IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 229 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 9, 2007 

Mr. PALLONE (for himself, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. FARR, Mr. 

ALLEN, and Mr. BROWN of South Carolina) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

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; 


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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 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, despite the establishment by the Commission of 

fishing quotas based on total allowable catch levels for 

the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna 

fishery that exceed scientific recommendations, compliVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:31 Oct 10, 2007 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HC229.IH HC229

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ance with such 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 data reporting 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 


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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; 

Whereas the Recovery Plan is inadequate and allows overfishing and stock decline to continue; 

Whereas, since 1981, the Commission has adopted additional 

and more restrictive conservation and management recommendations for the western Atlantic bluefin tuna 

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 

bluefin tuna stock by countries fishing west of 45 degree 

west longitude, catches and catch rates remain very low; 

and 

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 bluefin 

tuna due to mixing between the two stocks: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that the 

3 United States, through the International Commission for 

4 the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (hereinafter in this 

5 concurrent resolution the ‘‘Commission’’), should— 


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1 (1) pursue a review and assessment of compli2 ance with conservation and management measures 

3 adopted by the Commission and in effect for the 

4 2006 Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin 

5 tuna fishery, occuring east of 45 degree west lon6 gitude, and other fisheries that are subject to the ju7 risdiction of the Commission, including data collec8 tion and reporting requirements; 

9 (2) seek to address noncompliance by nations 

10 with such measures through appropriate actions, in11 cluding, as appropriate, deducting a proportion of a 

12 future quota for a country to compensate for such 

13 country exceeding its quota in prior years; 

14 (3) pursue a meaningful discussion of the im15 plementation and effectiveness of the Commission 

16 recomendation entitled ‘‘Recommendation by ICCAT 

17 to Establish a Multi-Annual Recovery Plan for 

18 Bluefin Tuna in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterra19 nean’’ (Recommendation 06–05), including seeking 

20 detailed explanations from Commission members 

21 that have failed to fully implement the terms of the 

22 recommendation; and 

23 (4) seek to strengthen the conservation and 

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1 nean bluefin tuna by making recommendations to 

2 halt the decline of the stock and begin to rebuild it. 

Æ 


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