In the annual Report to Congress on the Status of U.S. Fisheries, the Status of Stocks Report measures the progress the nation has made in ending overfishing and rebuilding stocks. It provides a “snapshot in time” of the status of our nation’s fisheries last year, and there is good news to share.
At the end of 2018, the overfishing list dropped to 28 stocks and the overfished list included 43 stocks. 91 percent of the stocks we manage are not subject to overfishing and 82 percent are not overfished.
We have rebuilt 45 stocks since 2000, and this year we added Gulf of Maine smooth skate to that list. After nine years in a rebuilding plan with strict management, including a prohibition on landings, that stock was declared rebuilt in 2018…