IV

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 344

To express the sense of the Congress regarding North Atlantic swordfish

and other highly migratory species of fish.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 8, 1998

Mr. PALLONE submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was

referred to the Committee on Resources

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

To express the sense of the Congress regarding North

Atlantic swordfish and other highly migratory species of fish.

Whereas North Atlantic swordfish were caught on a sustainable basis for nearly 150 years using harpoons and rod

and reel gear;

Whereas North Atlantic swordfish populations have fallen

nearly 70 percent following the introduction of longline

fishing gear in 1963;

Whereas North Atlantic swordfish populations are at only 58

percent of levels needed to achieve the maximum sustainable yield—the management goal level mandated by both

the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the International Commission for the

Conservation of Atlantic Tunas;
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Whereas domestic management measures of the United

States and international management measures of the

International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas have failed to manage North Atlantic swordfish

populations on a sustainable basis;

Whereas the bycatch from commercial longline and driftnet

gear in the North Atlantic swordfish fishery constitutes

a grave threat to the biological health of swordfish and

other highly migratory species;

Whereas the average size of a commercially caught North Atlantic swordfish has fallen from 266 pounds in 1963 to

just 90 pounds in 1996;

Whereas nearly 2 of 3 North Atlantic swordfish now caught

in the United States commercial swordfish fishery are juveniles caught before they are capable of spawning;

Whereas longline fishing gear captures 98 percent of the

swordfish taken in the North Atlantic United States

swordfish fishery; and

Whereas the International Commission for the Conservation

of Atlantic Tunas scientific body has recommended that

overall fishing mortality be significantly reduced to rebuild depleted populations of North Atlantic swordfish

and other highly migratory species: 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 National Marine Fisheries Service

4 should implement such management measures as

5 will restore populations of North Atlantic swordfish
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1 to levels mandated by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

2 Conservation and Management Act within 7 years;

3 (2) to rebuild depleted North Atlantic swordfish

4 populations within 7 years, appropriate Federal

5 agencies should take action to establish a bycatch re6 duction framework, including a timeframe and ref7 erence points, to reduce the bycatch of North Atlan8 tic swordfish and other highly migratory species of

9 fish by 75 percent in the directed commercial sword10 fish fishery by 2005 through the implementation of

11 appropriate management and conservation measures,

12 with 50 percent of this reduction occurring in the

13 first 2 years;

14 (3) dead North Atlantic swordfish and all other

15 highly migratory species discarded as a result of

16 commercial fishing activities should be counted

17 against species-specific quotas of the United States

18 established as a result of domestic regulation or

19 international fishery management agreements;

20 (4) species-specific bycatch limits should be es21 tablished by the United States for North Atlantic

22 swordfish and all other highly migratory species,

23 that, if exceeded, trigger predetermined regulatory

24 actions having as their sole purpose the conservation

25 of highly migratory species;
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1 (5) time and area closures for longline and

2 driftnet gear should be utilized for known nursery

3 areas, spawning grounds, and other areas with high

4 concentrations of commercial bycatch of North At5 lantic swordfish and other highly migratory species

6 to reduce its associated mortality;

7 (6) longlines intended for use in the exclusive

8 economic zone of the United States or by United

9 States fishing vessels should be limited to not more

10 than 10 standard highway miles in overall length to

11 reduce the bycatch and associated mortality of

12 North Atlantic swordfish and other highly migratory

13 species;

14 (7) the use of longlines should be prohibited in

15 the exclusive economic zone of the United States or

16 by United States fishing vessels for more than 6

17 consecutive hours without retrieving the longlines, to

18 reduce harmful levels of bycatch mortality associated

19 with the bycatch of highly migratory species;

20 (8) additional fishing gear and technique modi21 fications should be required as necessary to accom22 plish needed bycatch reduction goals for swordfish

23 and other highly migratory species;

24 (9) domestic observer coverage should be in25 creased to not less that 50 percent of all pelagic
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1 longline and driftnet vessels pursuing highly migra2 tory species in United States waters;

3 (10) representatives of the United States should

4 aggressively pursue complementary international

5 conservation and management measures for highly

6 migratory species, including meaningful inter7 national enforcement and compliance measures, be8 ginning at the 1999 International Commission for

9 the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas regular meeting

10 and during the course of other international fishery

11 discussions and negotiations; and

12 (11) if conservation and management goals are

13 not adequately met in the final fisheries manage14 ment plan for highly migratory species, the Congress

15 should seek to enact such restrictions and conserva16 tion measures as are necessary to ensure that the

17 policies expressed in this concurrent resolution are

18 met in the most expeditious manner possible.

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