April 19, 2023

ICCAT 2009 & 2010

Review and Preview

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2009 ICCAT Recommendations and Resolutions

• 09-01 – Bigeye tuna conservation and management• 09-02 – Rebuilding program for north Atlantic

swordfish• 09-03 – South Atlantic swordfish catch limits• 09-04 – Mediterranean Swordfish Management• 09-05 – Rebuilding program for North Atlantic

albacore tuna• 09-06 – Recovery plan for eastern bluefin tuna• 09-07 – Conservation of thresher sharks• 09-08 & 09-09 – ICCAT record of vessels 20 meters

in length or greater

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2009 ICCAT Recommendations and Resolutions cont.

• 09-10 – IUU Vessel List Provisions • 09-11 – Bluefin tuna catch documentation program• 09-12 – Pilot application of Kobe II Decision Matrix

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09-02 North Atlantic Swordfish (NSWO)

• Extended 2006 Supplemental Recommendation on NSWO Rebuilding (06-02) through 2010 except:

• Reduced TAC to 13,700 t• U.S. NSWO quota and quota share unchanged (3,907 mt

ww)(30.49%)• Retained U.S. ability to harvest up to 200 mt of quota

between 5 deg. N & 5 deg. S. • Allocation of U.S. underhavest to other CPCs unchanged

(1,345 mt ww)• Carry over limitations unchanged (50%)• Transfer provisions unchanged (15%)

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09-03 South Atlantic Swordfish (SSWO)

• TAC is 15,000 t for 2010-2012• U.S. SSWO quota is 100 t• U.S. can carry over underharvests up to 100 t• Allocation from United States to other CPCs as

follows:— 50 t to Namibia

— 25 t to Cote d’Ivoire

— 25 t to Belize

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2010 Swordfish Specifications

• Preparing 2010 proposed specifications

SWO SPECS 2009 2010

NSWO Base 2,937.6 mt dw 2,937.6 mt dw

NSWO Adjusted 4,406.4 mt dw 4,406.4 mt dw

SSWO Base 75.2 mt dw 75.2 mt dw

SSWO Adjusted 150.4 mt dw 75.2 mt dw

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09-05 Rebuilding Program for North Atlantic Albacore (NALB)

• Establishes 10-year rebuilding program (U.S.-EU joint proposal)• Objective: rebuild within 10 years• TAC reduced from 30,200 mt to 28,000 mt per SCRS

recommendation• TAC to include ALL harvesters w/recent directed landings

— United States negotiated a very small decrease given EU share is 47 times larger than U.S. share

— U.S. quota reduced from 538 mt to 527 mt• Rec. 09-05 maintains:

— 25% carryforward of underage— Japan’s bycatch limit of 4% of BET catch

• No change needed domestically

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08-04 Rebuilding Program for Western Bluefin Tuna (WBFT)

• TAC reduced from 2,100 mt to 1,900 mt for 2009 and 1,800 mt for 2010 (inclusive of dead discards)— Intended to rebuild stock by 2019 and end overfishing

by 2010 with > 75% probability standard

— 95 mt to Mexico, incl. bycatch in GoM, ‘off the top’

— Quota allocations to be renegotiated in 2010

• School BFT 10% tolerance balancing period now 2009-2010 (2 years vs. 4 years)

• 50% cap on carryforward will to 10% after 2010

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2010 Bluefin Tuna Specifications

• Would implement 2008 WBFT recommended 1,800 mt TAC for 2010

• Proposed rule published December 2, 2009— 2010 Base Quota: 952.4 mt — Additional 25 mt set-aside for BFT bycatch by PLL fishery in

Northeast Distant Gear Restricted Area (NED)— Would adjust 2010 quotas consistent with 2009 method

• ensure that the Longline category has sufficient quota to operate after required accounting for BFT dead discards

• maintain up to 15% of the U.S. quota in Reserve for potential ICCAT transfers and other domestic management objectives

• provide the non-Longline quota categories a share of the remainder of the underharvest consistent with the Consolidated HMS FMP allocation scheme

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BFT Regulatory Amendment

• Proposed action (published November 4, 2009) considers:

General category

— Increase maximum daily retention limit from 3 to 5 BFT ≥73”

— Allow full January subquota to be reached (i.e., keep fishery open past January 31 until subquota reached)

Harpoon category

— Increase daily incidental retention limit of large medium BFT (73-81”) from 2 fish to 4 fish

• Intent: to enable more thorough utilization of the available U.S. quota, while ending BFT overfishing, rebuilding the BFT stock by 2019, and minimizing bycatch and bycatch mortality to the extent practicable.

• Comment period end extended from Dec. 21, 2009, to Mar. 31, 2010.

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09-07 Thresher Shark Recommendation

• Supersedes Rec. 08-07 on Bigeye Thresher Sharks— Prohibits retention, transshipping, landing, storing, selling of

bigeye thresher sharks in with exception for Mexico small-scale coastal catch of <110 fish

— CPCs should endeavor to ensure vessels do not undertake directed fishery for all thresher species

— Requires CPCs to submit Task I and II data for all thresher species, and number of discards and status of bigeye thresher

— CPCs shall, where possible implement research on thresher sharks to identify nursery areas and then consider time/area closures

• No change needed domestically

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Shortfin Mako Recommendation

• Submitted by U.S. at 2009 annual meeting

• Would have capped landings at the 2006-2008 average or at 2008 levels

• Encouraged the live release of shortfin mako sharks

• Enhanced data collection efforts and research

• Did not pass due to proposal by Japan that would have exempted shortfin makos caught as bycatch

• The 2009 draft proposal was consistent with the FEIS for Amendment 3 to the Consolidated HMS FMP which states that NMFS will take action at the international level to end overfishing of shortfin mako sharks

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09-08 – ICCAT Record of Authorized Vessels 20 m in length or greater

• Replaces Rec. 02-22 which required a list of authorized vessels 24 meters in length or greater

• Retains all requirements from Rec. 02-22 except that the new authorized vessel list will include vessels 20 meters and greater

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09-11 Bluefin Catch Document Program

• Rec 07-10 implemented ICCAT bluefin tuna catch documentation (BCD) program. Became effective in United States on July 2, 2008

• Rec 08-12 amended the BCD program with only clarifications and minor adjustments, and replaced 07-10.

• Rec 09-11 amends the existing program with instructions and clarifications and replaces 08-12. Only minor adjustments were necessary for the United States as a result.

• Making minor operational changes to ensure complete reporting to the ICCAT Secretariat.

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Discussion

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