Recent Trends in the Catch of Undersized Swordfish by the U.S. Pelagic Longline Fishery

U.S. commercial vessels fishing in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico have been subject to regulations limiting the landing of swordfish less than 25 kg whole weight since June 1991. The intent of those regulations was to reduce the mortality of immature swordfihs. Plots of fishing effort from 1990 to 1994 indicate that the regulations were effective in some areas. Fishing effort decreased after 1991 in the Venezuelan Basin, a swordfish nursery area. However, in areas close to the U.S. coastline, effort did not appear to shift away from areas where immature swordfish were discarded. To identify areas with high rates of discarding, plots were made showing areas where the number of discarded swordfish was equal to or greater than the number of fish landed.

Species Trends in Sport Fisheries, Monterey Bay, Calif., 1959-86

Three surveys spanning 28 years were examined for changes in species caught by recreational fishermen from small boats (skiffs) and commercial passenger fishing vessels (CPFV's) in California's Monterey Bay region. As fishing effort increased, the catch of certain nearshore species of rockfish, Sebastes spp., declined. CPFV fishing was conducted farther from port and in deeper water to compensate for declining abundance while most skiffs remained in traditional areas close to port. The trend toward deeper water CPFV fishing has been interrupted only temporarily by increased availability of nearshore species. Life history characteristics of rockfish including residential behavior, variable recruitment, and natural longevity contribute to a vulnerability to localized overfishing for several species.

The Atlantic and Gulf Menhaden Purse Seine Fisheries: Origins, Harvesting Technologies, Biostatistical Monitoring, Recent Trends in Fisheries Statistics, and Forecasting

With its genesis in New England during the 1800's, the purse seine fishery for Atlantic menhaden, Brevoortia tyrannus, expanded south and by the early 1900's ranged the length of the eastern seaboard. The purse seine fishery for Gulf menhaden. B. patronus, is of relatively recent development, exploitation of the stock beginning in the late 1940's. Landings from both fisheries annually comprise 35-40% of the total U. S. fisheries landings, ranking menhaden first in terms of volume landed. Technological advances in harvesting methods, fish-spotting capabilities, and vessel designs accelerated after World War II, resulting in larger, faster, and wider-ranging carrier vessels, improved speed and efficiency of the harvest, and reduction in labor requirements. Chief products of the menhaden industry are fish meal, fish oil, and solubles, but research into new product lines is underway. Since 1955 on the Atlantic coast and 1964 on the Gulf coast, the NMFS has monitored the fisheries for biostatistical data. Annual data summaries of numbers-of-fish-at-age harvested, catch tonnage, and fishing effort of the fleet form the basis of routine stock assessments and annual catch forecasts to industry for the upcoming fishing season. After landings declined in the 1960's, the Atlantic menhaden stock has recovered through the 1970's and 1980's. Exceptional year classes of Gulf menhaden in recent years account for record landings during the 1980's.