Western Pacific Fishing Ban

Purse seine fishing regionally banned by the United States Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council

According to a report from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the United States Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council has decided to ban so called purse seine fishing in parts of the Western Pacific. The council is concerned about the large boats with massive nets that use the purse seine fishing technique in the Western Pacific and fear that they might deplete the local fish populations, especially when it comes to the popular foodfishes yellowfin tuna and skipjack tuna. The ban concerns all federal waters off Guam, the Northern Marianas and American Samoa and in this area all purse seine fishing will be illegal within 75 nautical miles of the shore.

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The Yellowfin tuna is a popular food fish and is known to reach a length of 239 meters (94 inches). It lives in the upper 100 meters (330 feet) of the ocean and is found in both tropical and subtropical parts of the world. The severe depletion of the Bluefin tune has become a problem for the Yellowfin tuna, since consumers have begun to purchase Yellowfin tuna as a replacement for Bluefin tuna.

The Skipjack tuna is smaller than the yellowfin and can only reach a length of roughly 100 cm (3.3 feet). It is a popular foodfish world wide, but especially sought after in Japan where it is used to make traditional katsuobushi, which is an important ingredients in dashi (a type of fish stock).