HOUSTON, TX - The parties involved in a lawsuit seeking to have white marlin listed as an endangered species in U.S. waters have reached a settlement agreement that recognizes the necessity of an international solution for the recovery of the species.

The Center for Biological Diversity, based in Denver, and the Turtle Island Restoration Network, based in San Francisco, sued the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in an attempt to force the agency to list Atlantic white marlin as "threatened" or "endangered" as defined by the Endangered Species Act (ESA). CCA and the American Sportfishing Association intervened on the side of NMFS in the lawsuit, arguing that an ESA listing would misdirect an overwhelming amount of regulatory effort at domestic recreational fishermen who land fewer than 50 white marlin annually.

"This agreement is very close to what we wanted all along - a settlement that takes into account the realities of the white marlin fishery, the future health of the stock and the impacts on domestic recreational anglers," said Fred Miller, chairman of Coastal Conservation Association's (CCA) Government Relations Committee.

"Any regulation enacted under an ESA listing would not apply to foreign citizens, the high seas or foreign countries. All regulations would apply to U.S. citizens only," said David Cummins, CCA president. "However, even the complete elimination of the U.S. longline fleet might not halt the decline of white marlin."

Under the terms of the settlement, the plaintiffs will withdraw the suit and NMFS agrees to reassess the status of white marlin after the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) conducts its own assessment of the stock no later than 2007. NMFS has also agreed to study the need for more areas closed to longlining in domestic waters.

ICCAT regulations, which are the primary conservation measures to manage the approximately 1,800 foreign longliners fishing in the Atlantic Ocean, were implemented in 2001 and require nations to significantly reduce their landings of white marlin from 1999 levels. NMFS, in a review to determine whether white marlin should be listed under the ESA in 2002, concluded it was too early to tell whether the 2001 ICCAT measures were adequate and declined to list the species, prompting the lawsuit by the two environmental groups.

According to Mike Nussman, American Sportfishing Association president and CEO, and former Recreational Commissioner to ICCAT, "when we implemented these ICCAT regulations in 2001, we knew the solution to our white marlin problems required international cooperation. This settlement agreement reinforces that fact."

CCA has advocated a long-term solution for white marlin that controls both foreign and domestic longline fleets through continued participation in ICCAT.

"The future of white marlin is tied directly to longliners operating hundreds of miles out in the Atlantic," said Miller. "This settlement puts the management spotlight exactly where it needs to be."