the eastern
Atlantic and Mediterranean stock are of grave concern because the
condition of the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean stock could
adversely affect recovery of the western Atlantic stock due to mixing
between the two stocks;
Whereas recent scientific data shows considerable mixing of the two stocks and
additional research on stock mixing will improve the understanding of
the relationship between the two stocks and the fisheries for such
stocks, which will assist in the management of these species throughout
their ranges;
Whereas poor data reporting on eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean stock quotas
has frequently thwarted efforts by the Commission to assign quota
overharvests to specific countries;
Whereas many Commission members fishing east of 45 degree west longitude do not
comply with other Commission recommendations to control eastern Atlantic
and Mediterranean bluefin tuna fisheries and conserve this overfished
resource and, more generally, lack of compliance with Commission
recommendations is an ongoing problem;
Whereas the Commission's Standing Committee on Research and Statistics
(hereinafter referred to as ``SCRS'') noted in its 2006 report that the
fishing mortality rate for the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean stock
may be more than three times the level that would permit the stock to
stabilize at the maximum sustainable catch level, and continuing to fish
at the level of recent years ``is expected to drive the spawning biomass
to a very low level'' giving ``rise to a high risk of fishery and stock
collapse'';
Whereas the SCRS has recommended that the annual harvest levels for eastern
Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna be reduced from 32,000 metric
tons to approximately 15,000 metric tons to halt decline of the resource
and initiate recovery;
Whereas in 2006, the Commission adopted the ``Recommendation by ICCAT to
Establish a Multi-Annual Recovery Plan for Bluefin Tuna in the eastern
Atlantic and Mediterranean'' (hereinafter referred to as the ``Recovery
Plan'') containing a wide range of management and monitoring and control
measures designed to facilitate the recovery of the eastern Atlantic and
Mediterranean bluefin tuna stock; and
Whereas the Recovery Plan is inadequate and allows overfishing and stock decline
to continue, and initial information indicates that implementation of
the plan in 2007 by many eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin
tuna-harvesting countries has been poor, reflecting a business-as-usual
attitude from the countries harvesting this stock that is unacceptable
in light of the 2006 SCRS assessment showing a high risk of a fishery
and stock collapse: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That it is the sense of the Congress that the United States, through
the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas
(hereinafter in this concurrent resolution referred to as the
``Commission''), should--
(1) pursue a review and assessment of compliance with
conservation and management measures adopted by the Commission
and in effect for the 2006 eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean
bluefin tuna fishery, occurring east of 45 degree west
longitude, and other fisheries that are subject to the
jurisdiction of the Commission, including data collection and
reporting requirements;
(2) seek to address noncompliance by nations with such
measures through appropriate actions, including, as
appropriate, deducting a proportion of a future quota for a
country to compensate for such country exceeding its quota in
prior years;
(3) pursue a meaningful discussion of the implementation
and effectiveness of the Commission recommendation entitled
``Recommendation by ICCAT to Establish a Multi-Annual Recovery
Plan for Bluefin Tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and
Mediterranean'' (Recommendation 06-05), including seeking
detailed explanations from Commission members that have failed
to fully implement the terms of the recommendation; and
(4) seek to strengthen the conservation and management of
the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna by making
recommendations to halt the decline of the stock and begin to
rebuild it.

Passed the House of Representatives November 13, 2007.

Attest:

LORRAINE C. MILLER,

Clerk.