103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 295

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Whereas Atlantic bluefin tuna are a valuable commercial and

recreational fishery of the United States;

Whereas many other countries also harvest Atlantic bluefin

tuna in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea;

Whereas the International Commission for the Conservation

of Atlantic Tunas (hereinafter referred to as the Commission), was established in 1969 to develop conservation

and management recommendations for Atlantic bluefin

tuna and other highly migratory species in the Atlantic

Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea;
2

Whereas the Commission adopted conservation and management recommendations in 1974 to ensure the recovery

and sustainability of Atlantic bluefin tuna throughout the

Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea;

Whereas, in 1981, the Commission adopted a management

strategy for Atlantic bluefin tuna predicated on a hypothesis that two stocks of the fish existed; a western stock

found in the Atlantic west of 45 degrees west longitude

(hereafter referred to as the 45 degree line), and an eastern stock found in the Atlantic Ocean east of the 45 degree line and in the Mediterranean Sea;

Whereas, since 1981, the Commission has adopted additional,

more restrictive conservation and management recommendations for Atlantic bluefin tuna for countries that

harvest bluefin tuna west of the 45 degree line, including

a 25 percent quota reduction since 1991 with an additional 40 percent quota reduction scheduled for 1995;

Whereas the United States and other Commission members

that harvest bluefin tuna west of the 45 degree line have

implemented all conservation and management recommendations adopted by the Commission for Atlantic

bluefin tuna west of the 45 degree line;

Whereas many other Commission members do not comply

with the conservation and management recommendations

adopted by the Commission for Atlantic bluefin tuna east

of the 45 degree line;

Whereas a recent National Academy of Sciences (NAS) review of the scientific data used by the Commission concluded that the available data is consistent with a one

stock management strategy for bluefin tuna in the North

Atlantic;
3

Whereas the NAS review also found that abundance of Atlantic bluefin tuna in the western Atlantic has remained stable since 1988, in contrast to the roughly 50 percent decline in abundance reported by the Commission;

Whereas the continued unrestricted harvesting of Atlantic

bluefin tuna east of the 45 degree line and in the Mediterranean Sea will undermine the Commission’s recommendations being implemented west of the line to rebuild Atlantic bluefin tuna; and

Whereas, in order to successfully rebuild the Atlantic bluefin

tuna stock, conservation and management recommendations must be adopted and implemented throughout the

Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

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

3 (1) the United States and the International

4 Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas

5 (hereinafter referred to as the Commission) should

6 continue to promote the conservation and manage7 ment of Atlantic bluefin tuna throughout the Atlan8 tic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea and develop a pro9 gram to rebuild Atlantic bluefin tuna that requires

10 the participation of all nations that harvest this

11 species;

12 (2) the United States should ensure that the

13 scientific findings and recommendations of the Na14 tional Academy of Sciences Atlantic bluefin tuna re-
4

1 view panel are made available to and included in the

2 considerations of the Commission’s scientific advi3 sory panel;

4 (3) the United States should oppose any further

5 quota reductions for nations harvesting Atlantic

6 bluefin tuna west of the 45 degree line and insist

7 that all nations harvesting Atlantic bluefin tuna west

8 and east of the 45 degree line implement comparable

9 conservation and rebuilding programs for the Atlan10 tic bluefin tuna resource;

11 (4) the continued harvesting by fishermen from

12 any country which is a member of the Commission

13 and which does not comply with the conservation

14 and management recommendations of the Commis15 sion will be considered by the Congress to diminish

16 the effectiveness of an international fishery con17 servation program and, as such, will be considered

18 by the Congress to be subject to the embargo provi19 sion in Section 6 of the Atlantic Tunas Convention

20 Act;

21 (5) the United States should encourage other

22 nations with significant markets for Atlantic bluefin

23 tuna to prohibit the importation of that species from

24 harvesting nations which do not comply with the
5

1 conservation and management recommendations

2 adopted by the Commission; and

3 (6) the United States should encourage the

4 Commission to adopt recommendations authorizing

5 the use of discretionary trade actions as enforcement

6 measures when the actions of a nation are under7 mining the effectiveness of conservation and man8 agement recommendations of the Commission.

Passed the House of Representatives October 5,

1994.

Attest:

Clerk.
103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 295

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

To express the sense of the Congress of the United

mission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas.bluefin tuna adopted by the International Comservation and management measures for Atlanticseek compliance by all countries with the conStates that the United States should actively