STATUS
OF STOCKS

Every year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) releases the “Status of the Stocks,” an annual report detailing the health of U.S. fisheries. The recently released 2023 report underscores the need for the Administration to double down on its commitment to rebuild American fisheries and improve their resilience in the face of climate change.

While the report shows some recent progress to curb overfishing and rebuild declining fish populations in most of the country, U.S. fishery management has not kept pace with the ocean’s changing conditions and the impacts on fish populations. From warming waters to acidification, climate change is fundamentally changing the ocean. This is jeopardizing the ability of fish to grow and thrive, in turn reducing their productivity and ability to support a healthy ocean, thriving fisheries, and the coastal communities that depend upon both.

A GAO report found that most fishery management plans do not consider climate change. Many managers are unaware of climate initiatives that NOAA and other councils are implementing that have the potential to further build resilience of fish stocks. The stakes are high: climate change is making management decisions such as rebuilding overfished stocks consistent with the law more challenging, but no less important. Healthy, rebuilt stocks are more resilient to climate impacts and can better support a healthy ocean and the fisheries that underpin coastal communities.

If we are serious about maintaining the U.S.’s legacy as the world’s leader in managing sustainable fisheries, NOAA needs to recommit to rebuilding fisheries and provide better tools to help managers adapt to climate impacts.

Report Highlights

    • Nearly a fifth of stocks remain overfished, but the good news is that the number of overfished stocks decreased: 47 fish stocks, or 18% of all known U.S. stocks, are considered overfished. This means the populations are too low to support long-term sustainable fishing.

    • Critical fish stocks remain on the overfished list:  Some of our most iconic stocks, including Atlantic cod, have remained on the overfished list for years.

    • Overfishing continues despite legal requirements to prevent it: 6% of known stocks are experiencing overfishing, and relatively little progress has been made to reduce the number of fish stocks experiencing overfishing in a decade. For the 21 stocks on the overfishing list some, like greater amberjack in the Gulf of Mexico, have been subject to years of unabated overfishing.

    • 1 stock was rebuilt in the last year: 50 stocks have been declared rebuilt since 2000.

    • Stocks that were previously rebuilt are back to being overfished: Unfortunately, 9 of the 50 stocks declared rebuilt are once again in need of rebuilding.

    • There is a lot we still don’t know: Overfishing status is only known for 72% of stocks and the overfished status for 52%. That means hundreds of fish stocks have an unknown status. NOAA plays an important role as a steward and cannot sustainably manage fisheries without knowing the stock status, so it is critical to improve data collection of unknown stocks.

It’s time for NOAA Fisheries and the Biden Administration to scale up its work to improve fishery management to support coastal economies, improve climate resiliency, and protect ocean environments.