U.S. commercial fishing profits and jobs were down in 2015, due mostly to environmental issues, says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association in its Fisheries Economics of the United States report. Earnings for 2016 have not yet been released.
“The U.S commercial fishing and seafood industry (including imports) generated $144 billion in sales in 2015, a 6 percent decline from the previous year, and supported 1.2 million jobs, a 15 percent decline from 2014, although this is still above the 5 year average. Factors such as the ‘warm blob,’ marine toxins, and El Niño affected the Pacific marine environment in 2015, and West Coast fishermen saw lower landings and revenue for several key commercial species,” says the report.
In the Annual Report to Congress on the Status of U.S. Fisheries — a separate report — NOAA found that the number of fish stocks on the government’s list of overfished and overfishing populations remained near all-time lows. “Overfished” refers to stocks that are low because of fishing or other causes. “Overfishing” means that the catch for a particular species is too high.
“Four stocks came off the overfishing list, while six stocks were added to the overfishing list. There were no changes to the list of overfished stocks in 2016. Two additional stocks– barndoor skate in Georges Bank/Southern New England and albacore in the North Atlantic– were rebuilt in 2016, bringing the total stocks rebuilt since 2000 to 41,” says NOAA.