May 21, 2018 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 2017 Status of Stocks report, released on 17 May, indicates that the number of stocks facing overfishing or that are overfished is at an all-time-low since reports began in 2000.
Just 30 of the 317 stocks with known overfishing status were subject to overfishing, representing nine percent of the total stocks. Of the 235 stocks with known overfished status, just 35, or 15 percent, were considered overfished.
“Over 90 percent of our stocks are not subject to overfishing,” said Alan Risenhoover, director of NOAA”s Office of Sustainable Fisheries during a press conference. “This progress, outlined in the report, is the result of shared efforts of many partners.”
NOAA considered the report to also show a boon for the economy. Nationwide, the seafood industry represented USD 208 billion (EUR 176 billion) in value for the U.S. economy, and accounted for roughly 1.6 million jobs.
Risenhoover reported three previously overfished stocks are now considered to have been rebuilt: bocaccio, darkblotched rockfish, and Pacific ocean perch. All three were rebuilt ahead of schedule. The addition of those three species now makes 44 stocks that have been rebuilt since 2000. NOAA tracks 474 stocks in total, in 46 different fishery management plans.
Conservation organizations welcomed the news that stocks that are overfished or subject to overfishing has reached new lows.
Read the full story at Seafood Source