Our Living Oceans

385 Pages·2009·21.11 MB·English

Our Living Oceans
REPORT ON THE STATUS OF U.S. LIVING MARINE RESOURCES • 6th EDITION
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Marine Fisheries Service
OUR LIVING OCEANS • REPORT ON THE STATUS OF U.S. LIVING MARINE RESOURCES • 6th EDITION
Our Living Oceans
This publication may be cited as:
th
NMFS. 2009. Our living oceans. Report on the status of U.S. living marine resources, 6 edition. U.S.
Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-F/SPO-80, 369 p.
Front cover photographs, clockwise from top left: black rockfsh, Steve Lonhart, Monterrey Bay National
Marine Sanctuary; nesting leatherback sea turtle, Canaveral National Seashore, U.S. National Parks
Service; giant trevally, Pacifc Islands Fisheries Science Center, NMFS; spotted seal, Brent Stewart,
Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute.
Our Living Oceans
th
Report on the status of U.S. living marine resources • 6 edition
October 2009
NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-F/SPO-80
U.S. Department National Oceanic and National Marine
of Commerce Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service
Gary Locke Jane Lubchenco James W. Balsiger
Secretary of Commerce Under Secretary of Commerce Acting Assistant
for Oceans and Atmosphere Administrator for Fisheries
John Butler, SWFSC
Foreword
This new edition of Our Living Oceans serves eries Research, published in 2007, describes the
as a major yardstick to measure the success of agency’s research priorities for the next 5 years
managing our Nation’s living marine resources and provides a framework for targeting NOAA’s
since the last report was released in 1999. In ad- resources to best meet science and management
dition to detailing the status of the Nation’s living needs. The NOAA Fleet Recapitalization Plan, re-
marine resources, this report also focuses on the leased in October 2008, outlines NOAA’s plans to
steps that the National Marine Fisheries Service replace its aging feet of sea-going vessels, the pri-
(NMFS) has taken to end overfshing and reduce mary platforms for collecting fshery-independent
bycatch, and spotlights what is known and what data, which is vital for assessing stocks and man-
still remains unknown about fshery stocks and aging fsheries. Updating the NOAA feet will give
protected resources. us the tools to build capacity and collect more,
The passage of the Magnuson-Stevens Re- and more comprehensive, data to better manage
authorization Act of 2006 (MSRA) has changed living marine resources. NMFS is also working
the landscape of fsheries management. In ad- with industry and academic partners to develop
dition to its requirement to end overfshing by advanced sampling technologies that will further
2010, the Act requires expanded fshery man- enhance data collection and the fsheries manage-
agement tools (including market-based manage- ment that depends on those data.
ment approaches, e.g. “catch shares”), a larger In order to better meet the Nation’s steward-
role for science in the fshery management pro- ship responsibilities for the oceans, coasts, and
cess (including improved recreational data collec- Great Lakes, the Obama Administration estab-
tion and strengthened peer-review processes), and lished an Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force
enhanced international cooperation (to address (OPTF) to be led by the Chair of the Council on
illegal, unreported, and unregulated fshing and Environmental Quality. On 10 September 2009
bycatch of protected species). The keys to achiev- the Obama Administration released the interim
ing sustainable fshery stocks, and local communi- Ocean Policy Task Force report. The OPTF report
ties dependent upon them, are ending overfshing provides proposals for a comprehensive national
and rebuilding overfshed stocks. The agency and approach to uphold stewardship responsibilities
the Nation we serve face new and emerging chal- and ensure accountability. It outlines a more bal-
lenges: setting effective and accurate annual catch anced, productive and sustainable approach to
limits, conserving and rehabilitating the marine managing ocean resources focusing on an inte-
and freshwater habitats needed to sustain fshery grated and science-based approach to ecosystem
stocks, recovering endangered species and pro- protection and restoration strategies. It calls out
tecting those at risk of becoming endangered, cre- as a priority the importance of the “protection,
ating successful limited access privilege programs maintenance, and restoration of populations and
that help provide for sustainable and safe fsher- essential habitats supporting fsheries, protected
ies, and designing ecosystem-based management species, ecosystems, and biological diversity.”
plans that consider multiple uses of marine eco- The United States has some of the strongest
systems, including fsheries and a wide range of marine resource legislation in the world, and pas-
other societal needs. sage of the MSRA gives NMFS critically needed
NMFS has been working to anticipate and tools to effectively manage our Nation’s living ma-
meet emerging management and conservation rine resources for the sustainable use and enjoy-
challenges. The NMFS Strategic Plan for Fish- ment by this and future generations. This report
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serves as a report card to the Nation on the sta- that comparisons of future reports with this one
tus of our living marine resources, but it will also will show continued improvements in the status
serve as a baseline for measuring future progress and health of stocks, as well as increases in knowl-
under the MSRA mandates and meeting the re- edge about those stocks.
quirements and initiatives of the OPTF. While
we will eliminate known overfshing on Federal- Steve Murawski, Ph.D.
ly managed stocks in 2010, we know that it will Director of Scientifc Programs
take time to restore those populations—but re- National Marine Fisheries Service
cover they will of we are vigilant in keeping fsh- Silver Spring, Maryland
ing mortality within sustainable limits. We expect October 2009
Quarterly updates on the status of populations can be found at:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/statusoffsheries/SOSmain.htm.
