Fishing industry in the United States

As with other countries, the 200 nautical miles (370.4 km) exclusive economic zone

Exclusive Economic Zone

Under the law of the sea, an exclusive economic zone is a seazone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources, including production of energy from water and wind. It stretches from the seaward edge of the state's territorial sea out to 200 nautical...

(EEZ) off the coast of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

gives its fishing industry

Fishing industry

The fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products....

special fishing rights. It covers 11.4 million square kilometres (4.38 million sq mi). This is the largest zone in the world, exceeding the land area of the United States.

According to the FAO

Fão

Fão is a town in Esposende Municipality in Portugal....

, in 2005 the United States harvested 4,888,621 tonne

Tonne

The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...

s of fish from wild fisheries and another 471,958 tonnes from aquaculture

Aquaculture

Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the...

. This made the United States the fifth leading producer of fish after China, Peru, India and Indonesia, with 3.8 percent of the world total.

Management

Historically, fisheries developed in the U.S. as each area was settled, whether by the original aboriginal peoples or by post Columbian arrivals. Concern for the sustainability of fishery resources was evident as early as 1871, when Congress wrote that "... the most valuable food fishes of the coast and the lakes of the U.S. are rapidly diminishing in number, to the public injury, and so as materially to affect the interests of trade and commerce...." However, it was not until 1976, with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, that the federal government began actively managing fisheries

Fisheries management

Fisheries management draws on fisheries science in order to find ways to protect fishery resources so sustainable exploitation is possible. Modern fisheries management is often referred to as a governmental system of appropriate management rules based on defined objectives and a mix of management...

.

Today, inland fisheries and nearshore marine fisheries are managed by state (or regional or county) fisheries commissions. State jurisdictions usually extend 3 nautical miles (6 km) out to sea. Coastal fisheries in the EEZ beyond state jurisdictions are the responsibility of the federal system. The primary institutions of the federal system are eight regional fishery management councils

U.S. Regional Fishery Management Councils

The eight U.S. regional fishery management councils are the primary forums for developing conservation and management measures for U.S. marine fisheries. The regional councils recommend management measures for fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone ; which are subject to approval and implemented...

and the National Marine Fisheries Service

National Marine Fisheries Service

The National Marine Fisheries Service is a United States federal agency. A division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Department of Commerce, NMFS is responsible for the stewardship and management of the nation's living marine resources and their habitat within the...

(NMFS), also known as NOAA Fisheries. NMFS works in partnership with industry, universities, and state, local, and tribal agencies to collect data about commercial species. Fisheries observer

Fisheries observer

A fisheries observer is an independent specialist who serves on board commercial fishing vessels, or in fish processing plants and other platforms, and is employed by a fisheries observer program, either directly by a government agency or by a third party contractor. Observers spend anywhere from...

s on fishing vessels, transmit real time data electronically to NMFS.

NMFS works in partnership with the regional fishery management councils to prevent overfishing

Overfishing

Overfishing occurs when fishing activities reduce fish stocks below an acceptable level. This can occur in any body of water from a pond to the oceans....

and restore overfished stocks. Objectives are to reduce fishing intensity, monitor the fisheries, and implement measures to reduce bycatch

Bycatch

The term “bycatch” is usually used for fish caught unintentionally in a fishery while intending to catch other fish. It may however also indicate untargeted catch in other forms of animal harvesting or collecting...

and protect essential fish habitat. NMFS is establishing marine protected area

Marine Protected Area

Marine Protected Areas, like any protected area, are regions in which human activity has been placed under some restrictions in the interest of conserving the natural environment, it's surrounding waters and the occupant ecosystems, and any cultural or historical resources that may require...

s and individual fishing quota

Individual fishing quota

Individual fishing quotas also known as "individual transferable quotas" are one kind of catch share, a means by which many governments regulate fishing. The regulator sets a species-specific total allowable catch , typically by weight and for a given time period. A dedicated portion of the TAC,...

s, and implementing ecosystem based fishery management.

EEZ

The U.S. EEZ is the largest in the world, 1.7 times the land area of the US, and includes eight large marine ecosystem

Large marine ecosystem

Large marine ecosystems are regions of the world's oceans, encompassing coastal areas from river basins and estuaries to the seaward boundaries of continental shelves and the outer margins of the major ocean current systems...

