Public Lecture Series
Speaker:
Rebecca Lent, Ph.D.
Director, Office of International Affairs
NOAA Fisheries Service
Raising the (Sushi) Bar: Can International Cooperation Save Bluefin Tuna?
Tuesday, March 31st, 2009
7 pm
Kingsbury Hall - N101, University of New Hampshire
directions to UNH - campus map
Abstract:
Atlantic tunas and tuna-like species are managed through an international organization, due to their highly migratory
status. The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) is composed of 47 members, whose
coastal fisheries and distant water fleets pursue bluefin, yellowfin, bigeye and albacore tunas, as well as swordfish.
While ICCAT has had success in rebuilding North Atlantic swordfish, the plight of the bluefin tuna is exactly the
opposite - particularly for the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean stock. Quotas are set above scientifically
recommended levels, and the quotas are not respected. This presentation addresses the paradox that the organization
that had the sole success story for international stock rebuilding is unable to sustainably manage bluefin tuna.
