1999 

 NATIONAL OVERVIEW 



FMP's for EEZ stocks originate through the MSFCMA, which established eight re- 

 gional FMC's (Appendix 2). The PMC's represent diverse interests through their members, 

 who are nominated by state governors in each region and appointed by the Secretary of 

 Commerce. For most marine fisheries and tor Federally protected marine mammals and 

 sea turtles, FMP's and protected species recovery plans may be developed by NMFS with 

 input from the public and by direction ot the FMC's. 



Our Living Occa>is 1999 (OLO 99) covers the majority of LMR's that are of interest 

 tor commercial, recreational, subsistence, and aesthetic or intrinsic reasons to the United 

 States. The biological status ot U.S. fishery resources is reported. Current and potential 

 harvest levels are presented, along with intormation on the degtee ot utilization ot each 

 resource by its fishery and a discussion ot significant management issues. Selected nearshore 

 species, largely the responsibility ot the coastal states, are also discussed, and the status of 

 U.S. stocks ot marine mammals and sea turtles are summarized. 



Information in this report has been collected trom many sources. Ideally, the latest 

 peer-reviewed stock-assessment reports and publications, which serve as the scientitlc basis 

 tor management, are used. For some species, stock assessments may not be complete, due 

 to lack ot data, but they may still be adequate tor fishery scientists to exercise professional 

 judgments as to stock status and the magnitude ot potential fishery yield. When intorma- 

 tion is inadequate, the stock or fishery status is classified as unknown. In such cases, poten- 

 tial yield is estimated from the most recent catch statistics. More detailed intormation can 

 be obtained trom regional reports produced by NMFS fisheries science centers around the 

 country (Appendix 3) and trom state natural resource agencies. 



CONTENTS 



Part 1 contains the national overview ot significant LMR's and their fisheries. It in- 

 cludes this introduction, a briet review ot common terms, LMR summaries and trends, 

 issues ot national concern, and a discussion ot near-term outlook. 



Part 2 includes three feature articles — an examination of the precautionary approach 

 in U.S. marine fisheries management, an essay on the management histor\' ot the North- 

 east groundfish fishery, and a review ot the Cult ot Mexico's king mackerel fishery. 