Northeast U.S. Continental Shelf
Southeast U.S. Continental Shelf
Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
California Current
California Current
The California Current is a Pacific Ocean current that moves south along the western coast of North America, beginning off southern British Columbia, and ending off southern Baja California. There are five major coastal currents affiliated with upwelling zones...
Insular Pacific
Insular area
An insular area is a United States territory, that is neither a part of one of the fifty U.S. states nor the District of Columbia, the federal district of the United States...

-Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

an
Gulf of Alaska
Gulf of Alaska
The Gulf of Alaska is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the east, where Glacier Bay and the Inside Passage are found.The entire shoreline of the Gulf is...
Eastern Bering Sea
Bering Sea
The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves....

Catch profile

Major U.S. domestic species landed
Species 2003	Catch million tonne Tonne The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI... s	Value $US million
Pollock Pollock Pollock is the common name used for either of the two species of marine fish in the Pollachius genus. Both P. pollachius and P. virens are commonly referred to as pollock. Other names for P...	1,532	209
Menhaden Menhaden Menhaden, also known as mossbunker, bunker and pogy, are forage fish of the genera Brevoortia and Ethmidium, two genera of marine fish in the family Clupeidae.-Description:...	727
Salmon Salmon Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...	306	201
Cod Cod Cod is the common name for genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name for various other fishes. Cod is a popular food with a mild flavor, low fat content and a dense, flaky white flesh. Cod livers are processed to make cod liver oil, an important source of...	269	187
Flatfish Flatfish The flatfish are an order of ray-finned fish, also called the Heterosomata, sometimes classified as a suborder of Perciformes. In many species, both eyes lie on one side of the head, one or the other migrating through and around the head during development...	202	267
Hake Hake The term hake refers to fish in either of:* family Phycidae of the northern oceans* family Merlucciidae of the southern oceans-Hake fish:... s	155
Crab Crab True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax... s	154	484
Shrimp Shrimp Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...	143	424
Herring Herring Herring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies... (sea)	130
Sardine Sardine Sardines, or pilchards, are several types of small, oily fish related to herrings, family Clupeidae. Sardines are named after the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, around which they were once abundant.... s	73
Lobster Lobster Clawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most... s		308
Scallop Scallop A scallop is a marine bivalve mollusk of the family Pectinidae. Scallops are a cosmopolitan family, found in all of the world's oceans. Many scallops are highly prized as a food source... s		229
Clam Clam The word "clam" can be applied to freshwater mussels, and other freshwater bivalves, as well as marine bivalves.In the United States, "clam" can be used in several different ways: one, as a general term covering all bivalve molluscs... s		163
Oyster Oyster The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified.... s		103

2003	Production	Imports	Exports	Food supply	Per capita kg/year
Fisheries data in tons excluding molluscs
Fish for direct human consumption	3,420,000	4,390,000	2,450,000	5,360,000	26.8
Fish for animal feed etc.	310,000	620,000	590,000	4.2
Total	4,320,000	4,700,000	3,070,000	5,950,000	31.0

Nearshore fisheries

Nearshore fishing areas consist of estuaries and coast

Coast

A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...

al areas that lie within 3 nautical miles (6 km) of the shoreline. These are under the control of the relevant coastal state rather than under federal

Federal government of the United States

The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...

or NMFS control. They vary widely in species diversity and abundance. Many species are highly prized game fish

Game fish

Game fish are fish pursued for sport by recreational anglers. They can be freshwater or marine fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, though increasingly anglers practise catch and release to improve fish populations. Some game fish are also targeted commercially, particularly...

, while others are small forage fish

Forage fish

Forage fish, also called prey fish or bait fish, are small fish which are preyed on by larger predators for food. Predators include other larger fish, seabirds and marine mammals. Typical ocean forage fish feed near the base of the food chain on plankton, often by filter feeding...

used for bait

Bait fish

Bait fish are small fish caught for use as bait to attract large predatory fish, particularly game fish. Species used are typically those that are common and breed rapidly, making them easy to catch and in regular supply. Examples of marine bait fish are anchovies, halfbeaks such as ballyhoo, and...

