The NCMC MARINE BULLETIN No. 123 Fall 2008 TAKE MARLIN Inside this issue: OFF THE MENU Ocean View- 2 Commentary by New Campaign Targets Chefs Schratwieser, director of conservation for NCMC the IGFA. President And Consumers In Fight To Help Ken Hinman Endangered Marlin WORLDWIDE BILLFISH DECLINE Gulf Bluefin 3 INDICATES OCEANS ARE he next time you’re in a restaurant Tuna Breeding OUT OF BALANCE Ground and see marlin on the menu, “just Considered for say no.” That’s the message of a new, he “Take Marlin Off the Menu” Special Status T nationwide campaign to take marlin and campaign is being launched in Risky Business 4 other billfi sh off the menus of America’s response to the declining numbers of West Coast High 5 restaurants and out of seafood counters. T billfi sh, including blue, white, striped and Seas Longline Marlin, sailfi sh and spearfi sh are some black marlin and sailfi sh, which are found Fishery Moves Forward of the ocean’s most magnifi cent fi sh, throughout the Atlantic, Pacifi c and Indian swimming free in the deep waters of the Oceans. Billfi sh populations have plunged Recovery Plans 6 Atlantic, Pacifi c and Indian Oceans. over the past several decades as a direct for River Herring & Shad to According to three major marine result of commercial tuna and swordfi sh Address conservation organizations who have joined fl eets that catch marlin either through long- At-sea Bycatch forces to “Take Marlin Off the Menu,” lining or through netting. On the other Gulf Council 6 billfi sh populations are being decimated by hand, most sport fi shermen now practice Delays Approval commercial overharvesting around the catch and release of marlin and other billfi sh, of Aquaculture world, and the U.S. market for these fi sh is a conservation ethic in keeping with the Plan contributing to their demise. catch and release of other freshwater and ASMFC To Look 7 saltwater fi sh throughout North America. Into “Ecological” By taking the “Take Marlin Off Management of The Menu” campaign to the stomachs Marlin are top predators in the ocean, Menhaden of American consumers, the National according to Ellen Peel, president of TBF. Coalition for Marine Conservation and Marlin are distinguished by a long bill, an our campaign partners, the International extension of the upper jaw and nasal bone; Game Fish Association (IGFA), and The brilliant colors when “lit up;” and sleek Plus: Billfi sh Foundation (TBF), are striving to body shapes that allow them to swim at reverse the demand for marlin meat and its extraordinary speeds. They are highly • NCMC Remembers import into the United States. A successful migratory in nature and can travel great Charles Brashears campaign will take a bite out of commercial distances, such as crossing the Atlantic • There is still time overfi shing in the Atlantic and Pacifi c Ocean. Like lions, tigers, wolves and eagles, to support NCMC by Oceans, which accounts for more than 90% marlin and other billfi sh are important top- purchasing your holiday of the annual marlin mortality. of-the-food chain predators that help keep cards from Sport Fishing marine ecosystems in balance. They are magazine! “The goal of the “Take Marlin Off The Menu Campaign” is to persuade restaurants called “indicator species” for their presence across the United States and Canada to take or, lack thereof, which indicates whether the marlin off their menus for good,” said Jason ecosystems are balanced and functioning. (Continued on page 3 ) 4 ROYAL STREET, SE LEESBURG, VA 20175 2 NCMC MARINE BULLETIN PUBLIC AWARENESS LEADS TO POLITICAL CHANGE cean View ut stateside markets remain wide-open to Pacifi c Commentary billfi sh taken on the high seas by foreign fl eets. And Bthe U.S. – despite limiting its own fi shermen to a TABLE MATTERS virtually all-release recreational fi shery - is the world’s largest importer of marlin; over 2 million pounds annually! here are many tools in the fi shery management tool The commercial harvest of marlin and sailfi sh is mostly box. You choose the ones that fi t the job at hand. incidental to longline fi shing for tuna and swordfi sh and Some tools are used all the time, like catch quotas and T thus largely unregulated. Banning the sale of billfi sh takes size limits. And some you reach for only when none of the away the longliners’ incentive to keep and land fi sh that others are up to the task. might otherwise be released alive. Closing the U.S. market The fi rst and last time we worked to close the commercial alone could save thousands of marlin a year. market for a marine fi sh was 20 years ago, when we helped We feature marlin in the name of this campaign – which ban the sale of Atlantic billfi sh in the United States. Once will benefi t