"The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Southeast Fisheries Center I s Mi ami Laboratory has theresponsibil ity of collecting and analyz- ing data on certain pelagic marine fishes. This is part of a canmitment by the United States to develop national programs for conserving and manag- ing these species and to participate in cooperative international investi- gations through the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlan- tic Tunas (ICCAT). Information collected on these species is also used by regional Fishery Management Councils to formulate fishery management plans. The ICCAT is responsible for coordinating and guiding scientific investiga- tions on stocks of tunas and tuna-like fishes, including billfishes, in the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas. Data collected through NMFS programs are used in population modeling and in annual assessments of the status of stocks of Atlantic billfishes and tunas, and these results are presented to the international scientific community at ICCAT each year"--Preface, paragraph 1