Management and Assessment 



Marine fish stocks off our coasts represent an enormous 

 renewable natural resource. The total annual harvested volume of 

 these fishery resources is about 14 billion pounds: of which 6.0 

 billion are U.S. commercial; 1.6 billion, sport; and 6.4 billion, foreign. 

 This volume is less than the total possible catch. Estimates of the 

 maximum annual catch achievable run from about 20 to 40 billion 

 pounds. If the potential catch is assumed to have sales values similar 

 to the present catch, the total annual retail value of U.S. fishery 

 resources is estimated to be as much as $17 billion. 



Marine fisheries can be rationally managed if proper stock 

 assessment information is available. For example, catches of 

 yellowfin tuna in the eastern tropical Pacific in 1960 reached three 

 times those of the early 1940's. Since 1966 the fishery has been 

 managed by an annual catch quota, based each year on an estimate of 

 maximum sustainable yield. Now catches each year are almost four 

 times the 1940's level, worth over $50 million a year to U.S. 

 fishermen. While serious sociopolitical problems remain, stock 

 assessment and annual reevaluation make it possible to manage the 

 stock at this level indefinitely. 



The greatest barrier to effective management is lack of 

 information on the abundance, distribution, and condition of the 

 stocks; the effects of various fishing levels on them; and the effects of 

 environmental changes on stock abundance and distribution. 

 Institutional problems associated with management of coastal and 

 anadrbmous stocks will probably be eased by some form of extended 

 jurisdiction. But rational management practice, is dependent on good 

 information. An example is the long-term fishery and survey data 

 base that made possible a rational approach to overfishing off the 

 northeastern United States. In other areas we do not have 

 comparable information. 



Two examples of overexploited fisheries, illustrate the very real 

 economic consequences to our domestic fishing industry of lack of 

 proper management. The average annual catch of haddock during 

 the five years, 1962-1966 inclusive, was 131.9 million pounds. The 

 catch was reduced to 98.3 million pounds in 1967 and to only 8.2 

 million in 1973. These catches were respectively 33.6 and 123.7 

 million pounds less than the earlier average of 131.9 million pounds. 

 The 1967 price per pound was IKE; thus that year's deficit resulted in 

 a 3.7 million dollar loss. If 3.7 million dollars had been deposited in a 

 savings bank at 5% interest, it would have earned an additional 1.3 

 million dollars since 1967. As shown in the last column, the 1967 

 deficit, compounded at this rate, is 5 million dollars. Similar 

 estimates are shown for succeeding years, including the effects of 

 price increases. The California sardine catch averaged 492 million 



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