NOAA’s Fisheries Service is holding a series of public meetings this summer, seeking comments on potential changes in the way commercial and recreational fishermen fish the U.S. quotas for swordfish and bluefin tuna in the Atlantic.

Oddly enough, U.S. fishermen have not been able to catch the U.S. quotas designed to ensure that both the stocks are fished sustainably, and— according to NOAA—that’s economically wounding. Fisheries managers take into account the ecosystem and sensitive bycatch, which increases expenses for the commercial fishermen, and makes it more difficult for commercial fishers to compete in the marketplace with cheaper imports from other fishing nations.

”Swordfish are nearly rebuilt, yet our fishermen are only catching 54 percent of the U.S. quota,” said Jim Balsiger, acting NOAA assistant administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service. Recreational fishermen who intend to keep a swordfish or Atlantic tuna species are required to obtain a HMS Angling Category permit from NOAA Fisheries. In an attempt to better keep track of recreational swordfish numbers, anglers must report their swordfish catch to NOAA Fisheries within 24 hours of landing at the dock. Failure to report every recreational swordfish catch may be the reason U.S. catch totals are well under the quota.

“Bluefin tuna are a more complicated story,” he said. “U.S. fishermen have followed quotas based on scientific recommendations designed to end overfishing. There may be ways to fish more of the U.S. quotas for both stocks in a sustainable manner.”

The public meetings will examine using “catch shares,” which would allocate a portion of the total catch to a person, company, community or sector, to better manage these fisheries. “We’ve heard a number of ideas from constituents and we want to broaden the conversation to include recreational fishermen, environmental organizations and the general public on how best to manage these valuable highly migratory fish species,” said Balsiger.

In addition to considering catch shares and bycatch reduction, some of the commercial-fishing proposals that will be discussed include:

1) A commercial-fishery request to allow more bluefin tuna to be harvested from “incidental” catches on longline fishing gear

2) A proposal to allow approximately 5,000 commercial tuna fishermen who use rod and reel to land swordfish

3) An industry request to lower the commercial minimum size for bluefin tuna from 73 to 65 inches

Public meetings to obtain additional comments will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. at the following locations:

June 23 Holiday Inn 151 Route 72 East Manahawkin, N.J. 08050

June 25 Roanoke Island Festival Park 1 Festival Park Manteo, N.C. 27954

June 29 Radisson Hotel Plymouth Harbor 180 Water Street Plymouth, Mass. 02360

July 21 Belle Chasse Auditorium 8398 Hwy. 23 Belle Chasse, La. 70037

July 28 Broward County Main Library 100 S. Andrews Ave. Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33301