Status of Stocks: 2016 Annual Report to Congress on the Status of U.S. Fisheries

"NOAA Fisheries is pleased to present the 2016 Report to Congress on the Status of U.S. Fisheries as managed under the science-based framework of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). As a result of the combined efforts of NOAA Fisheries, the eight regional fisheries management councils (councils), and other partners, two previously overfished stocks were rebuilt, and the number of stocks on the overfishing and overfished lists remains near all-time lows. Two stocks were assessed for the first time in 2016, which resulted in new stock status information. Neither of these stocks are subject to overfishing or overfished. Continuous monitoring and improvement of our knowledge about the status of stocks is key to ongoing sustainable fisheries management under the MSA..."
Fisheries

Fisheries in the United States: 2011

"This publication is a preliminary report for 2011 on commercial and a final report for recreational fisheries of the United States with landings from the U.S. territorial seas, the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and on the high seas. This annual report provides timely answers to frequently asked questions.

Fisheries in the United States: 2011

Report to Congress on the Status of U.S. Fisheries

"A record six fish populations were declared rebuilt to healthy levels in 2011, bringing the number of rebuilt U.S. marine fish populations in the last 11 years to 27, according to a report to Congress out today from NOAA’s Fisheries Service. This report documents historic progress toward ending overfishing and rebuilding our nation’s fisheries, due to the commitment of fishermen, fishing communities, non-governmental organizations, scientists, and managers..."

Fish and Fishery Products Hazards and Controls Guidance
"This guidance is intended to assist processors of ish and ishery products in the development of their Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans. Processors of ish and ishery products will ind information in this guidance that will help them identify hazards that are associated with their products, and help them formulate control strategies. The guidance will help consumers and the public generally to
understand commercial seafood safety in terms of hazards and their controls. The guidance does not speciically address safe handling practices by consumers or by retail establishments, although many of the concepts contained in this guidance
are applicable to both. This guidance is also intended to serve as a tool to be used by federal and state regulatory oficials in the evaluation of HACCP plans for ish and ishery products..."

National Lake Fish Tissue Study
"Environmental monitoring provides crucial data for describing the condition of the environment and for assessing the effectiveness of pollution control activities. In the 1990s, EPA identified a lack of information necessary to accurately characterize the condition of the Nation’s surface waters and responded by designing a series of statistically-based surveys to produce information on the condition of lakes, streams, rivers, and coastal waters in the United States. The National Study of Chemical Residues in Lake Fish Tissue (or National Lake Fish Tissue Study) is one of the statistically-based surveys conducted by EPA since the late 1990s.

This study is a national screening-level survey of chemical residues in fish tissue from lakes and reservoirs in the conterminous United States (lower 48 states), excluding the Laurentian Great Lakes and Great Salt Lake. It is unique among national assessments of fish contamination in lakes because the sampling sites were selected according to a statistical (random) design..."

U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE RELEASES ANNUAL LIST OF CANDIDATES FOR ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT
"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today released its Candidate Notice of Review, a yearly appraisal of the current status of plants and animals that are considered candidates for protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Four species have been removed from candidate status, five have been added, and eight have a change in priority from the last review in December 2008. There are now 249 species recognized by the Service as candidates for ESA protection.

Candidate species are plants and animals for which the Service has enough information on their status and threats to propose them as threatened or endangered, but developing a proposed listing rule is precluded by higher priority listing actions..."

Study Reveals Mercury Contamination in Fish Nationwide
"Scientists detected mercury contamination in every fish sampled in 291 streams across the country, according to a U.S. Geological Survey study released today.

About a quarter of these fish were found to contain mercury at levels exceeding the criterion for the protection of people who consume average amounts of fish, established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. More than two-thirds of the fish exceeded the U.S. EPA level of concern for fish-eating mammals.

“This study shows just how widespread mercury pollution has become in our air, watersheds, and many of our fish in freshwater streams,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. “This science sends a clear message that our country must continue to confront pollution, restore our nation’s waterways, and protect the public from potential health dangers.”

Some of the highest levels of mercury in fish were found in the tea-colored or “blackwater” streams in North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Louisiana — areas associated with relatively undeveloped forested watersheds containing abundant wetlands compared to the rest of the country. High levels of mercury in fish also were found in relatively undeveloped watersheds in the Northeast and the Upper Midwest. Elevated levels are noted in areas of the Western United States affected by mining. Complete findings of the USGS report, as well as additional detailed studies in selected streams, are available online..."