Nearshore Fisheries 



INTRODUCTION 



For the purposes oi this report, "nearshore fish- 

 ery resources" are those coastal and estuarine spe- 

 cies found in the 0-3 nautical mile zone of coastal 

 state waters, and tor which the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service (NMFS) has no direct manage- 

 ment role. 



Nearshore resources vary widely in species di- 

 versity and abundance. Many are highly-prized 

 gamefish. Others are small fishes used tor bait, 

 food, and industrial products. The invertebrate 

 species ot greatest interest mclude crabs, shrimps, 

 abalones, clams, scallops, and oysters. Recent av- 

 erage yields trom coastal state waters were at least 

 3 10,402 metric tons (t) (Table 21-1). This amount 

 excludes landings ot large-scale nearshore fisher- 

 ies like anchovy, sardine, herring and the inverte- 

 brate resources described in earlier chapters. 



Because the composition ot the nearshore 

 tauna is very diverse and management authority 



is shared among the many coastal states and other 

 local bodies. Our Living Oceans 1999 does not at- 

 tempt a detailed treatment ot their status. How- 

 ever, this unit presents intormation on the more 

 significant species of national interest. For more 

 comprehensive assessments ot individual species, 

 readers should refer to reports published by state 

 natural resource agencies 



NORTHEAST REGION 



The 1995-97 recent average yield for the 

 northeastern U.S. nearshore species was at least 

 74,450 t (Tables 21-1 and 21-2). This estimate is 

 conservative and reflects mostly commercial land- 

 ings; however, recreational harvest estimates tor 

 many, especially the invertebrates, are lacking. The 

 1 997 dockside revenue from the commercial land- 

 ings was an estimated $206,000,000. Nearshore 

 recreational value, though not available, is con- 



Unit 



21 



EMORY D.ANDERSON 



NMFS Northeast 



Fisheries Science Center 



Woods Hole 



Massachusetts 



TED CREASER 



Maine Department of 



Marine Resources 



Boothbay Harbor Laboratory 



West Boothbay Harbor 



Maine 



CLYDE L. MACKENZIE, JR. 



NMFS Northeast 



Fisheries Science Center 



James J Howard Marine 



Sciences Laboratory 



Highlands 



New Jersey 



JOSHUA BENNETT 



NMFS Southeast 



Fisheries Science Center 



Miami 



Florida 



DOUGLAS A WOODBY 



Alaska Department of 



Fish and Game 



Juneau 



Alaska 



LOHLEE LOW 



NMFS Alaska Fisheries 



Science Center 



Seattle 



Washmgton 



SUSAN E SMITH 



NMFS Southwest Fisheries 



Science Center 



La Jolla 



California 



DAVID C HAMM 



NMFS Southwest Fisheries 



Science Center 



Honolulu Laboratory 



Honolulu 



Hawaii 



Lingcod in coral off Califor- 

 nia coast. 



2 1 3 



