1999 

 NATIONAL OVERVIEW 



Coastal migratory pelagic fishes account for 1.3% of the Southeast RAY (Tltble 6). 

 Spanish mackerel appear to be fully utilized in both the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic. King 

 mackerel are below the LTPY level in the Gulf where a stringent rebuilding program has 

 been in place for the last several years. In the Atlantic, king mackerel are underutilized and 

 have the potential to produce additional yield. The status of other coastal migratory pelagic 

 species in the region is unknown. 



Reef fish in the Southeast Region include over 200 stocks ot more than 100 species 

 currently contributing 25,737 t in fishery yield. The degree of utilization and status relative 

 to LTPY are unknown for many of these stocks, but several of the major species have been 

 assessed. In the Gulf of Mexico, red snapper are overfished, and a rebuilding plan has 

 begun. RAY is about 40% greater than CPY, which may slow or impede stock recovery. 

 The success of this rebuilding program hinges primarily on the reduction of bycatch of 

 juvenile red snapper in the Gulf shrimp fishery. Red grouper appears to be fully utilized in 

 the Gulf of Mexico. In the Atlantic, many of the key species are considered overutilized 

 (e.g. vermilion and other snappers, red porgy, several groupers, amberjacks, and jewfish). 

 In the Caribbean, Nassau grouper and jewfish are considered overutilized; the status of 

 other species is unknown. 



The status of drum, spot, croaker, seatrouts, and kingfish stocks, which contribute 

 about 3% of the Southeast RAY, is largely unknown. These species constitute the bulk ot a 

 bycatch that averaged 175,000 t during the 1980's, when billions ot juveniles were dis- 

 carded annually. Bycatch has become a major management issue, and ettorts are underway 

 to reduce bycatch through new gear designs. Red drum harvests in the U.S. EEZ ot the 

 Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic have been ptohibited, and harvests in state waters have 

 been reduced for several years due to low spawning levels. All indications are that recruit- 

 ment is increasing, and recovery is expected, although not necessarily in the immediate 

 tuture. 



Mixed bycatch from a 

 shrimptrawl net, including 

 juvenile red snapper and 

 blue crab. Gulf of [Vlexico. 



As noted above, the highly migratory pelagic species (Unit 5) are important compo- 

 nents of domestic fisheries in the Southeast and Northeast Regions, and tor international 

 fisheries elsewhere in the Atlantic. In particular, the Southeast Region includes major com- 

 ponents of the fisheries for swordfish, marlins, sailfish and yellowfin. However, tor pur- 

 poses of summarizing the information, these have been included in the Northeast Region 

 and were discussed in that section. 



2 1 



