NOAA Report: Overfished Stocks Near Historic Lows

HYANNIS – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced this week that the amount of fish stocks in the United States subject to overfishing remains near a historic low.

Director of the Office of Sustainable Fishing for NOAA Alan Risenhoover explained the concept of overfishing.

“Overfishing is defined as the rate of harvest that those fish are being removed from the ocean,” Risenhoover said.

“So this is the activity we have the most control on; it’s how many fish are harvested each year.”

This comes on the heels of NOAA’s annual report to Congress on the status of almost 500 managed stocks last year.

“In 2018, over 90% of federally managed fish stocks are not subject to overfishing. There are only 28 of those stocks that are subject to overfishing,” Risenhoover noted.

For more information, visit www.noaa.gov.