, animal food, and industrial products. Those of greatest interest include invertebrate

Invertebrate

An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...

species like crabs, shrimps, abalones, clams, oysters and scallops. Many species are of unknown status because it is difficult to assess their condition. There are no firm estimates exist for long term potential yield

Sustainable yield in fisheries

The sustainable yield of natural capital is the ecological yield that can be extracted without reducing the base of capital itself, i.e. the surplus required to maintain ecosystem services at the same or increasing level over time. This yield usually varies over time with the needs of the...

.

Management is spread out among the coastal states and other local authorities, and a comprehensive treatment of the fisheries has not been attempted. Traditional techniques are usually employed, including size limits, catch limits, method restrictions, and area and time closures.

Coastal fisheries

The coastal fisheries are the fisheries that lie within 200 nautical miles (370.4 km) of the coast that defines the exclusive economic zone, but outside the 3 nautical miles (6 km) distance that defines the nearshore fisheries. Coastal fisheries are under federal control in the form of NMFS, as well as under the control of one of the eight regional fishery management councils

U.S. Regional Fishery Management Councils

Northeast

Traditionally the most valued fishery for the northeast region has been groundfish

Groundfish

Groundfish are fish that live on, in, or near the bottom of the body of water they inhabit. Some typical saltwater groundfish species are sole, flounder, and halibut....

. However, the groundfish, especially haddock

Haddock

The haddock , also known as the offshore hake, is a marine fish distributed on both sides of the North Atlantic. Haddock is a popular food fish and is widely fished commercially....

, yellowtail flounder

Yellowtail flounder

The yellowtail flounder is a species of fish in the Pleuronectidae family. It is found in Canada and the United States.-Source:* Sobel, J. 1996. . Downloaded on 4 August 2007....

and cod

Cod

Cod is the common name for genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name for various other fishes. Cod is a popular food with a mild flavor, low fat content and a dense, flaky white flesh. Cod livers are processed to make cod liver oil, an important source of...

have been overfished. Record low spawning biomass

Biomass (ecology)

Biomass, in ecology, is the mass of living biological organisms in a given area or ecosystem at a given time. Biomass can refer to species biomass, which is the mass of one or more species, or to community biomass, which is the mass of all species in the community. It can include microorganisms,...

levels occurred in 1993–94, though these are now recovering. Dogfish

Squaliformes

Squaliformes is an order of sharks that includes about 97 species in seven families.Members of the order have two dorsal fins, which usually possess spines, no anal fin or nictitating membrane, and five gill slits. In most other respects, however, they are quite variable in form and size...

and skate

Skate

Skates are cartilaginous fish belonging to the family Rajidae in the superorder Batoidea of rays. There are more than 200 described species in 27 genera. There are two subfamilies, Rajinae and Arhynchobatinae ....

rebounded in the 1970s while groundfish and flounder declined. These fish are an important part of the Georges Bank

Georges Bank

Georges Bank is a large elevated area of the sea floor which separates the Gulf of Maine from the Atlantic Ocean and is situated between Cape Cod, Massachusetts and Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia ....

.

The next most important fishery by value is American lobster

American lobster

The American lobster, Homarus americanus, is a species of lobster found on the Atlantic coast of North America, chiefly from Labrador to New Jersey. Within North America, it is also known as the northern lobster or Maine lobster. It can reach a body length of , and a mass of over , making it the...

and Atlantic sea scallop

Scallop

A scallop is a marine bivalve mollusk of the family Pectinidae. Scallops are a cosmopolitan family, found in all of the world's oceans. Many scallops are highly prized as a food source...

. The striped bass

Striped bass

The striped bass is the state fish of Maryland, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and the state saltwater fish of New York, Virginia, and New Hampshire...

was driven to low levels early in the 1980s. Catch restrictions were applied in the mid 1980s, and by 1995 this anadromous fish had recovered. The region has valuable mollusk fisheries. Offshore are sea scallops, surfclams, American lobsters and ocean quahog. Inshore are oyster

Oyster

The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....

s, blue mussel

Blue mussel

The blue mussel, Mytilus edulis, is a medium-sized edible marine bivalve mollusc in the family Mytilidae. In spite of its specific name edulis, it is not the sole edible Mytilus species.-Distribution:...

s, blue crabs, and clam

Clam

The word "clam" can be applied to freshwater mussels, and other freshwater bivalves, as well as marine bivalves.In the United States, "clam" can be used in several different ways: one, as a general term covering all bivalve molluscs...

fisheries. These fisheries are pretty much fully exploited.

