Figure 2 



Overfished Species' of 

 Importance to U.S. Fisheries 

 as of August 1975 



Abalones' 

 Alaska pollock 

 Atlantic herring 

 Atlantic menhaden 

 Atlantic salmon 

 Atlantic sea scallop 

 Flukes^ 

 Haddock 

 Halibut 

 Oysters' 



Pacific salmon' 

 Pacific sardine 

 Pandalid shrimps' 

 Plamo clam' 

 River herrings' 

 Rockfishes' 

 Sea run trout' 

 Striped bass' 

 Yellowfin sole 

 Yellowtail flounder 



'Some stocks have been so reduced through 

 overfishing, or any other man-induced or natural 

 cause, that a substantial reduction in fishing effort 

 must be achieved so that stocks can replenish 

 themselves to produce optimum yield. 



'Not all stocks depleted. 



Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, National 

 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 



Historically, access to fishing grounds has 

 been uncontrolled. Fish have been a common- 

 property resource, available to any and all na- 

 tions and individuals who seek to hunt them 

 and harvest them. This common-property 

 nature has prevented any one nation from 

 assuming management control and has made 

 regulation of the catch difficult. Conservation 

 of stocks has not been successful in spite of in- 

 ternational agreements and treaties with other 

 fishing nations. 



As a result, technically sophisticated foreign 

 fishing fleets have taken a heavy toll in tradi- 

 tional U.S. fisheries, particularly off the north- 

 east and northwest coasts where there are 

 several species of prime interest to U.S. com- 



mercial fishermen and consumers. The decline 

 of the New England haddock fishery which 

 was reduced from a major commercial en- 

 terprise in 1950 to a relatively small activity 

 today, is a principal example of the effects of 

 overfishing within 200 miles of the U.S. 

 coasts. The U.S. haddock catch in 1950 was 20 

 times larger than it was in 1974.12 Total catch 

 of other important commercial species, such 

 as flounder and ocean perch, also declined as 

 overfishing reduced the amount of stock 

 available (see figure 3). 



In response to widespread public concern 

 about overfishing, the U.S. Congress moved to 

 adopt a 200-mile fishery zone to give the 

 United States power to limit or exclude 

 foreign fishing off its coasts and impose on 

 both foreign and U.S. fishermen respon- 

 sibilities for conservation and utilization of 

 the fishery resources within the zone. 



In passing the Fishery Conservation and 

 Management Act of 1976 (P.L. 94-265), Con- 

 gress officially noted that certain stocks of fish 

 off the coasts of this country "have been over- 

 fished to the point where their survival is 

 threatened and other such stocks have been so 

 substantially reduced in number that they 

 could become similarly threatened. "'3 



The law made it the policy of the United 

 States to establish a "workable and effective" 

 fisheries management and conservation 

 program based on the best scientific informa- 

 tion available, involving interested States and 

 citizens, and drawing on Federal, State, and 

 academic capabilities to carry out research, 

 administration, management, and enforce- 

 ment. i* 



On March 1, 1977, the law went into effect. 

 A beginning was made toward reaching the 

 difficult goals of conserving, managing, and 

 developing the fisheries off U.S. coasts. To ac- 

 complish these goals, the law establishes 

 Regional Councils— groups which reflect the 

 expertise and interests of the States along each 



