Contact: Gordon Helm FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
10/2/97The National Marine Fisheries Service in a report to Congress said that 96 marine fish species reviewed are "overfished" or approaching an overfished condition, while another 183 species have not been overfished. Data from the report will be used by Regional Fishery Management Councils as they prepare plans to end overfishing and begin to rebuild the depleted fisheries, officials of the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced today.
"Unfortunately, we expect the overfished' figures to increase as definitions in fishery management plans are amended to conform to the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Management and Conservation Act," said Terry Garcia, acting assistant secretary of Commerce for oceans and atmosphere and deputy NOAA administrator. "However, we expect the eight regional councils responsible for managing these fisheries will begin to prepare rebuilding plans that will ultimately improve the stocks and provide more fish for consumers and recreational fishermen."
The report and marine fish stock rebuilding efforts are required under the amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Act passed in 1996. The Regional Fishery Management Councils are required to reassess each Fishery Management Plan (FMP) - plans that are developed by the councils to manage fishery resources in federal waters - for compliance with overfishing provisions.
This year's analysis of fisheries stocks (based on the definition of overfishing contained in 1996 regulations) is considered to be understated and represents a minimum number of overfished fisheries. The 1998 and 1999 reports will use fishery- specific definitions based on Congress's definition of "overfished" contained in the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and are expected to increase the number of fisheries considered overfished.
Currently, stock levels are evaluated by examining recruitment overfishing - which assesses the status of juvenile fish populations. Future assessments will use the new Magnuson-Stevens Act definition of overfishing that measures stock levels compared to the levels needed to ensure maximum sustainable yield for each species on a continuing basis.
Based on the identifications made in this report, the councils are now required to develop programs to end overfishing and rebuild some 76 overfished species, and to prevent overfishing from occurring for the 10 species that are approaching an overfished condition. Nineteen FMP amendments will need to be submitted for approval by the Commerce Secretary within the next year. An additional 10 species not currently covered by FMPs must have plans developed to end overfishing and rebuild the affected fisheries in the same time frame.
Rebuilding programs must be as short as possible, but not exceed 10 years, except in cases where the biology of the stock, or environmental conditions, or management measures under an international agreement in which the United States participates dictate otherwise.
Another 448 stocks are identified as unknown in the report. Of those, 428 stocks are covered by FMPs while 20 stocks are not. Additional efforts to obtain information necessary to assess these stocks will be required before their status can be determined. As the status of these stocks becomes known, some will require rebuilding under existing FMPs while others will require that an FMP be developed.
Interested media can obtain an executive summary of the report by fax from the fisheries service public affairs office. The full report is available on the Internet at http://kingfish.ssp.nmfs.gov/sfa . Hardbound copies will soon be available. Contact George Darcy for a copy.