The fisheries in the Northeast Region are governed mostly by Fishery Management Plans (FMPs). An example of successful regulation is the 1994 Amendment 4 to the Sea Scallop FMP. This set out to control scallop fishing effort by not accepting more entrants, by restricting the time vessels could fish each day, and by requiring bigger mesh sizes on dredges. Additional protection for scallops was given closing parts of Georges Bank

Georges Bank

to groundfish fishing. The scallops recovered.

Southeast

The Southeast region spans the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

, the Caribbean Sea

Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....

and the US Southeast Atlantic. Important species are menhaden

Menhaden

Menhaden, also known as mossbunker, bunker and pogy, are forage fish of the genera Brevoortia and Ethmidium, two genera of marine fish in the family Clupeidae.-Description:...

, drum, croaker

Sciaenidae

Sciaenidae is a family of fish commonly called drums, croakers, or hardheads for the repetitive throbbing or drumming sounds they make...

, invertebrates, highly migratory species, reef fish and other nearshore species.

Overfishing of king

King mackerel

The king mackerel is a migratory species of mackerel of the western Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. It is an important species to both the commercial and recreational fishing industries.-Description:...

and Spanish mackerel

Atlantic Spanish mackerel

The Atlantic Spanish mackerel, Scomberomorus maculatus, is a migratory species of mackerel that swimsto the northern Gulf of Mexico in spring, returns to south Florida in the eastern gulf, and to Mexico in the western gulf in the fall.-Description:...

occurred in the 1980s. Regulations were introduced to restrict the size, amount of catch, fishing locations and bag limits for recreational fishers as well as commercial fishers. Gillnet

Gillnet

Gillnetting is a common fishing method used by commercial and artisanal fishermen of all the oceans and in some freshwater and estuary areas. The gillnet also is used by fisheries scientists to monitor fish populations. Because gillnets can be so effective their use is closely monitored and...

s were banned in waters off Florida. By 2001, the mackerel stocks had bounced back.

Menhaden

Menhaden

Menhaden, also known as mossbunker, bunker and pogy, are forage fish of the genera Brevoortia and Ethmidium, two genera of marine fish in the family Clupeidae.-Description:...

and stone crabs

Florida stone crab

The Florida stone crab, Menippe mercenaria, is a crab found in the western North Atlantic, from Connecticut to Belize, including Texas, the Gulf of Mexico, Cuba and the Bahamas that is widely caught for food.-Description:...

and the three major species of shrimp (pink, brown and white

Atlantic white shrimp

Litopenaeus setiferus is a species of prawn found along the Atlantic coast of North...

) are fully exploited. Spiny lobster

Spiny lobster

Spiny lobsters, also known as langouste or rock lobsters, are a family of about 45 species of achelate crustaceans, in the Decapoda Reptantia...

are overexploited. Better data is needed if stocks are to be assessed accurately.

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

provides rich resources. Pacific salmon, shellfish

Shellfish

Shellfish is a culinary and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater environments, some kinds are found only in freshwater...

, groundfish

Groundfish

Groundfish are fish that live on, in, or near the bottom of the body of water they inhabit. Some typical saltwater groundfish species are sole, flounder, and halibut....

, flatfish

Flatfish

The flatfish are an order of ray-finned fish, also called the Heterosomata, sometimes classified as a suborder of Perciformes. In many species, both eyes lie on one side of the head, one or the other migrating through and around the head during development...

, Pacific halibut

Pacific halibut

The Pacific halibut is found on the continental shelf of the North Pacific Ocean and Bering sea. They are demersal, living on or near the bottom. The halibut is among the largest teleost fish in the world. Halibut are strong swimmers and are able to migrate long distances...

, and herring

Herring

Herring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...

are underutilized.

