III 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 346 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that, at the 21st Regular Meeting of 

the International Commission on the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, 

the United States should seek to ensure management of the eastern 

Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery adheres to the scientific 

advice provided by the Standing Committee on Research and Statistics 

and has a high probability of achieving the established rebuilding target, 

pursue strengthened protections for spawning bluefin populations in the 

Mediterranean Sea to facilitate the recovery of the Atlantic bluefin tuna, 

pursue imposition of more stringent measures to ensure compliance by 

all Members with the International Commission for the Conservation 

of Atlantic Tunas’ conservation and management recommendations for 

Atlantic bluefin tuna and other species, and ensure that United States’ 

quotas of tuna and swordfish are not reallocated to other nations, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 9, 2009 

Ms. SNOWE (for herself, Mr. KERRY, Mr. KIRK, Mr. REED, Mr. 

WHITEHOUSE, and Ms. CANTWELL) submitted the following resolution; 

which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that, at the 21st Regular 

Meeting of the International Commission on the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, the United States should 

seek to ensure management of the eastern Atlantic and 

Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery adheres to the scientific advice provided by the Standing Committee on 

Research and Statistics and has a high probability of 


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achieving the established rebuilding target, pursue 

strengthened protections for spawning bluefin populations in the Mediterranean Sea to facilitate the recovery of the Atlantic bluefin tuna, pursue imposition of 

more stringent measures to ensure compliance by all 

Members with the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas’ conservation and management recommendations for Atlantic bluefin tuna and 

other species, and ensure that United States’ quotas 

of tuna and swordfish are not reallocated to other nations, and for other purposes. 

Whereas Atlantic bluefin tuna and Atlantic swordfish are 

valuable historical commercial and recreational fisheries of the United States and many other countries; 

Whereas the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas entered into force on March 

21, 1969; 

Whereas the Convention established the International 

Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas 

to coordinate international research and develop, implement, and enforce compliance of the conservation 

and management recommendations on the Atlantic 

bluefin tuna, Atlantic swordfish and other Atlantic 

highly migratory species in the Atlantic Ocean and 

the adjacent seas, including the Mediterranean Sea; 

Whereas the United States has established for its fisheries a strict regime of conservation, management 

and compliance for Atlantic highly migratory species 

and protected living marine resources caught incidentally to such fisheries that is unmatched by other 

fishing nations; 


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Whereas the reallocation of United States quotas of Atlantic bluefin tuna and Atlantic swordfish to other 

nations will cause severe economic impacts, including 

a loss of United States jobs, and undermine the conservation of populations of protected living marine resources such as Atlantic billfish species, endangered 

sea turtles, sea birds and marine mammals caught 

incidentally in the fisheries of other nations; 

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 2 Atlantic 

bluefin stocks, with 1 occurring west of 45 degrees 

west longitude (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘western Atlantic stock’’) and the other occurring east of 

45 degrees west longitude (hereinafter referred to as 

the ‘‘eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean stock’’); 

Whereas, despite scientific advice intended to prevent 

overfishing, rebuild and maintain bluefin tuna populations at levels that will permit the maximum sustainable yield, and ensure the future sustainability of 

the stocks, the total allowable catch quotas have consistently been set at levels significantly higher than 

the recommended levels for the eastern Atlantic and 

Mediterranean stock; 

Whereas despite the establishment by the Commission of 

minimum sizes for Atlantic bluefin tuna with which 

the United States has fully complied, the Standing 


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Committee on Research and Statistics has repeatedly 

expressed grave concerns that the flagrant lack of 

compliance with such size limits by Members fishing 

in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean is seriously undermining the effectiveness of the Commission’s bluefin tuna recovery plans; 

Whereas despite the ongoing establishment by the Commission of fishing quotas for the eastern Atlantic and 

Mediterranean bluefin tuna fishery that surpass scientific recommendations, compliance with such 

quotas by parties to the Convention that harvest that 

stock has been extremely poor, with harvests exceeding the scientific advice by more than 50 percent in 

recent years as reported by the Standing Committee 

on Research and Statistics and other independent 

sources monitoring the fishery; 

Whereas insufficient data reporting in combination with 

unreliable national catch statistics resulting from inadequate or non-existent catch monitoring and observer programs has frequently undermined efforts 

by the Commission to determine the levels of overharvests by specific countries; 

Whereas the failure of many Commission members fishing for eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin 

tuna east of 45 degrees west longitude to comply 

with other Commission recommendations to conserve 

and control the overfished eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna stock has been an ongoing 

problem; 

Whereas it is widely recognized that some fishing vessels, 

in particular those participating in illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing, have little incentive to 


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cease these infractions due to a lack of adequate 

sanctions; 

