U.S. oil spill could hit Atlantic tuna

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U.S. oil spill could hit Atlantic tuna

Last Updated: Monday, May 3, 2010 | 11:43 AM AT

CBC News

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico could have a serious long-term impact on tuna stocks off Atlantic Canada.

The Gulf is the spawning ground for bluefin tuna that migrate to the Atlantic region.

"Many fish are going down to the Gulf to spawn," said Jackie Savitz, a marine biologist with Oceana, an international conservation group based in Washington.

"The larvae of the fish is actually the most sensitive life stage to the toxic effects of oil. And one fish that's spawning right now down there is the bluefin tuna."

There is already concern for the health of the Atlantic bluefin tuna population. It has fallen 90 per cent since the 1970s, and the World Wildlife Fund says the species faces a serious risk of extinction. Stocks in the western Atlantic are in better shape than in the east, and the oil spill strikes at an economically important fishery in Atlantic Canada./.../

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2010/05/03/pei-oil-spill-tuna-oysters-584.html?ref=rss#ixzz0mspKlNti

 

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Re: U.S. oil spill could hit Atlantic tuna

DFO fears BP spill impact on tuna fishery​

Meets with P.E.I. fishermen to discuss effect on North Atlantic tuna stocks​

Last Updated: Friday, July 9, 2010 | 11:16 PM AT ​

CBC News ​

Federal officials met with P.E.I. fisherman Friday to discuss the potential impact of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on Canada's share of the North Atlantic tuna fishery.
Bluefin tuna spawns in the Gulf of Mexico before migrating to Canada, meaning the environmental disaster in the Gulf caused by the blow out of a BP oil well could affect stocks north of the U.S.-Canada border.​

P.E.I. fishermen and officials from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) met Friday in Stanhope, P.E.I.​

The meeting was initially called to plan for Canada's share of bluefin tuna stocks in the future, but fisheries scientists are also looking for signs of damage to North Atlantic tuna populations.
The oil spill, and how it affects tuna, will be a big part of the Atlantic quota negotiations this fall, said Faith Scattolon, DFO's regional director general for the Maritimes.​

P.E.I. fishermen will be among the Canadian officials helping to decide quotas later this year at an international conference in Paris.​

The BP-leased drilling rig Deepwater Horizon exploded when an oil well off the coast of Louisiana blew out on April 20, killing 11 crew members and leading to the largest oil spill in U.S. history.​

The broken well has so far spewed between 325 million and 640 million litres of oil, according to U.S. government estimates.

Impact goes 'beyond tuna': DFO​

Scattolon said federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea, the MP for Egmont, P.E.I., is extremely concerned about the spill's impact on Canada's fish and wildlife, which could extend beyond just tuna.​

"There are concerns, of course, of migratory birds that migrate from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico," Scattolon said.

Shea is consulting with advisers about what legal recourse Canada might have, Scattolon said.​

"At this point, we're investigating what the way forward might be from the Canadian perspective," said Scattolon.​

After years of decline, Canada's bluefin tuna are making a comeback, Scattolon said.​

"We're quite optimistic that we're continuing to manage this fishery well, and we'll continue to build on the recovery trajectory that we're currently on," she said.​

The Prince Edward Island Fishermen's Association have discussed filing a claim over the spill. Tuna fishermen rejected suggestions such a claim would be premature.​

"We just want to protect ourselves in case down the road, five, six, seven, eight years' time, the tuna's done, the fishery's closed because of this oil spill," said Walter Bruce, speaking for the association.​

"What recourse do we have? We just want to be in there with a notice of claim so that if something does happen in the future, our fishermen would be looked after."​

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edw...9/pe-oil-spill-lawsuit-584.html#ixzz0tI9dlMA3​

 

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Re: U.S. oil spill could hit Atlantic tuna

Posted on Monday, 10.11.10


Feds to study whether oil endangered bluefin tuna

By JANET McCONNAUGHEY
Associated Press Writer

<!-- end /production/story/credit_line_format.comp -->NEW ORLEANS -- The National Marine Fisheries Service will study whether the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has depleted the population of Atlantic bluefin tuna to the point that the food fish should be placed on the endangered species list.​

The fisheries service will make a recommendation by May 24, 2011 - a year after The Center for Biological Diversity filed its petition. The center provided enough scientific information to warrant protecting the fish under the Endangered Species Act, the fisheries service said on its website in September.​

Bluefin begin spawning in the northern Gulf of Mexico in April - when BP PLC's undersea well blew wild and began spewing millions of gallons of oil - and continue through June. By then, more than one-third of federal waters were closed to fishing because of that oil. The only other place bluefin are believed to spawn is the Mediterranean Sea. ​

"Any eggs or larva that happen to float into the oil would probably die," said the center's attorney, Catherine Ware Kilduff. Mating itself is stressful, so spawning adults would be more vulnerable to harm from the oil, she said.
[...]​

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/11/1867568/feds-to-study-oil-spills-effect.html#ixzz125WczH3x

 

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Re: U.S. oil spill could hit Atlantic tuna

Endangered species listing for Atlantic bluefin tuna not warranted

Agency remains concerned; will revisit decision with new science

May 27, 2011

After an extensive scientific review, NOAA announced today that Atlantic bluefin tuna currently do not warrant species protection under the Endangered Species Act.

NOAA has committed to revisit this decision by early 2013, when more information will be available about the effects of the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill, as well as a new stock assessment from the scientific arm of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, the international body charged with the fish?s management and conservation.

NOAA is formally designating both the western Atlantic and eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean stocks of bluefin tuna as ?species of concern? under the Endangered Species Act. This places the species on a watchlist for concerns about its status and threats to the species.

?NOAA is concerned about the status of bluefin tuna, including the potential effects of the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill on the western stock of Atlantic bluefin, which spawns in the Gulf of Mexico,? said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. ?We will revisit the status of the species in early 2013 when we will have a new stock assessment and information from the Natural Resource Damage Assessment of the oil spill.
We will also take action in the interim if new information indicates the need for greater protection.?

NOAA?s status review, released with today?s decision and peer-reviewed by The Center for Independent Experts, indicates that based on the best available information and assuming countries comply with the bluefin tuna fishing quotas established by ICCAT, both the western and eastern Atlantic stocks are not likely to become extinct.

The status review team also looked at the best available information on the potential effects of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill on the future abundance of the western stock of bluefin tuna and found that it did not substantially alter the results of the extinction risk analysis. While the NOAA team found that the presently available information did not favor listing, it also recognized the need to continue to monitor the potential long-term effects of the spill on bluefin tuna and the overall ecosystem. New scientific information is expected in a 2012 bluefin tuna stock assessment and as part of the Natural Resources Damage Assessment of the Deepwater Horizon BP oil spill.

?Based on careful scientific review, we have decided the best way to ensure the long-term sustainability of bluefin tuna is through international cooperation and strong domestic fishery management,? said Eric Schwaab, assistant NOAA administrator for NOAA?s Fisheries Service. ?The United States will continue to be a leader in advocating science-based quotas at ICCAT, full compliance with these quotas and other management measures to ensure the long-term viability of this and other important fish stocks.?

NOAA conducted the status review of Atlantic bluefin after determining on Sept. 21, 2010, that a petition for listing under the ESA from a national environmental organization warranted a scientific status review.

To read the status review report on Atlantic bluefin tuna, the federal register notice and other information on bluefin tuna, please go to: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/stories/2011/05/bluefin_tuna.html
NOAA?s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Find us on Facebook.

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2011/20110527_bluefintuna.html
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