NOAA Fisheries has announced the release of the 2015 Status of U.S. Fisheries report to Congress. This annual report identifies stocks on the overfishing and overfished lists. In 2015, these lists remained near all-time lows and stocks continued to rebuild.
Underscoring the strength of the U.S. science-based management framework to monitor and respond to changes in status, in 2015, eight stocks came off the overfishing list while ten others were added. Two stocks are no longer listed as overfished, while a stock with a previously unknown status was added. And recent assessments show two stocks have rebuilt, bringing the national total of rebuilt stocks to 39 since 2000.
In this 40th anniversary year of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, it is recognized that the dynamic, science-based management process is proving to be successful at ending chronic overfishing, rebuilding our fisheries and helping realize significant benefits to the U.S. economy.