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 Commis-
sion), 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;
Whereas the Commission adopted conservation and manage-
ment 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 hypoth-
esis 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 east-
ern stock found in the Atlantic Ocean east of the 45 de-
gree line and in the Mediterranean Sea;
Whereas, since 1981, the Commission has adopted additional,
more restrictive conservation and management rec-
ommendations 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 addi-
tional 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 rec-
ommendations 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) re-
view of the scientific data used by the Commission con-
cluded that the available data is consistent with a one
stock management strategy for bluefin tuna in the North
Atlantic;
Whereas the NAS review also found that abundance of Atlan-
tic bluefin tuna in the western Atlantic has remained sta-
ble since 1988, in contrast to the roughly 50 percent de-
cline in abundance reported by the Commission;
Whereas the continued unrestricted harvesting of Atlantic
bluefin tuna east of the 45 degree line and in the Medi-
terranean Sea will undermine the Commission’s rec-
ommendations being implemented west of the line to re-
build Atlantic bluefin tuna; and
Whereas, in order to successfully rebuild the Atlantic bluefin
tuna stock, conservation and management recommenda-
tions must be adopted and implemented throughout the
Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea: Now, there-
fore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—
(1) the United States and the International
Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas
(hereinafter referred to as the Commission) should
continue to promote the conservation and manage-
ment of Atlantic bluefin tuna throughout the Atlan-
tic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea and develop a pro-
gram to rebuild Atlantic bluefin tuna that requires
the participation of all nations that harvest this
species;
(2) the United States should ensure that the
scientific findings and recommendations of the Na-
tional Academy of Sciences Atlantic bluefin tuna re-