April 15, 2015 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration submits its annual fisheries report to Congress Wednesday. By law (the Magnuson-Stevens Act), NOAA Fisheries must report annually on fish populations within 200 miles of the coast. The agency is also tasked with rebuilding depleted stocks.
Last year, NOAA Fisheries brought two fish species, (considered depleted), back up to healthy levels, and removed several others from the overfishing and overfished lists.
Regional fisheries managers in the Northeast say cod, a mainstay in the New England fishery, is in the worst shape they’ve seen in the 40 years they’ve monitored this species.
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