By Patrick Anderson
Bluefin tuna fishermen have gained the support of 15 members of Congress in the fight against a proposed international trade ban on the prized sushi fish, an important summer income source for Massachusetts fishermen out of Gloucester and elsewhere.
A letter released late last week from U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and signed by five members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation, acknowledged bluefin was overfished, but said traditional fisheries management was a more effective way to restore it.
The trade ban could have "unintended consequences that would unfairly disadvantage U.S. fishermen and actually hinder swift recovery of the species," the letter said.
The letter was signed by recently seated Sen. Scott Brown, along with Massachusetts Congressmen Jon Tierney, Barney Frank, William Delahunt and Stephen Lynch and the entire delegations from New Hampshire and Maine.
A spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. John Kerry, who did not sign the letter, said the senator "is talking with fishing and environmental experts — both at the state and federal level — about the proposal, and will have more discussions with his constituents before he makes a final determination."
The bluefin trade ban was proposed by the Mediterranean principality of Monaco under a United Nations treaty on endangered species known as Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and Wild Fauna and Flora — or CITES.
Although it wouldn't directly prevent the catch of bluefin or sale of the fish within a nation, a CITES listing would prevent fish landed in countries that observe the treaty, which includes the United States, from being exported.
A report from the U.S. Commerce Department said American bluefin tuna exports in 2007 were worth $2.94 million.
Most of that comes from New England and during the 1990 boom years of bluefin, Massachusetts pulled in up to 57 percent of the nation's catch, according to Salem N.H.-based American Bluefin Tuna Association, which has been lobbying Congress against the CITES proposal for months.
The association said revenue from the sale of bluefin tuna in the United States peaked in 1994, when the country reported landings worth $32 million.
An alpha predator and one of the world's largest,fastest fish, the bluefin tuna traverses the Atlantic and spawns in both the Mediterranean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.
In the past decade, bluefin populations have declined worldwide, driven down by a growing demand for sushi around the world.
The international harvest of bluefin is managed by the International Commission on Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, or ICCAT.
In meeting in Recife, Brazil, last December, ICCAT reduced bluefin quota from 22,500 to 13,500 metric tons and established a timeline for rebuilding the stock by 2023.
Snowe's letter, along with most of the objections to a trade ban, say ICCAT is the venue to stop bluefin overfishing, not CITES.
One problem with the trade ban is that Japan, by far the largest single importer of bluefin tuna, has already announced that it would not honor it.
The result could be a group of nations most responsible for exploiting tuna stocks also ignoring the ban, increasing their export to Japan and then serving as a clearinghouse where illegal black market fish could be "laundered," Snowe's letter said.
"Thus, the most depleted portions of the fish stock would suffer increased fishing pressure to make up for the drop in supply from the U.S. and other nations that abide by the CITES," the Snowe letter says. "Meanwhile the U.S. fishermen who have led the world in conservation of the species would be excluded from this market thereby bearing the brunt of a Cites listing's economic impact."
In Gloucester, bluefin is a June-to-October catch that supplements the incomes of many fishermen and boat owners with other fishing targets. With prices as high as $10 a pound, a single giant bluefin of good quality can bring a fisherman as much as $10,000.
Monte Rome, owner of Intershell Seafood Corp., which trades in local bluefin when it is in season, said yesterday that local bluefin catches in recent years had not been good, but the fish still provides significant income for number of small Glouceseter boats.
"Last year saw some signs of recovery," Rome said.
It's unclear exactly what the U.S. government's position on the CITES proposal will be.
In a statement last October, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administrator Jane Lubchenco said the United States "strongly supports Monaco's proposal," but reserved the right to withdraw that support if ICCAT management was sufficiently strengthened.
Yesterday, a NOAA spokeswoman said no decision had been made on the bluefin listing, but an Obama administration position is being developed by NOAA in conjunction with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and would be announced soon.
CITES member nations will meet to vote on the proposal next month at a meeting in Doha, Qatar.
In addition to bluefin, trade restrictions have also been proposed on porbeagle sharks and the spiny dogfish, a small shark whose huge numbers and healthy appetites have plagued New England commercial fishermen.
In addition to members of Congress, letters of opposition to a CITES trade ban on bluefin have been submitted from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, Gov. Deval Patrick's administration and the New England Fisheries Management Council.
Patrick Anderson can be reached at 978-283-7000, x3455, or via e-mail at panderson@gloucestertimes.com.
