WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 18, 2011 – A request by U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine), Ranking Member of the Commerce subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard for a hearing in Portland about plans for new bluefin tuna fishing regulations has been granted. On Tuesday, Senator Snowe asked the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to provide an extended period of comment and to host a public comment meeting in Maine for a proposed modification of the allocation of tuna quota specifications for the 2011 fishing year.
“Allocation decisions have dramatic impacts on our fishermen and entire coastal economies, and we need to be very watchful of how NOAA proceeds,” said Senator Snowe. “By coming to Portland to speak with the fishing community, it is my hope NOAA will acquire a better understanding of the current state of our fisheries, gather more accurate data, and consider the socioeconomic effects before imposing new or amended fisheries management measures on this vital livelihood for so many Maine families.”
Under NOAA’s proposed rule, the total U.S. quota is 948.7 metric tons (mt) annually (i.e., a reduction of 28.7 mt or 2.9 percent from the 2010 total U.S. quota of 977.4 mt). In addition, to establish the 2011 quota specifications, the National Marine Fisheries Service proposes subtracting a significant increase to 160 mt in the dead discard estimate from the U.S. baseline quota of 923.7 mt, and adding the 94.9 mt of underharvest allowed to be carried forward, for an adjusted total of 858.6 mt. This would further limit the 2011 fishing allocation for Maine’s tuna fishermen.