or 60 percent, of the 602.3 million pounds of major 
Atlantic groundfish caught in 1974. 
Pacific Groundfish 
The major Pacific coast groundfish species of 
commercial interest or potential commercial interest 
include cod, flounder, hakes, lingcod, ocean perch, 
pollock, rockfishes, and sablefishes. The Fisheries 
Service estimated that stocks of Alaska pollock 
(Bering Sea stock), yellowfin sole, and yellowtail 
flounder, and some stocks of Pacific ocean perch and 
rockfishes are depleted. Also, some stocks of sable- 
fish and Pacific hake and other stocks of flounder 
are intensely fished. 
Foreign fishing has targeted on Pacific hake, Pa- 
cific ocean perch, Alaska pollock, sablefish, and other 
groundfish in the Bering Sea and Alaska. U.S. fish- 
ermen land very little Pacific hake and almost no 
Alaska pollock. During 1974 the Pacific groundfish 
harvest was 5.75 billion pounds, 97 percent of 
which was caught by foreign fleets. 
Gulf of Mexico Groundfish 
The commercially important groundfish species 
in the Gulf of Mexico are snappers and groupers. 
The trend in U.S. landings of snapper/grouper has 
been declining since 1965. Snapper landings have 
declined from 15.9 million pounds in 1965, to 11 
million pounds in 1973. Grouper landings have 
shown the same trend, declining from 9.9 million 
pounds in 1954 to 6.6 million pounds in 1973. In 
addition, recreational fishing for snapper/grouper 
yielded an estimated 82.7 million pounds in 1970. 
Also, in 1971-75, Cuban vessels fishing off Florida 
harvested from 3.5 to 5 million pounds per year. 
Little information is available on the snapper/ 
grouper stocks, and no estimates of the maximum 
sustainable figure have been made. The steady de- 
cline in commercial catch indicates resource prob- 
lems related to increased fishing pressure by com- 
mercial, recreational, and foreign flag fishermen. 
The incidental catch of snapper by vessels trawling 
for shrimp also may affect the declining fishery by 
reducing the abundance of young snappers. 
Halibut 
According to NMFS, the halibut stocks in the 
northeast Pacific and Gulf of Alaska are depleted 
and the stock in the Bering Sea is in imminent 
danger of depletion. However, the International 
Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) officials have 
stated that the halibut stock in the Bering Sea 
is also depleted and actually in poorer condi- 
tion than the Gulf of Alaska stock. The USS. 
landings of halibut have declined from a high of 
about 60.7 million pounds in 1954 to about 18.5 
million pounds in 1974. Industry, government, and 
IPHC officials attribute the decline in U.S. halibut 
landings to overfishing and to the incidental catch 
made by the Japanese and Soviet vessels trawling for 
target species such as pollock, and ocean perch and 
sablefish. The 1975 season indicated some improve- 
ment in the halibut stock, i.e., the 25-million-pound 
quota established by IPHC for the northeast Pacific 
and the Gulf of Alaska was reached, the catch per 
unit of effort increased, and the abundance of juve- 
niles in the Bering Sea increased. 
Herring 
Sea herring stocks in the Atlantic are depleted. 
During 1975 the total catch in the Atlantic off 
U.S. waters was 360 million pounds, of which U.S. 
landings were 80 million pounds, or about 22 per- 
cent of the total catch. 
In 1975, the U.S. herring catch in the Pacific, 
according to preliminary statistics, was 40 million 
pounds, valued at $2.9 million. A 1972 NMFS re- 
port stated that the catch of Gulf of Alaska herring 
was considerably less than the maximum sustain- 
able yield of 500 million pounds. Estimates of her- 
ring population off the California coast indicate that 
the resource may be underused. 
American Lobster 
Landings of American lobsters in 1975 were 29 
million pounds valued at $49.1 million. Inshore 
landings have generally declined since 1960, while 
offshore landings peaked in 1970. 
The American lobster is seriously overfished, re- 
sulting in depletion throughout its inshore range 
(within the former 12-mile fisheries zone). A study 
in one State concluded that nearly all available legal- 
sized lobsters are caught each year. Research has 
indicated that current mortality rates are too high 
and minimum sizes are too low in all areas. 
While stock assessments have not been sufficiently 
complete to establish a maximum sustainable yield 
for the inshore fishery, NMFS officials believe that 
the inshore maximum sustainable yield is conserva- 
tively estimated to be between 25 and 30 million 
pounds. As a result of the depleted state of the 
stock, landings in the inshore area have declined 
despite a substantial increase in effort. Biologists 
estimate that the maximum sustainable yield for the 
inshore fishery from Maine to North Carolina could 
be taken with about 1 million pots. In 1975 pre- 
liminary data indicate that there were 2 million 
pots—or double the capacity needed. 
Although a precise yield figure cannot be estab- 
lished for the offshore stocks because of inadequate 
catch statistics, fishery officials believe that catches 
have been within the fishery’s sustainable limits. 
Spiny Lobster 
Spiny lobsters are found in the Atlantic from 
North Carolina to Brazil and in the Pacific from 
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