Bluefin Quota
Discards Cause Contention
by Laurie Schreiber
The FV Happy Hour leaving Perkins Cove, 6 am, 4 below zero. The small boat bluefin tuna fleet could lose a chunk of their quota if NMFS shifts that quota to the Pelagic Long Line fleet. Objections were immediately raised over the loss of income to many small boat New England fishing operations and the expected increase in dead discards that critics charge are common in the Pelagic Long Line fleet. © Photo by Sam Murfitt
GLOUCESTER, Mass. – Federal managers are in the process of reconfiguring a system of quotas for the western Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery.
The goal is to more accurately account for “dead discards” – incidental bycatch of bluefin caught by the pelagic longline fleet, which doesn’t directly target this species. The longline fleet has a bluefin quota to account for discards, but managers expect the fleet to exceed the quota, based on past performance.
