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Ocean Conservation Reports
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Net Loss: Over-fishing Off the Gulf Coast
10/16/2007
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Executive Summary
America’s oceans are home to whales, dolphins, fish and an enormous variety of other sea life. But today our oceans are in trouble. Destructive overfishing, bycatch (i.e., unintended catch of unwanted fish), pollution, and habitat damage are putting important marine animals at risk. Many populations are in serious decline. The result of this poor management is a drastic reduction in fishing opportunities for commercial and recreational fishermen.
In the Gulf of Mexico, about two thirds of the federally managed fish stocks have inadequate information to determine whether populations are healthy or not. Of those with enough information, approximately one in three (29 percent or 2 out of 7) federally managed stocks are depleted (i.e., overfished) and one in five (22 percent or 4 out of 18) federal managed stocks are experiencing overfishing. 1 Many of these fish are regionally popular, such as red snapper and gag grouper, and are part of the Gulf’s seafood culture. Years of overfishing have led to substantial declines putting the coastal economy and the favorite pastime of millions at risk.
Two fish stocks for instance, red snapper and greater amberjack, serve as particularly egregious examples of prolonged, poor management by the Gulf Fisheries Management Council. A short history of some of the management failures is given. In an effort to encourage better fisheries management, Congress revised the primary law governing fishing in U.S. oceans, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act, at the end of 2006. The Act requires the National Marine Fisheries Service and the regional fishery management councils which devise and propose local plans to follow new rules. These rules are now under development; and this report recommends that the new rules follow important conservation principles.
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