Whereas the Commission’s Standing Committee on Research and Statistics noted in its 2008 stock assessment that the fishing mortality rate for the eastern 

Atlantic and Mediterranean stock was more than 3 

times the level that would permit the stock to stabilize at the maximum sustainable catch level and 

that unless fishing mortality rates are substantially 

reduced in the near future, further reduction in 

spawning stock biomass is likely to occur leading to 

a risk of fisheries and stock collapse; 

Whereas the Commission’s Standing Committee on Research and Statistics has recommended that the annual harvest levels for eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna be reduced to levels between 

15,000 and 8,500 metric tons to halt the decline of 

the resource and initiate rebuilding, and indicated 

that a total allowable catch of 8,500 has a higher 

probability of rebuilding the stock within the Commission’s established time frame; 

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’’ (Recommendation 06-05), 

which was amended in 2008, containing a wide range 

of management, monitoring, and control measures 

designed to facilitate the recovery of the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna stock by the 

year 2023; 

Whereas the Recovery Plan is inadequate and allows 

overfishing and stock decline to continue, and conVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:52 Nov 10, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR346.ATS SR346

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tinuing information and repeated warnings by the 

Standing Committee on Research and Statistics indicate that current implementation of the plan is unlikely to achieve its goals; 

Whereas the Principality of Monaco has submitted a petition to list Atlantic bluefin tuna under Appendix I of 

the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora, and while the 

United States did not cosponsor this petition, the Administration has expressed its support for this petition unless the Commission ‘‘adopts significantly 

strengthened management and compliance measures’’ 

for countries fishing on the eastern Atlantic and 

Mediterranean bluefin tuna stock; 

Whereas since 1981, the Commission has adopted additional and more restrictive conservation and management recommendations for the western Atlantic 

bluefin tuna stock, including a closure to directed 

fishing in the spawning grounds of the Gulf of Mexico, and these recommendations have been fully implemented by Nations fishing west of 45 degrees west 

longitude; 

Whereas despite adopting, fully implementing, and complying with a science-based rebuilding program for 

the western Atlantic bluefin tuna stock by countries 

fishing west of 45 degrees west longitude, catches 

and catch rates remain very low, especially for the 

United States; 

Whereas scientific evidence now provides indisputable evidence from electronic tagging studies and other scientific research that mixing of the eastern and western Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks occurs throughout 


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the Atlantic ocean on feeding and fishing grounds, 

and the poor management and noncompliance with 

the Commission’s Recovery Plan for the eastern Atlantic stock is having an adverse impact on the western Atlantic stock and United States fisheries; 

Whereas additional research on stock mixing will improve 

the understanding of the relationship between eastern 

and western bluefin tuna stocks, which will assist in 

the conservation, recovery, and management of the 

species throughout its range; 

Whereas a 2008 Independent Review of the Commission 

concluded that the Commission’s management of 

bluefin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean has been ‘‘widely regarded as an international 

disgrace’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the 

2 United States delegation to the 21st Regular Meeting of 

3 the International Commission for the Conservation of At4 lantic Tunas, should— 

5 (1) seek the adoption of all revisions to the Re6 covery Plan for eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean 

7 bluefin tuna that will conform the Plan to the sci8 entific advice provided by the Standing Committee 

9 on Research and Statistics and has a high prob10 ability of achieving the established rebuilding target 

11 within the established time frame, including a strict 

12 penalty regime and other appropriate mechanisms to 

13 verify and ensure compliance; 


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1 (2) seek to expand time and area closures of 

2 spawning areas in the Mediterranean in full con3 formity with the scientific advice provided by the 

4 Standing Committee on Research and Statistics; 

5 (3) pursue the continued aggressive review and 

6 assessment by the Commission’s Committee on Com7 pliance of compliance with conservation and manage8 ment measures, including data collection and report9 ing requirements, adopted by the Commission and in 

10 effect for the 2009 eastern Atlantic and Mediterra11 nean bluefin tuna fishery, occurring east of 45 de12 grees west longitude, and other fisheries that are 

13 subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission; 

14 (4) aggressively seek to address noncompliance 

15 with such measures by all parties to the Convention 

16 through all appropriate actions; 

17 (5) pursue the commitment by the Commission 

18 and its parties to fund additional research on both 

19 the western Atlantic and eastern Atlantic and Medi20 terranean bluefin tuna stocks including but not lim21 ited to the extent to which the stocks mix; and 

22 (6) strenuously defend the interests of United 

23 States with regard to Atlantic bluefin tuna, Atlantic 

24 swordfish, and other species managed by the ComVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:52 Nov 10, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR346.ATS SR346

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1 mission, including the protection of U.S. quota 

2 shares. 

Æ 


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