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U.S. Has Made Progress in Restoring Ocean Fish Magnuson-Stevens Act Is Helping Dozens of Fish Populations Recover from Overfishing, but More Is Needed

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U.S. Has Made Progress in Restoring Ocean Fish Magnuson-Stevens Act Is Helping Dozens of Fish Populations Recover from Overfishing, but More Is Needed A fact sheet from July 2017 Kawika Chetron iStockphoto U.S. Has Made Progress in Restoring Ocean Fish Magnuson-Stevens Act is helping dozens of fish populations recover from overfishing, but more is needed The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act is the primary law that governs U.S. fisheries in federal ocean waters. Enacted in 1976 and strengthened by Congress in 1996 and 2006, the act has led to considerable improvements in the health of marine fish populations and has benefited coastal communities across the country. The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that the nation’s fishery managers take several conservation actions, including: • Preventing overfishing—when a fish population is caught at a faster rate than it can reproduce—through the use of science-based catch limits. • Rebuilding depleted populations to healthy levels that allow for long-term economic and ecological benefits. Photos: 1. Pacific lingcod populations have been restored to healthy levels using science-based management. 2. Atlantic cod stocks have failed to rebound from decades of overfishing, in part because of new 1 2 challenges, including warming waters and habitat loss. 43 U.S. Ocean Fish Populations Have Been Rebuilt Since 2000, but Fish populations classified in need of management attention Many Are Still Vulnerable Marine fish species by status and region Overfished (i.e., at an unsustainably low level) Experiencing overfishing Overfished and experiencing overfishing Atlantic highly migratory Pacific U.S. Caribbean Mid-Atlantic species* Coho salmon§ Caribbean spiny Summer flounder Bigeye tuna§ (Puget Sound: Hood Canal) lobster (Puerto Rico) U.S. fishery Blacknose shark Pacific ocean perch New England management regions Goliath grouper § Yelloweye rockfish North Pacific Blue marlin Nassau grouper Atlantic cod Pacific Bluefin tuna§ (Georges Bank) Western Pacific (west Atlantic) Pacific/Western Pacific Puerto Rico Gulf of Mexico triggerfishes and Atlantic cod Dusky shark§ (Gulf of Maine) U.S. Caribbean Pacific bluefin tuna§ filefishes complex South Atlantic Atlantic halibut Porbeagle shark § Puerto Rico wrasses Mid-Atlantic Swordfish complex Atlantic salmon New England Sandbar shark Queen conch Scalloped Western Pacific Atlantic wolffish hammerhead shark Ocean pout § South Atlantic White marlin§ Bigeye tuna (western and central Pacific) Thorny skate Blueline tilefish North Pacific Seamount groundfish Windowpane flounder complex (Gulf of Maine/Georges Hogfish Bank) Rebuilt fish populations (Hancock Seamount) (southeast Florida) Blue king crab § Winter flounder‡ (Pribilof Islands) Striped marlin Red grouper Atlantic highly migratory Pacific(continued) South Atlantic New England (western and central Pacific) (Georges Bank) species* Red porgy Winter flounder 2011 Coho salmon 2003 Yellowtail snapper 2001 Sea scallop Gulf of Mexico Red snapper (southern New England) 2003 Blacktip shark (Queets River, Washington) (South Atlantic/Gulf of 2002 Silver hake Witch flounder Mexico) Snowy grouper 2009 Swordfish 2011 Widow rockfish (Gulf of Maine/northern Gray triggerfish Yellowtail flounder (North Atlantic) 2012 Pink shrimp Georges Bank) Speckled hind 2012 Coho salmon Greater amberjack (Cape Cod/Gulf of Maine) (Strait of Juan de Fuca, 2013 Black sea bass 2003 Winter flounder† 2016 Albacore tuna Tilefish (North Atlantic) Washington) (South Atlantic) (Georges Bank) Red snapper Yellowtail flounder (Georges Bank) 2013 Chinook salmon 2007 Silver hake Warsaw grouper North Pacific (Sacramento River, Mid-Atlantic (southern Georges Bank/ Yellowtail flounder‡ California) mid-Atlantic) (southern New England/mid- Atlantic) 2007, Southern tanner 2015 Canary rockfish 2008 Bluefish 2010 Haddock crab (Georges Bank) 2012 Petrale sole 2009 Black sea bass * Highly migratory species regularly cross domestic and international boundaries, so they are managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in (eastern Bering Sea) 2015 (mid-Atlantic) 2010 Pollock cooperation with an advisory panel rather than by a regional fishery management council. 2017 Bocaccio 2009 Blue king crab † Species was declared rebuilt, became overfished again, and was back in a rebuilding plan as of 2010. (southern Pacific coast) 2009 Scup Haddock (St. Matthews Island) 2011 (Gulf of Maine) ‡ Species was declared rebuilt, became overfished again, and was back in a rebuilding plan as of 2015. 2011 Summer flounder 2011 Snow crab 2017 Darkblotched rockfish 2012 Acadian redfish § Fished by U.S. and international fleets. (eastern Bering Sea) 2014 Butterfish 2012 Windowpane flounder Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, "Stock Status Updates," accessed July 17, 2017, http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/fisheries_eco/status_of_ 2014 Tilefish fisheries/status_updates.html Pacific Gulf of Mexico (southern New England/ mid-Atlantic) © 2017 The Pew Charitable Trusts Mid-Atlantic/New England ‡ 2004 Pacific whiting 2007 Red grouper 2012 Yellowtail flounder (southern New England/ 2008 King mackerel 2005 Lingcod 2008 Monkfish mid-Atlantic) Chinook salmon 2014 Gag grouper (Gulf of Maine/northern 2016 Barndoor skate 2011 Georges Bank) (Klamath River, California) 2008 Monkfish (southern Georges Bank) 2010 Spiny dogfish For further information, please visit: pewtrusts.org/restore-ocean-fish Contact: Ted Morton, director, U.S. oceans, federal policy Media contact: Barbara Semedo, communications officer Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Phone: 202-540-6751 Phone: 202-540-6994 The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of knowledge to solve today’s most challenging problems. Pew applies a rigorous, analytical approach to improve public policy, inform the public, and invigorate civic life. .
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