The salmon species in Alaska (chinook

Chinook salmon

The Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, is the largest species in the pacific salmon family. Other commonly used names for the species include King salmon, Quinnat salmon, Spring salmon and Tyee salmon...

, coho

Coho salmon

The Coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". It is the state animal of Chiba, Japan.-Description:...

, pink

Pink salmon

Pink salmon or humpback salmon, Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family. It is the smallest and most abundant of the Pacific salmon.- Appearance :...

, sockeye

Sockeye salmon

Sockeye salmon , also called red salmon or blueback salmon in the USA, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it...

, and chum

Chum salmon

The chum salmon, Oncorhynchus keta, is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family. It is a Pacific salmon, and may also be known as dog salmon or Keta salmon, and is often marketed under the name Silverbrite salmon...

) generally produce good harvest, though some stocks are declining. Up to 1977, foreign fishing controlled the groundfish fisheries in Alaska (apart from Pacific halibut

Pacific halibut

).

The Aleutian Islands, a series of over 300 rocky islands, stretch over 1000 miles (1,609.3 km) from southwest Alaska to Russia. They are home to the largest fishing port in the U.S., Dutch Harbor. The primary target species is pollock

Pollock

Pollock is the common name used for either of the two species of marine fish in the Pollachius genus. Both P. pollachius and P. virens are commonly referred to as pollock. Other names for P...

, but crab

Crab

True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...

s, salmon

Salmon

Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...

and groundfish

Groundfish

Groundfish are fish that live on, in, or near the bottom of the body of water they inhabit. Some typical saltwater groundfish species are sole, flounder, and halibut....

are also important. Between 1997 and 2001, groundfish were caught by bottom trawling

Bottom trawling

Bottom trawling is trawling along the sea floor. It is also often referred to as "dragging".The scientific community divides bottom trawling into benthic trawling and demersal trawling...

, a fishing method which destroys the habitat

Habitat

* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...

of the groudfish, the ocean floor coral

Coral

Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...

and sponge communities. In 2005, about 80,000 km² (30,000 sq mi) of seafloor around the Aleutian Islands were permanently closed to destructive fishing gears. In 2008, NOAA fisheries created the Aleutian Islands Habitat Conservation Area (AIHCA), most of which is closed to bottom trawling. At 725,000 km² (280,000 sq mi), the AIHCA is the largest marine protected area

Marine Protected Area

in the USA.

Pacific Coast

On the Pacific Coast

West Coast of the United States

West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...

important species are Pacific halibut

Pacific halibut

, Pacific salmon, groundfish

Groundfish

Groundfish are fish that live on, in, or near the bottom of the body of water they inhabit. Some typical saltwater groundfish species are sole, flounder, and halibut....

, pelagic fish

Pelagic fish

Pelagic fish live near the surface or in the water column of coastal, ocean and lake waters, but not on the bottom of the sea or the lake. They can be contrasted with demersal fish, which do live on or near the bottom, and reef fish which are associated with coral reefs.The marine pelagic...

es and nearshore species. The stocks are mostly overfished or fully exploited.

Salmon: Salmon production has decreased since the late 1970s, partly due to habitat degradation.

Groundfish: this harvest is dominated by Pacific whiting. Some stocks need rebuilding. Rockfish can live as long as 100 years, and grow and reproduce very slowly. This makes stock recovery very slow. In 2004, plans for rebuilding several overfished groundfish species were approved .

Shellfish: Shellfish, such as crab
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...

s, clam
Clam
The word "clam" can be applied to freshwater mussels, and other freshwater bivalves, as well as marine bivalves.In the United States, "clam" can be used in several different ways: one, as a general term covering all bivalve molluscs...

s, shrimp
Shrimp
Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...

and abalone
Abalone
Abalone , from aulón, are small to very large-sized edible sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Haliotidae and the genus Haliotis...

, sell for high prices, so their fisheries can be small by volume but high by value. These fisheries are mostly fully exploited. recreational fishers
Recreational fishing
Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing, is fishing for pleasure or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is fishing for profit, or subsistence fishing, which is fishing for survival....

catch more of some species than the commercial fishers.

