Released today, NOAA’s annual Status of U.S. Fisheries Report to Congress for 2002 demonstrates the continuing efforts of government and fishermen alike to improve America's marine fish stocks. The report states that an additional fish stock was fully rebuilt, four species were taken off the overfished list in 2002 as they head toward full recovery, and 70 overfished species continue to recover under federal rebuilding plans.

"We pause this year to look at our total progress to date in fulfilling Congress’ vision of robust, healthy fisheries since implementation of the Sustainable Fisheries Act of 1996," said Bill Hogarth, director of NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries). "NOAA Fisheries, the councils, the states and fishermen have made concerted efforts to end overfishing and rebuild depleted fish stocks in order to enhance the long-term viability of U.S. fisheries."

A review of the past five years of fisheries management shows steady, incremental improvement in the status of America’s fisheries. Twenty species have been taken off the overfished list and overfishing has been eliminated for twenty-five species, in spite of certain limitations such as slow growth and maturity of many exploited species and variable environmental impacts on fish populations.

A smaller number of stocks have been newly declared as overfished or subject to overfishing in the past five years. However, many of these changes in status were due to increased knowledge and availability of information about those stocks and not from an actual deterioration of the stock condition.

In 2002, the Gulf of Maine/northern Georges Bank stock of silver hake was fully rebuilt. Meanwhile, four other fish stocks continue rebounding and are no longer overfished: redfish, southern Georges Bank/mid-Atlantic silver hake, scup and South Atlantic gag grouper. Fishing pressure has been reduced substantially for Gulf of Maine haddock, South Atlantic red porgy, and Gulf of Mexico gag grouper, and these species are no longer subject to overfishing.

Status determinations for this year’s report are based on fish stock assessments completed on or before Aug. 1, 2002. Between Aug. 1 and today’s announcement, North Atlantic swordfish and Atlantic pollock have been assessed to be no longer overfished, and swordfish are almost fully rebuilt.

Seventy of the remaining 86 overfished species continue to recover under federal rebuilding plans and are monitored to ensure progress toward successful restoration. The remaining 16 stocks are either protected under other federal programs – such as the Endangered Species Act – and do not require rebuilding plans, rebuilding programs may be in development, or the stock may have been newly declared as overfished and will now require a rebuilding program.

The full report can be found online at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/reports.html
To read the full press release, go to: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/press_releases/03-051%205.pdf.