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The United States has consistently ranked fifth in worldwide fisheries production during the 1990s (5% of the total catch or 5.6 million metric tons annually). In 1996, commercial marine fisheries contributed 0.3% to the Gross National Product ($21 billion in value added to a $6,932 billion GNP); more than 8 million people engaged in marine recreational fisheries, completing an estimated 64 million trips. In the same year, consumer expenditures for all commercial marine fishery products was estimated at $41.2 billion. The U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is the world’s largest and takes in 2,831,400 sq. n.m. or about 1.7 times the entire land area of the U.S. and its territories (e.g., 3.9 billion acres vs. 2.3 billion acres). Management within the 3-to-200 n.m. EEZ is the responsibility of the Federal government and regional Fishery Management Councils.
Historically, overfishing definitions were not available as a management tool. Recent changes in law now set the basis for the identification of overfished stocks in the current overfishing definitions found in the Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) developed to manage fishery resources in Federal waters.1
Simply put, "overfishing" occurs when the rate or level of fishery removals jeopardizes the ability of the resource (i.e., species or stock) to produce the maximum sustainable yield on a continuing basis. For most species, the existing overfishing definitions are based wholly or in part on a estimated fishing mortality rate. Such definitions typically assess the species on the basis of whether overfishing (as a rate of removals) is currently taking place (i.e., whether the current fishing mortality rate is greater than the maximum allowable rate specified in the definition). FMPs that base their definition on something other than a fishing mortality rate, such as stock biomass, typically assess overfishing of the species on the basis of the current status of stock relative to a stock or index level specified in the definition of overfishing. A fishery will be classified as "approaching a condition of being overfished" if, based on trends in fishing effort, fishery resource size, and other appropriate factors, the fishery will become overfished within two years. Whenever possible, species were assessed using existing overfishing definitions in FMPs or FMPs under development; the remainder were evaluated using the 1995 edition of Our Living Oceans.
Employing these criteria in 1997, the Fisheries Service finds that 86 species (12%) are "overfished," 183 species (25%) are "not overfished," and 10 species (1%) are considered to be approaching an overfished condition; for 448 species (62%), their status relative to overfishing is currently unknown. Trend data in this format is not yet available since prior efforts focused on other reporting objectives (e.g., Our Living Oceans, Fisheries of the U.S.); however, the 1997 overfishing assessment will be the benchmark for future reports to Congress and for trend analyses.
The "not overfished" condition of a fishery stock is the most beneficial since it represents the most efficient use of the resource, with fishing effort neither significantly greater than or less than the level needed to achieve the stock’s long-term potential yield. The relative number of stocks that are not overfished (i.e., fully utilized) can be used as a measure of our success in managing fisheries to maintain the underlying stocks at levels needed to produce high average yields over the long term.
From the standpoint of sustainable development, one of the key questions regarding fisheries is whether we will be able to meet society’s future demand for fish and shellfish. It seems likely that this demand will be met through both the wise management of natural fisheries stocks and the development of aquaculture.
References:
• National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Fisheries of the United States, 1996, Silver Spring, Maryland, July 1997.
• National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Report to Congress - Status of Fisheries of the United States, Silver Spring, Maryland, September 1997.
• National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Our Living Oceans, Report on the Status of U.S. Living Marine Resources, Silver Spring, Maryland, February 1996.
Note:
1. The Sustainable Fisheries Act [SFA (Public Law 104-297)], which reauthorizes and amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) was signed into law by President Clinton on October 11, 1996. The reauthorized Magnuson-Stevens Act requires the Secretary of Commerce (through the National Marine Fisheries Service) to report to Congress annually on the status of fisheries within each Fishery Management Council’s geographical area of authority and identify those fisheries that are overfished or are approaching a condition of being overfished.
Link(s) to be added, when feasible, to data at level of detail suitable for use at the community level.
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http://www.sdi.gov/indicators/lc_fish.htm Last Modified: May 13, 2002 |