Question....don't get mad....

[sashamy]

Hi Everyone....
So say this CITES thing passes(hypothetically) we can no longer catch and ship giant tuna fish to Japan. Obviously we may still have a domestic market but a small scale one at best. Do you guys think that everyone should get a permit to sell tuna? or Do you think that there will even be a bft fishery at all? rec or com? Cuz i will tell u one thing, there is no way Oceana and Pew stop at banning the trade of the fish, they will petition the govt to stop all fishing on the "Endangered Tuna". I think that if they are tryin g to protect these fish than they will go for a full scale moratorium on the entire bft spectrum. What do u guys think?

[dunn6253]

I think that they should keep it the same way as it is now. But hey, what do I know.....

One question to you commercial guys, maybe you can answer it Doug. The prices of the fish for the most part in the summer sucked, correct? So, without these fish shipping to Japan where they supposedly pay top dollar for bluefin, what is going to happen to the prices when they can't sell them to Japan and they stay in the US? Are the buyers going to take advantage of that, or should all commercial guys set up a base price that they want for all fish, say $14 a pound (just a number thrown out there.) What happens if the buyer knows the fish can't ship and wants to pay $0.89 a pound? Does the fishermen cut up that tuna into pieces right there and throw it into the water and tell the buyer to have a nice day?

Just a question that has been floating in my mind. Sorry for such a long post.....

[seavee capt]

The demand for bluefin here in the states is so small that one good fishermen, be he in the harpoon or gen cat could supply it. There will be no commercial fishery in the states if this listing is approved. Who in their right mind would put forth the investment needed yearly to pursue fish that will not bring $$. I for one would not, and I am relatively small potatoes compared to most of the guys I fish with. Bottom line is we will see Giants hanging from meat poles like the old days, and then transported to the dump. And to comment on one of Dunn's questions, I have NEVER seen where fishermen could set the price on fish/shellfish or whatever. The dealer always tells the fishermen what he will pay.
My 2 cents. Hope the listing does not come to fruition, I'm just getting warmed up.

[Block and Tackle]

My honest opinion is that I see no way that they will ban the trade of bluefin but still allow us to fish. Just take the US for example. The amount of quota they we have been filling the last couple season will be absorbed into the domestic us market without a hitch. So therefore the commercial quota is still killing the same amount of fish. Then if the recs continue to do what they have been doing for the last couple seasons on sub 73" fish, what has changed? The US will still have put just as many fish on the dock as in the past seasons and no additional fish will have been left swimming in the ocean. How do you "rebuild a stock", like they are looking to do, fishing like that. Its just not adding up to me.

As far as the price for fish, I will be trying my best to be catching and selling fish throughout the summer months when things slow down a little. Point being less fish hitting the dock will help on the price. When it comes to the fall bite in chatham, if it happens, ill be watching the pats sitting on my couch because after the first day, or maybe second, you will be loosing money. Those fish will be worthless.

I guess if they do ban all killing the best we can hope for is being able to pursue our passion in a catch and release manor. I know I cant stop tuna fishing cold turkey and I would bet most of you couldn't either. My last day of last fall was my worst of the season and I cant end it on a sour note like that.

[sashamy]

they would have to allow the sale of smaller fish here in the states Dunn, that would be one way to keep a decent price but it would be on a limited fishery...

[clt_capt]

I seem to recall that the US is a net importer of BFT - meaning we import more tuna than we export.

No doubt that fish caught here and sold in Japan get higher prices than BFT caught and sold here - but there is still a domestic market.

[Block and Tackle]

they would have to allow the sale of smaller fish here in the states Dunn, that would be one way to keep a decent price but it would be on a limited fishery...

I understand the whole limited fishery thing, but how would this be any different then when we used to sit on the dock for most of august because the quota was filled. Might make it worth it. How many guys really fish all through the season right now and not just when there is a decent bite.

I have a question though. Say they make us sell domestic, would we not be able to have a fishery like canada does by picking the dates they want to fish? That way dealers could open it up for blocks throughout the season. would this do anything for us??

[sashamy]

the us imports more yft and be tuna than bft...I was in the business I saw very few bft's but tons of of YFT and BET

[clt_capt]

I have a question though. Say they make us sell domestic, would we not be able to have a fishery like canada does by picking the dates they want to fish? That way dealers could open it up for blocks throughout the season. would this do anything for us??

That sounds a lot like IFQ - It was sold to fishermen as a "safer" way for them to fish, than a short shotgun season - 2 cases in point - Snapper/Grouper in the Gulf and Crab in Alaska. Each fisherman or boat is allocated an individual quota and in theory can fill it any time during the season...

In practice, the fish buyers control when and how much is caught - based on market demand, etc - all the IFQs seem to do is to reduce the number of fishermen...

[amarshall]

The buyers for some of the big distributors I talked to expect to be paying $2-$4 maybe as high as $6 tops

Thats if there is a domestic fishery. It's become taboo for them to carry it.