Information on NCMC's conservation efforts for sailfish, marlin, swordfish, tuna, and sharks

NCMC ASKS FOR HABITAT PROTECTION
FOR BLUEFIN TUNA
IN THE GULF OF MEXICO

4/10/07  In a joint letter to NOAA Fisheries, NCMC and the Tag-a-Giant Foundation asked the agency to designate the bluefin tuna's spawning ground in the Gulf of Mexico as a "habitat area of particular concern" (HAPC) under its Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan. The spawning area is located in the northern gulf and covers about 125,000 square miles. NCMC points out that this area is the only known spawning area for the western Atlantic population of bluefin, which makes it of the utmost ecological importance to the future survival of the severely depleted bluefin population and highly vulnerable to human-induced degradation, including through certain types of fishing.

Research conducted by Dr. Barbara Block using pop-up archival tag technology and published in Nature magazine confirms that there are two distinct stocks of Atlantic bluefin tuna - one in the east and one in the west. The stocks mix - tagging shows trans-Atlantic crossings - but only to feed, not to breed. The western bluefin spawning stock, which breeds in the Gulf of Mexico, is severely depleted.

Dr. Block's studies point to the need for stricter controls on fishing in the central Atlantic - where the two stocks mix and the weaker western stock is subject to unsustainable fishing pressure under higher eastern Atlantic quotas - and in the Gulf of Mexico. In fact, because of mixing on tuna feeding grounds, the gulf breeding ground is the one area where our conservation efforts can be focused on protecting western fish. International rules already prohibit longliners from targeting bluefin in the gulf, but substantial bycatch in the yellowfin tuna longline fisheries still threatens the dwindling spawning population.

An HAPC designation under the Essential Fish Habitat provisions of federal law (the Magnuson-Stevens Act) would provide additional focus for conservation efforts and, in the case of areas vulnerable to fishing impacts, carries management implications. We will keep you posted on NOAA Fisheries' decision, along with other activities to protect bluefin tuna.

Donate to our Bring Back the Big Fish program.

Read more on our Bring Back the Big Fish program.