Atlantic bluefin tuna: International management of a shared resource

Abstract

Management of the highly migratory North Atlantic bluefin confronts the political, economical, and environmental issues inherent in natural resource management. Unique to this fishery is the lucrative fresh Japanese giant bluefin market that has driven, since the early 1970s, North Atlantic fishers to maximize their fishing effort and pursue higher annual harvest quotas. Balancing the efforts of commercial bluefin fishers are global conservation organizations, which face an uphill battle in trying to promote recovery of the now depleted North Atlantic bluefin population.

International fishery managers, through the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), have attempted to manage this fishery while considering both economic and political forces. A key element to successful resource management of highly migratory species stems from the collection and analysis of accurate statistical data by all harvesting countries; an inconstant ingredient that has handicapped the effectiveness of ICCAT's scientific assessments. With a current objective to recover North Atlantic bluefin stocks to pre‐1980 levels, ICCAT is developing regulatory programs designed to encourage comprehensive participation in research, statistical reporting, and adherence to management recommendations and harvest quotas.

Key words:

• International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)
• Thunnus thynnus
• bluefin tuna
• fishery management