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A Commentary on Western Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Assessments

1998; Wiley; Volume: 127; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1577/1548-8659(1998)127 2.0.co;2

1548-8659

Michael P. Sissenwine, Pamela M. Mace, Joseph E. Powers, Gerald P. Scott,

Marine Bivalve and Aquaculture Studies

Transactions of the American Fisheries SocietyVolume 127, Issue 5 p. 838-855 Article A Commentary on Western Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Assessments Michael P. Sissenwine, Corresponding Author Michael P. Sissenwine [email protected] National Marine Fisheries Service, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, 02543 USA[email protected]Search for more papers by this authorPamela M. Mace, Pamela M. Mace National Marine Fisheries Service, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, 02543 USASearch for more papers by this authorJoseph E. Powers, Joseph E. Powers National Marine Fisheries Service, 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, Florida, 33149 USASearch for more papers by this authorGerald P. Scott, Gerald P. Scott National Marine Fisheries Service, 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, Florida, 33149 USASearch for more papers by this author Michael P. Sissenwine, Corresponding Author Michael P. Sissenwine [email protected] National Marine Fisheries Service, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, 02543 USA[email protected]Search for more papers by this authorPamela M. Mace, Pamela M. Mace National Marine Fisheries Service, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, 02543 USASearch for more papers by this authorJoseph E. Powers, Joseph E. Powers National Marine Fisheries Service, 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, Florida, 33149 USASearch for more papers by this authorGerald P. Scott, Gerald P. Scott National Marine Fisheries Service, 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, Florida, 33149 USASearch for more papers by this author First published: 09 January 2011 https://doi.org/10.1577/1548-8659(1998)127 2.0.CO;2Citations: 28Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Abstract Intense fishing for bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus in the western Atlantic Ocean began in the 1960s, when landings peaked at nearly 20,000 metric tons (mt). During the 1970s, landings averaged about 5,000 mt. The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) established a total allowable catch (TAC) of 1,160 mt in 1982 and has set limits ranging from 1,995 to 2,660 mt annually since. The Commission's assessments indicate that unrestricted fishing through the 1960s and 1970s resulted in a sharp decline in abundance, primarily because heavy fishing on young fish wasted potentially good recruitment. Since the late 1980s, ICCAT management has stabilized the western Atlantic population, and recently there are signs of improvement. Resource assessments and management of western Atlantic bluefin tuna are subjects of severe controversy. Two of the most controversial issues are the stock assessment implications of fish migrations between the western and eastern Atlantic management units and the strategies for rebuilding abundance in the western Atlantic. In 1994, the U.S. National Research Council (NRC) was commissioned to review bluefin tuna stock assessments with particular emphasis on the issue of population mixing. The NRC report was widely misinterpreted as being more optimistic than it really was for the western population. Analyses by the NRC committee indicated that the abundance of spawning age fish in the west was higher than the value estimated in the 1993 ICCAT assessment but also that recruitment in the western Atlantic had failed so badly that some year-classes were estimated to have zero fish. Projections of future population size based on the NRC analyses indicated that recent levels of catch could not have been sustained. The critical issue now facing fishery managers is how to rebuild the population to a size, estimated to be about eight times the current size, that can produce maximum sustainable yield. 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