. . . Nearshore Fisheries 



94 



SPECIES AND RANGE 



Most species in this group (Table 21-1) live 

 near shore during much or all of their lives. 

 Some, like the shads, herrings, smelts, and 

 Pacific striped bass, are anadromous, as- 

 cending fresh water to spawn but spending 

 their adult lives in estuaries or at sea. In 

 contrast, the American eel lives much of its 

 life in fresh or brackish water but migrates 

 far offshore to spawn in the Sargasso Sea 

 (deep North Atlantic, beyond the Gulf 

 Stream). 



These species are distributed widely. Bay 

 scallops, hard and softshell clams, rock 

 and Jonah crabs, periwinkles, and whelks 

 are among the important fishery resources 

 of the northeastern United States. Shads, 

 herrings, sardines, mullets, Florida pom- 

 pano, and calico scallops are fished pri- 



marily along the middle and southern U.S. 

 Atlantic coast and in the Gulf of Mexico. 

 Many of the game fishes are particularly 

 valuable to the Florida economy, while 

 invertebrates, like the blue crab and Atlan- 

 tic oyster, support major fisheries from the 

 Gulf to Chesapeake Bay. 



Corvina and striped bass are important 

 sport fishes in California waters, while surf- 

 perches are fished along much of the U.S. 

 west coast. Other species like abalones, 

 clams (hard, Pismo, razor), eulachon, and 

 surf smelt support both recreational and 

 commercial west coast fisheries. In the 

 Pacific Northwest and southern Alaska, 

 Dungeness crabs, Pacific oysters, and Pa- 

 cific shrimps support valuable commercial 

 fisheries. 



FISHERIES 



Bonefish, tarpon, snook, and permit are 

 sought primarily by sport fishermen who 

 often employ professional guides. Other 

 popular recreational fishes, such as the 

 surfperches and tautog, are caught primar- 

 ily by anglers using bait from the beach or 

 small boats. The small baitfishes and food 

 fishes are harvested by both recreational 

 and commercial fishermen using cast nets, 

 gill nets, seines, dip nets, and pound nets; 

 the southern Florida ballyhoo fishery sup- 

 plies bait to the charterboat industry. 



Many methods are also used to harvest 

 the invertebrate species. Commercial and 

 sport divers gather abalones, particularly 

 in southern and central California; fisher- 

 men in small boats dive, dredge, and tong 

 for oysters and rake hard clams; recrea- 

 tional clammers dig Pismo clams on sandy 

 beaches in central California and razor 

 clams in the Pacific Northwest; trawlers 

 and divers take sea urchins off the New 

 England and northern Pacific coasts; and 

 commercial and recreational crabbers fish 

 with pots, traps, trotlines, dredges, and dip 

 nets for blue, rock, and Jonah crabs on the 

 Atlantic coast and for Dungeness crabs on 

 the Pacific coast. Pacific shrimps are har- 

 vested with pots and trawls. Other species, 

 such as blue mussels, are both cultured 

 and harvested from the wild. 



The number of participants in these 

 nearshore fisheries is difficult to assess 

 because of their diversity. There is no 



doubt, however, that millions of recrea- 

 tional and commercial fishermen seek 

 these resources; there are, for example, an 

 estimated 600,000+ recreational razor 

 clam diggers in Washington alone. 



In general, landings for many of these 

 species have declined in recent years (Fig. 

 21-1, 21-2, 21-3, 21-4). Atlantic hard clam, 

 softshell clam, bay scallop, and abalone 

 landings were substantially lower in the 

 1 980's than in the previous three decades. 

 Atlantic oyster landings fell sharply in the 

 late 1980's, and Chesapeake Bay stocks 

 are considered severely depleted. After 

 peaking in the 1970's, Pacific shrimp land- 

 ings fell off in the 1 980's, primarily because 

 of reduced Alaska landings. Dungeness 

 and blue crab landings, though cyclical, 

 appear to have withstood harvesting pres- 

 sures well through the 40-year period ex- 

 amined. 



Because these species frequent 

 nearshore waters, they are not included in 

 Federal fishery management plans; some 

 are managed under regional, state, and/or 

 local authority. Typically, size limits are 

 used to protect molluscan and crustacean 

 resources from overutilization, whereas 

 gear restrictions are the most common 

 management measures used for the 

 finfishes in this group. Area closures, bag 

 limits, and catch quotas are also em- 

 ployed, particularly for shellfish. Interstate 

 Fishery Management Commission plans 



