Gulf Coast Fisherman Newsletter

Issue 6, June 2018

Continued recovery of U.S. fisheries

The most recent Status of the U.S. Fisheries report indicates that the number of fish stocks designated as “overfished” is at an all-time low. Some of the fish recently removed from the list of species considered overfished include yelloweye rockfish, winter flounder, Pacific ocean perch, and (last but not least), Gulf of Mexico red snapper. Other species now considered “rebuilt” include populations of bocaccio and darkblotched rockfish. Despite a few setbacks (e.g. shortfin mako was added to the list of overfished species), it’s clear that federal fisheries management is making significant progress towards rebuilding U.S. fisheries.

It’s notable that several of these species (yelloweye rockfish, Pacific ocean perch, bocaccio, darkblotched rockfish) are rockfishes, a group of fishes that are long-lived, slow-growing, and late to mature. The Pacific rockfish fishery was considered a disaster in 2000, yet hard work over the ensuing 20 years, including species-specific catch-limits, catch share programs, and vessel monitoring, has led to remarkable recoveries. Last year, landings in the Pacific rockfish fishery increased by 50%, the fruits of nearly two decades of hard work.

What does this mean for Gulf Coast fishermen? Before we examine that, let’s revisit a few fisheries terms we’ll use to better define these stocks. 

Overfished is a condition, or a state, that refers to a stock of fish “whose size is sufficiently small that a change in management practice is required to achieve an appropriate level.”

Overfishing is a rate that will lead to an overfished state. 

As such, stocks can be overfished and undergoing overfishing, overfished but not undergoing overfishing, and so forth. Now let’s apply these terms to three of the most iconic fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico. Gulf of Mexico red snapper is no longer considered overfished or undergoing overfishing (although it’s currently in a rebuilding plan). Greater amberjack is overfished (with overfishing occurring), and although gray triggerfish is not overfished, overfishing is occurring. Clear as mud?

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