all billfi sh - because that’s what people see on again we’re trying to Take Marlin Off the Menu – but the menu. Our short-term goal is to persuade consumers this time, it’s all billfi sh; marlin and sailfi sh, Atlantic and to stop buying marlin and for chefs and restaurants to take Pacifi c. We and our partners in this campaign, The Billfi sh them off their menus. Foundation and International Game Fish Association, believe it is the one tool left to us (the U.S.) to end any home-grown In the long-run, if we are successful in raising consumer contribution to global over-exploitation of these magnifi cent and public awareness of the plight of billfi sh to unprecedented ocean predators, while raising the need for international levels, we will elevate billfi sh conservation as a priority for billfi sh conservation to new heights. the next Congress and the new Administration, ultimately leading to national legislation to outlaw importation and Nearly all billfi sh species are either overfi shed - some sale of any species of billfi sh, no matter where it comes from, severely; white, striped and Atlantic blue marlin - or their and a national commitment to become the world leader for status is unknown but suspect. Sale of billfi sh caught in more meaningful international conservation, in the Pacifi c the Atlantic was outlawed in 1989 to curtail a developing as well as Atlantic. domestic market. In 2004, the federal government outlawed trade in striped marlin taken off the west coast, leaving Please join us by going “marlin-free,” and spread the Hawaii as the sole U.S. haven for commercial billfi shing. word. Ken Hinman, President NATIONAL COALITION FOR MARINE CONSERVATION Founded in 1973 The NCMC is a 501(c)(3) non-pro t organization dedicated to the following goals: ♦ preventing over shing and restoring depleted sh populations to healthy levels ♦ promoting sustainable use policies that balance commercial, recreational and ecological values ♦ modifying or eliminating wasteful shing practices ♦ improving our understanding of sh and their role in the marine environment ♦ preserving coastal habitat and water quality. For information or comment, contact: OFFICERS AND STAFF The NCMC Marine Bulletin Christopher Weld, Chairman John Heyer, Vice Chairman Pam Lyons Gromen, Editor Ken Hinman, President 4 Royal Street, SE Mary Barley, Treasurer Leesburg, VA 20175 (703) 777-0037/ (703)777-1107 Pam Lyons Gromen, Executive Director Christine Snovell, Director of Communications and Development Laureen Megan, Of ce Manager BOARD OF DIRECTORS William Akin (Montauk, NY) ♦ Stanley Arkin (New York, NY) ♦ Mary Barley (Islamorada, FL) ♦ Bill Boyce (Saugus, CA) Tim Choate (Coral Gables, FL) ♦ William Cox, Jr. (Nantucket, MA) ♦ John Heyer (Sedona, AZ) ♦ Sandra Kaupe (Palm Beach, FL) Sabrina Kleinknecht (Monterey, CA) ♦ Skip Walton (Sarasota, FL) ♦ Rick Weber (Cape May, NJ) ♦ Christopher Weld (Essex, MA) NCMC MARINE BULLETIN 3 TAKE MARLIN OFF THE MENU (Continued from page 1) U.S. APPETITE FUELING BILLFISH DECLINE he “Take the Marlin Off The Menu” campaign is taking aim at U.S. Trestaurants and grocery stores primarily because the U.S. is the world’s largest importer of billfi sh. That’s despite laws that currently make it illegal to commercially harvest marlin, sailfi sh and spearfi sh from the Atlantic Ocean. According to a report commissioned For more information by the IGFA, most marlin and other billfi sh about the “Take Marlin Off the in U.S. restaurants and grocery stores come from the Pacifi c Ocean. But because of lax Menu” campaign, visit standards in certifying that marlin bought www.takemarlinoffthemenu.org. and sold in the U.S. actually come from the Pacifi c, there’s really no way to know for sure where the fi sh originate, the group says. “While there have been limited consumer campaigns in the past, there has never been more urgency than now,” said NCMC President Ken Hinman, “If we don’t stop the widespread consumption of billfi sh, these magnifi cent ocean predators will disappear from our seas. It’s simply that critical.” (see Ocean View, p. 2) The “Take Marlin Off The Menu Campaign” will use a three-prong strategy to reduce consumption of marlin. First, the campaign will attempt to persuade America’s most infl uential chefs and restaurant owners to stop serving marlin, while at the same time, offering up other, sustainable seafood options that consumers will fi nd pleasing. Restaurants that pledge not to serve marlin will be promoted widely as “marlin-free” on the www.takemarlinoffthemenu.org web site. Second, the campaign will reach out to consumers to stop ordering marlin at their favorite restaurants, and to stop buying marlin at their local grocery store or seafood counter.