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Preface
This is the sixth edition of Our Living Oceans. assessment of the status and health of marine
Report on the Status of U.S. Living Marine Resources and coastal habitats important to living marine
to be released since the inaugural edition was resources is nearing completion. When Our Living
published in November 1991. These publications Oceans: Habitat. Status of the Habitat of U.S. Living
serve as a series of National status reviews by the Marine Resources is released in the near future, the
National Marine Fisheries Service. The reports are envisioned Our Living Oceans series covering stock
neither mandated nor intended to fulfll any legal status, economics, and habitat will be in place.
requirement. Instead, the purpose of Our Living Our Living Oceans 6th Edition presents new data
Oceans from the beginning has been to provide a analyses focusing on the principal fshery resources,
report card to the American public on the biological marine mammals, and sea turtles that are under the
health of U.S. living marine resources. Additional management jurisdiction of the National Marine
reports in this series were released in 1992, 1993, Fisheries Service. Living marine resources in this
1995, and 1999. Over time, this reporting effort report are discussed in terms of seven regional
has evolved from a 1-year cycle to a multiyear ecosystems around the United States: Northeast
cycle so as to better refect the extended time Shelf, Southeast Shelf, Gulf of Mexico, Carib-
periods often requireds to observe and document bean Sea, California Current, Alaska Ecosystem
change in biological populations and the marine Complex, and Pacifc Islands Ecosystem Complex,
environment. plus Highly Migratory Species. The information
Building on the reception of the biological re- reported is drawn from stock assessment reports,
port card, Our Living Oceans. The Economic Status feld surveys, biological and physical studies, and
of U.S. Fisheries was released to the American public independent monitoring of recreational, subsis-
in December 1996. This companion report defned tence, and commercial fsheries. As with previous
and characterized economic sustainability in the editions of Our Living Oceans, this publication and
Nation’s fsheries, and presented a preliminary as- the data presented are the result of the collective ef-
sessment of their economic health. An update to forts of National Marine Fisheries Service staff from
the 1996 Economics report is currently underway. around the country. The principal contributors to
Work on a third report that will present an initial this report are listed in Appendix 1.
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CONTENTS
v Foreword
vii PreFace
x List oF tabLes
xii List oF Figures
Part 1 NaTiONal OvErviEw
3 Introduction
6 Reauthorization of the Magnuson–Stevens Act
7 Ecosystem Approaches to Fisheries Management
10 Contents
11 Common Terms
13 U.S. Fisheries Production and Status
16 Harvest Rate
17 Stock Status
19 Fishery Resource Status Relative to Fishing Mortality and Biomass Targets
19 Stock Level Relative to BMSY
20 Fishing Mortality and Resource Biomass relative to Target Levels
21 Protected Resource Status
21 Marine Mammals
22 Sea Turtles
23 Regional Ecosystem and Unit Summaries
23 Northeast Shelf
25 Southeast Shelf, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea
28 California Current
30 Alaska Ecosystem Complex
33 Pacifc Islands Ecosystem Complex
34 Highly Migratory Species
36 Recent Trends for Fisheries
36 Stock Level
37 Recent Yields
40 Recent Trends for Protected Resources
40 Marine Mammals
41 Sea Turtles
42 Issues of National Concern
42 Stock Rebuilding and Recovery
45 Recreational Fishing
46 Place-based Management
48 Limited Access Privilege Programs
50 Scientifc Advice and Adequacy of Assessments
52 Outlook
53 Literature Cited
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Part 2 fEaTurE arTiCLES
57 Prelude to Sustainability: Ending Overfshing in U.S. Fisheries
67 Improving Fisheries Science with Advanced Sampling Technologies
77 Deep-sea Coral Ecosystems of the United States
87 Conservation and the Endangered Species Act: The National Marine Fisheries
Service’s Cooperative and Proactive Approaches
Part 3 LiviNg mariNE rESOurCES
103 Unit 1. Northeast Demersal Fisheries
113 Unit 2. Northeast Pelagic Fisheries
117 Unit 3. Atlantic Anadromous Fisheries
125 Unit 4. Northeast Invertebrate Fisheries
133 Unit 5. Atlantic Highly Migratory Pelagic Fisheries
137 Unit 6. Atlantic Shark Fisheries
149 Unit 7. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Coastal Pelagic Fisheries
157 Unit 8. Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Reef Fisheries
163 Unit 9. Southeast Drum and Croaker Fisheries
169 Unit 10. Southeast Menhaden Fisheries
173 Unit 11. Southeast and Caribbean Invertebrate Fisheries
181 Unit 12. Pacifc Coast Salmon
189 Unit 13. Alaska Salmon
201 Unit 14. Pacifc Coast and Alaska Pelagic Fisheries
211 Unit 15. Pacifc Coast Groundfsh Fisheries
223 Unit 16. Western Pacifc Invertebrate Fisheries
231 Unit 17. Western Pacifc Bottomfsh and Groundfsh Fisheries
237 Unit 18. Pacifc Highly Migratory Pelagic Fisheries
251 Unit 19. Alaska Groundfsh Fisheries
263 Unit 20. Alaska Shellfsh Fisheries
267 Unit 21. Marine Mammals of the Alaska Region
283 Unit 22. Marine Mammals of the Pacifc Region and Hawaii
301 Unit 23. Marine Mammals of the Atlantic Region and the Gulf of Mexico
317 Unit 24. Sea Turtles
Part 4 appENdiCES
331 Appendix 1. Acknowledgements
333 Appendix 2. Fishery Management Councils, Their Jurisdictions, and Fishery Management Plans
337 Appendix 3. Principal Facilities of the National Marine Fisheries Service
341 Appendix 4. Stock Assessment Principles and Terms
347 Appendix 5. Common and Scientifc Names of Species
361 Appendix 6. Acronyms and Abbreviations
367 Appendix 7. Species Listed Under the Endangered Species Act
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