March 15, 2013 — Many commercial fishing stocks off the United States coast that were depleted by decades of overfishing are returning to abundance, thanks largely to a 1996 law that effectively ordered limits on catches until the fish populations had rebounded, a newly released analysis of federal data on fish populations states.
The analysis, by the Natural Resources Defense Council, concludes that 21 of 44 species that it studied have met rebuilding targets and 7 others have made significant progress, increasing their populations by at least 25 percent.
Sixteen have made less or no progress, the report stated, including 10 species off the New England coast, most of them popular bottom-dwelling fish like cod and flounder. In half of those cases, the fish populations had grown by more than 25 percent but were still being overfished.
All have been managed under the 1996 law, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which sets a 10-year target for rebuilding each species.
Brad Sewell, a lawyer for the resources group and the main author of the analysis, said the uptick in fish populations was especially impressive in light of what he called a dismal record in most other parts of the world.
“When you look at the population trajectories of dozens and dozens of stocks, you see ’96 as a real watershed,” he said. “You see this cause and effect between implementing the law and the upward population trajectory.”
The report noted that between 2008 and 2010, the average revenues from catches of the 28 fish that made the most rebuilding progress had jumped 54 percent, allowing for inflation, from the start of their rebuilding.
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