International Fisheries; Pacific Tuna Fisheries; Fishing Restrictions in the Longline and Purse Seine Fisheries in the Eastern Pacific Ocean in 2009, 2010, and 2011

NMFS is issuing regulations under the Tuna Conventions Act of 1950 (Act) to implement a decision of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC). That decision requires, among other things, that members of the IATTC, including the United States, ensure that catches in the eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO) of bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) by longline vessels greater than 24 meters in length do not exceed specified levels in each of the years 2009, 2010, and 2011, and that purse seine vessels class size 4-6 do not fish in the EPO during established closure periods. This action is necessary for the United States to satisfy its obligations under the 1949 Convention for the Establishment of an Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (Convention), to which it is a Contracting Party.