Contact: Gordon Helm                     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                                         10/8/98

Recommendations to improve the health and quantity of Atlantic billfish, which include blue marlin, white marlin, sailfish and longbill spearfish, are now available for public review from the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atomospheric Administration announced today. The Fisheries Service is seeking comment from fishermen, conservationists and other interested members of the public on the draft proposal to protect and rebuild these stocks.

The draft Atlantic billfish fishery management plan was the first of 39 updated plans to be submitted for public comment under new guidelines of the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Management and Conservation Act that require fisheries managers to identify and rebuild overfished species. Draft amendments to the Atlantic billfish fishery management plan were developed by Fisheries Service managers with help from an advisory panel composed of recreational interests, the commercial fishing industry, conservationists and scientists. The draft provides a list of alternative actions, including recommended options.

"The fishing industry, conservation groups, and the general public are all concerned about the future of these valuable resources," said Terry Garcia, assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and deputy NOAA administrator. "This draft, with its alternatives, contains a series of positive actions to restore depleted fish populations."

Atlantic blue and white marlin were identified as overfished by the Fisheries Service in September 1997. Later that year, U.S. fishery managers took a leadership role as the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas passed a binding recommendation for billfish resources throughout the Atlantic Ocean that included reducing blue and white marlin landings by at least 25 percent from 1996 levels. ICCAT also monitors sailfish and longbill spearfish.

"I want to thank American fishermen for their hard work in support of Atlantic billfish conservation," said Rolland Schmitten, Fisheries Service director. "However, we must continue to closely monitor and manage this overfished species. These proposed amendments to the billfish fishery management plan should help the United States meet its commitment to ICCAT while laying out a strategy to help meet our domestic goal of rebuilding overfished stocks."

Atlantic blue marlin and white marlin stocks are estimated to be at 24 percent and 23 percent respectively of the levels needed to maintain the stock over an extended period, called maximum sustainable yield. Currently, commercial fishermen are not permitted to land Atlantic billfish, and no Atlantic billfish can be purchased, bartered, traded, or sold. A draft fishery management plan for other highly migratory species, expected to be proposed soon, will contain measures designed to reduce billfish bycatch in commercial highly migratory species fisheries (tunas, sharks, and swordfish).

Highlights of the amendments to the Atlantic billfish fishery management plan include:

• A 10 year rebuilding plan for overfished Atlantic billfish resources, which would require Atlantic-wide reductions in landings for Atlantic blue marlin to 1,800 metric tons and for white marlin to 800 metric tons. These actions would be contingent on action by ICCAT. The United States accounts for only a small percentage of Atlantic billfish mortality from recreational landings and commercial catch discards.);
  
• Increase minimum size limits for blue marlin, sailfish, and maintain the current minimum size for white marlin;
  
• Establish a bag limit of one billfish per vessel per trip, with a provision to set the bag limit to zero in the event that the Atlantic blue and/or white marlin landing limits have been reached;
  
• Implement charter/headboat logbook, permit and observer programs;
  
• Require prior notification for billfish fishing tournaments;
  
• Develop educational outreach programs for commercial and recreational fishermen to enhance post-release survival rates.