1999 



OUR LIVING OCEANS 



Table 2-1 



Productivity in metric tons 

 and status of Northeast pe- 

 lagic fisheries resources. 



M995-97 average (including foreign and recreational landings) 

 ^Includes significant foreign (Canadian) landings 

 ■^Includes significant recreational landings 



■'For herring, U S portion of RAY is 92.700 t (84% ol lotall 

 'For mackerel. U S portion of RAY is 14,600 t (44% of total) 



This page: Atlantic mackerel; 

 opposite page: Atlantic her- 

 ring on catch table. 



Cotiiicil, the second jointly by the Mid-Atlantic 

 Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 

 Commission, and the third by the New England 

 Fishery Management Council in coordination with 

 the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries CAimmis- 

 sion — the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butter- 

 fish Fishery Management Plan, the Atlantic Blue- 

 fish Fishery Management Plan, and the Atlantic 

 Sea Herring Fishery Management Plan. 



SPECIES AND STATUS 



The Northeast pelagic fisheries are dominated 

 by four species: Atlantic mackerel, Atlantic her- 

 ring, bluefish, and butterfish. Three of these are 

 considered to be underutilized (mackerel, herring, 

 and butterfish), while bluefish is considered to be 

 overutilized. The abundance of mackerel, herring, 

 and butterfish is presently above average, while that 

 of bluefish is below average. 



Ihe long-term population trends for mack- 

 erel ami herring, as measured by research vessel 

 SLirvey data, have fluctuated considerably during 

 the last 25 years (Figure 2-1 ). The combined abun- 

 dance index for these two species reached mini- 

 mal levels in the mid-to-late 1970s, reflecting pro- 

 nounced declines for both and a collapse of the 

 Cicorges Bank herring stock, but it climbed steadily 

 because of the rebuilding of both species and 

 reached a peak in l')')-t. 1 he abundance ot both 

 species has remained at a high level in recent years 

 and will be reassessed in 1999. 



Atlantic Mackerel 



The Atlantic mackerel stock recovered during 

 the 1980's, and the most recent stock assessment 

 (Northeast Fisheries Science C'enter, 1996a,b) in- 

 dicated that the spawning stock biomass was 

 around 2 million t in 1994. Abundance indices 

 from research vessel surveys have remained fairly 

 stable in subsequent years suggesting that stock 

 biomass has remained approximately at that level. 

 In comparison, recent annual landings were about 

 33,S00 t ('Fable 2-1), of which S^"„ was taken by 

 Canada. Although the size of the mackerel stock 

 is imprecisely known (because of low harvest rates, 

 and abtindance indices from bottom trawl surveys 

 are not the most efficient methoil to iiulex school- 

 ing species), mackerel landings ct)uld be increased 

 severalfold without jeopardizing stock productiv- 

 it\'. L'.S. commercial landings ol mackerel nearly 

 doubled tiom 1995 (8,500 t) to 1996 (15,800 t) 

 due to increased effr)rt on mackerel because of im- 

 pro\ed world markets for mackerel and contin- 

 ued low .iluindance ot traditional i;roiindlish 



1 00 



