STOCK STATUS RELEASED
MOREHEAD CITY
– There is
good news for offshore fishermen. Gag grouper has been declared viable based on
the most recent National Marine Fisheries Service’s stock assessment.
Gag grouper,
North Carolina’s most valuable commercial grouper fishery, averaged $575,254
from 1992–2001. Recreationally, more gag are caught than any other grouper
species, with anglers averaging 45,522 pounds per year during the past
decade. This popular reef fish,
previously designated as overfished, has recovered as a result of spawning
season closures and decreased bag limits and increased size limits.
“We’re pleased to move another stock into the viable category and overall, very optimistic about the progress we’re making in restoring North Carolina fisheries,” said Dr. Louis Daniel, Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) scientist in charge of the state’s stock status report. “Once again, this shows fishery management plans work. Gag grouper, striped bass, weakfish, Spanish and king mackerel, bluefish and summer flounder have recovered, or are on the road to recovery, based on the fishery management plan process at both the regional and state level,” said Daniel.
Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) map out proactive long-term recovery strategies for fisheries. North Carolina is developing FMPs for all of its major fisheries.
Conversely,
southern flounder, the flounder species most commonly found in Tar Heel sounds,
rivers and bays, was shifted from concerned to the overfished category. A
recent peer-reviewed stock assessment conducted by the state DMF, shows a 32
percent decline in the population over the past decade.
While the news
is not so good for southern flounder, Daniel was not surprised by the
designation. “There has been mounting concern about southern flounder for the
last few years,” said Daniel. “Harvest restrictions to conserve this overfished
species are being proposed by the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan
Committee, and are scheduled for public meetings later this fall.”
All
other species covered in the report have remained the same.
The DMF’s annual stock status report
evaluates the health of North Carolina’s important coastal fisheries,
spotlighting successes, as well as areas of concern. Of the 40 stocks listed,
13 fall into the viable and recovering categories, 11 are listed as
concerned, 10 are listed as overfished, and six are listed as
unknown. The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission uses this
report to decide priority development of the state’s FMPs.
To determine the status of Tar Heel fisheries, the DMF collects data and analyzes long-term trends in the length, weight, age, catch, and fishing effort for each stock. It also evaluates the total weight of the fish in a stock that are old enough to spawn, the number of juvenile or immature fish, fishing mortality, natural mortality, migration, size and age at maturity, regulatory impacts and bycatch.
Several stocks
were not upgraded but continue to show strong signs of improvement under the
FMP process.
Strong
rebuilding trends continue for summer flounder and bluefish, both
of which are managed through FMPs developed by the Atlantic States Marine
Fisheries Commission and the Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council, of which
North Carolina is a partner. Stock assessments and projections indicate both of
the stocks should be viable in the near future.
While red
drum is still listed as overfished, the stock continues to rebuild,
recently producing several strong year classes. Measures implemented through
the Red Drum FMP protect juveniles and adults from both commercial and
recreational harvest pressure. In addition,
hickory shad and continue to increase in abundance and show signs of
recovery.
While many
stocks show signs of improvement, there are problems with some stocks.
Blue crabs continued to be the top
money crop at Tar Heel docks in 2001, even though hard crab landings were 29.9
million pounds, a decline of 8.9 million pounds from 2000 and well below the
55.1 million pound average for the previous five years. It is still unclear if the decline in crab
harvest can be directly attributed to the effects of the 1999 hurricanes
(Dennis, Floyd and Irene), because blue crab catches are depressed all along
the east coast. Currently, the Blue Crab FMP is being reviewed to address
concerns for the health of this very important fishery.
Concern still
exists for striped mullet due to increased fishing pressure and
depressed harvest landings. The DMF is
in the early stages of FMP development for this species.
The Atlantic
croaker population appears to be healthy in the ocean, but there is
still concern over their abundance in the sounds and inside waters compared to
historic levels. This trend has been ongoing for several years and has
fisheries managers worried about the viability of the stock.
River herring show a continued decline
with poor juvenile production, fewer year classes represented in the catch and
decrease in the average size of the fish.
In 2002, commercial fishermen harvested only 55 percent, or
approximately 165,564 lbs., of the 300,000-pound annual quota. An FMP is in place for river herring, but
rebuilding of this stock is anticipated to take many years.
Fish and
shellfish stocks considered viable are striped bass in the Albemarle Sound
and the ocean, dolphin/wahoo, gag grouper, king and Spanish mackerel, Atlantic
menhaden, spot, spotted seatrout (speckled trout), shrimp and weakfish.
Recovering
stocks include bluefish and summer flounder.
Stocks listed as
concerned include black sea bass south of Cape Hatteras, striped bass (in
waters other than the ocean, Albemarle and Roanoke sounds), Atlantic croaker,
striped mullet, white and yellow perch, reef fish, American shad, bay scallops,
oysters and blue crabs.
Black sea
bass north of Cape Hatteras, red drum, southern flounder, river herring in the
Albemarle Sound, monkfish, scup, sharks, dogfish, Atlantic sturgeon and tautog are listed
as overfished. In North Carolina, all overfished stocks either have regulations
in place, or proposed regulations being developed, to stop overfishing and
allow the populations to rebuild. The rebuilding process can take many years,
especially if it is a long-lived species like red drum. Even if a species is
recovering, it stays in the overfished category until a clear and consistent
recovery trend is evident and it is declared recovering or viable.
The DMF does not
have sufficient data to conduct appropriate assessments on the status of some
stocks. These stocks are listed as
unknown and include catfishes, American eel, river herring outside of Albemarle
Sound, kingfishes (sea mullet), hickory shad and hard clams. The DMF
is collecting the necessary assessment information for these important
fisheries and will be moving many of these stocks into the appropriate
categories over the next few years.
Visit the DMF’s
Web site at: http://www.ncdmf.net/stocks/index.html
to view the new stock status report, along with species profiles and a glossary
of fisheries terms. For more information about this stock status assessment,
please contact Dr. Louis Daniel, DMF - Morehead City, by e-mail at
Louis.Daniel@ncmail.net or by phoning at 1-800-682-2632 or 252-726-7021.