Robert G. Thibault, The Canadian Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, today announced this year's quota for bluefin tuna has been set at 620 tons.
For 2003, Canada will continue to work with an allocation system based on fleet caps, as is outlined in the attached table. In this system, a catch limit, or "cap", is assigned to each of Canada's seven fleet sectors fishing off the Atlantic coast.
Taken together, the caps currently exceed Canada's national bluefin tuna quota. Therefore, the fishery will end as soon as the national quota is caught. Caps will remain in place until October 4, after which a competitive fishery will begin for any uncaught quota.
The fishery begins in mid-summer after bluefin tuna migrate north into Canadian waters. Last year, the fishery closed on September 29.
"I am also announcing today that my department will develop a discussion paper for consultation with industry on the concept of fleet quotas," said Minister Thibault. "This is a continuation of the review of the allocation process that began last year, with a view to developing fleet quotas for the 2004 season."
Bluefin tuna is caught throughout the western Atlantic from the Gulf of Mexico to southern Newfoundland. The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) allocates tunas in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, and sets
quotas for Canada, the United States, Japan, Bermuda and St. Pierre and Miquelon for the Western Atlantic bluefin stock.
2003 ATLANTIC BLUEFIN TUNA FISHERY
FLEET "CAPS"
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Fleet Sector Caps (in tons)
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Quebec 105
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Gulf New Brunswick 105
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Newfoundland and Labrador 105
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Gulf Nova Scotia 105
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St. Margaret's Bay 105
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Southwest Nova Scotia 125
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Prince Edward Island 180
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ALLOCATION OF 2003 BLUEFIN TUNA QUOTA
While Canada's bluefin tuna quota for 2003 is 620.15 tons, the actual quota to be fished by the inshore fleets is 545 tons. This is because a number of deductions are made from the total before the inshore quota is set. These items are:
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Other Allocations Tons (t)
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Allocation to pelagics longline fleet 15.0
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Offshore license allocation 20.0
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2002 fishery overrun deducted 8.9
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2002 Discard estimate
(mainly from swordfish fishery bycatch) 31.25
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Total - Other Allocations 75.15
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This total is then deducted from the total 2003 Bluefin tuna quota, to arrive at the inshore fleet quota:
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2003 Bluefin Tuna Quota 620.15t
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Less "Other Allocations" - 75.15t
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Total quota for inshore fleets 545t
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For specific details, the management plan should be consulted. It is available at your local DFO office.