1999 

 OUR LIVING OCEANS 



73 



Figure 5 



The number and percent- 

 age of stocks under NMFS 

 purview that are above, 

 near, or below the popula- 

 tion level that would pro- 

 duce long-term potential 

 yield. 



Number 

 of stocks 

 relative to 

 long-term 

 potential 

 yield (LTPY) 



Percentage 

 of stocks 

 relative to 

 LTPY 



23 



36% 



31% 



o © 



22% 



6 



Status of stocks 



Below 



Near 



Above 



Unknown 



Tiible 4 summarizes the classirtcatiDiis for the 283 stock gnnips addressed in tliis 

 report as beint; I3"i> undertitili/ed, 39% fully utilized, 22% overutilized, and 27"'n tui- 

 known. This t;rouping includes (SO stock groups oi nearshore resources that arc imder the 

 purview of coastal states. Excluding nearshore resources, the reni.iining 203 stock groups 

 that are tmder NMFS purview have been classified as IS'J-b imderutilized, 37% lull}- uti- 

 lized, 27% overutilized, and 21"(i imknown (Figure 6). 



There is still a high percentage of stocks, 21% (involving 43 out of 203 stock groups), 

 whose degree of utilization is imknown. 'Fhe majority oi these 43 unknown stock groups 

 are foimd in the .Southeast Region, where assessments of coastal migratory species, reef 

 fishes, and invertebrates are complex and incomplete because of tiie iiuge diversity of spe- 

 cies and fisheries. This catesor\' also includes " stock iiroups from Unit 18 in the Western 

 Pacific Region, where the highly migratory species of tunas move long distances across 

 many national jurisdictions, making assessment of stock utilization difficult. 



1 4 



