Contact: Scott Smullen FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
7/30/96
The National Marine Fisheries Service will close the large school and small medium component of Atlantic bluefin tuna Angling category off the Atlantic coast on July 31, the agency announced today.
The fishery will close because Angling category fishermen will have caught the annual large school and small medium Atlantic bluefin tuna quota of 100 metric tons by Wednesday, and fisheries managers want to prevent overharvest of the quota for this fishery. The fishery will remain closed through Dec. 31, 1996.
Fishing for, retaining, possessing, or landing large school and small medium Atlantic bluefin tuna by vessels in the Angling category must cease at 11:30 p.m. local time July 31, 1996. Large school and small medium Atlantic bluefin tuna are defined as those fish measuring between 47 inches (119 cm) and 73 inches (185 cm) total curved fork length.
However, Angling category fishermen may still catch and release bluefin tuna larger than 47-inches-long if they are participating in the fisheries service's catch and release program. Also, the Angling category fishery for school size tuna 27 to 47-inches-long in waters off New Jersey and states north (north of 38 degrees 47 minutes north latitude) remains open and is not affected by this closure.
The fisheries service, following regulations promulgated under the authority of the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act controlling the harvest of Atlantic bluefin tuna, is authorized to monitor the catch and landing statistics and, on the basis of those statistics, to project a date when the catch of Atlantic bluefin tuna will equal the annual quota. Once the quota is achieved, the fisheries service closes the fishery and prohibits retention of Atlantic bluefin tuna by those fishing in the category subject to the quota.