Recovering stocks: After decades of decline, Pacific sardine populations are recovering. In 2004, the NMFS declared that, due to reduced harvest and bycatch
Bycatch
The term “bycatch” is usually used for fish caught unintentionally in a fishery while intending to catch other fish. It may however also indicate untargeted catch in other forms of animal harvesting or collecting...

, Pacific whiting were recovering.

Western Pacific

The Western Pacific region includes the western and central Pacific, the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaiian Islands

The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...

, and the islands of the Northern Marianas, Guam

Guam

Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...

and American Samoa

American Samoa

American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...

. These are tropical or subtropical waters. They have large species diversity but, because ocean nutrients are not rich, the sustainable yields

Sustainable yield in fisheries

is low. Pelagic armorhead

Armorhead

The Armorheads are a small family, Pentacerotidae, of fishes in the order Perciformes. They are native to the Indian Ocean, western and central Pacific, and southwestern Atlantic...

is the only overfished stock.

Groundfish fisheries: Groundfish
Groundfish
Groundfish are fish that live on, in, or near the bottom of the body of water they inhabit. Some typical saltwater groundfish species are sole, flounder, and halibut....

, such as snapper
Lutjanidae
Snappers are a family of perciform fish, mainly marine but with some members inhabiting estuaries, feeding in freshwater. Some are important food fish. One of the best known is the red snapper....

, jacks, emperors and grouper
Grouper
Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes.Not all serranids are called groupers; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name grouper is usually given to fish in one of two large genera: Epinephelus...

are harvested from coral and rock habitats, mostly around the Hawaiian Islands. While some stocks are underutilized, other important species have declined to 30 percent of their earlier stock levels.

Invertebrate fisheries: The main invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...

fisheries are in the north west Hawaiian Islands for slipper
Slipper lobster
Slipper lobsters are a family of decapod crustaceans found in all warm oceans and seas. Despite their name, they are not true lobsters, but are more closely related to spiny lobsters and furry lobsters. Slipper lobsters are instantly recognisable by their enlarged antennae, which project forward...

and spiny lobster
Spiny lobster
Spiny lobsters, also known as langouste or rock lobsters, are a family of about 45 species of achelate crustaceans, in the Decapoda Reptantia...

. This fishery started in 1977, peaked in the mid 1980s, and then declined. The decline is thought to stem from oceanographic changes. Some recovery has occurred since 1991, due to entry and harvest restrictions.

Highly migratory species account for 99 percent catch in this region and are discussed below.

High sea fisheries

The high seas, or international waters, are the waters outside the jurisdiction of the EEZ of any country. U. S. distant fisheries operate in some of these waters, alongside other nations, beyond the jurisdiction of any nation's coastal fisheries.

Highly migratory species

The main commercial species in the high seas are the highly migratory species. These fish make long migrations across the high seas and are fished by many nations. Highly migratory fish also cross boundaries without regard for international laws. In particular, they enter the EEZ zones of the U.S., which means they become important species also for U.S. coastal fisheries.

In the Atlantic, overfished species include:

Tuna: bigeye
Bigeye tuna
The bigeye tuna, Thunnus obesus, is an important food fish and prized recreational game fish. It is a true tuna of the genus Thunnus, belonging to the wider mackerel family Scombridae....

in the Atlantic, albacore in the North Atlantic, and bluefin in the West Atlantic, with yellowfin tuna
Yellowfin tuna
The yellowfin tuna is a species of tuna found in pelagic waters of tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide.Yellowfin is often marketed as ahi, from its Hawaiian name ahi although the name ahi in Hawaiian also refers to the closely related bigeye tuna. The species name, albacares can lead to...

close to being overfished.

Blue marlin
Atlantic blue marlin
The Atlantic blue marlin is a species of marlin endemic to the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic blue marlin feeds on a wide variety of organisms near the surface. By using its bill, it can stun, injure, or kill while knifing through a school of prey and then return later at its leisure to eat...

, white marlin
White marlin
White Marlin are large, elongated fish with a large upper jaw that forms a spear which is round in cross-section. They are dark blue to chocolate-brown in color...

and sailfish
Sailfish
'Sailfish' are two species of fish in the genus Istiophorus, living in warmer sections of all the oceans of the world. They are predominately blue to gray in color and have a characteristic erectile dorsal fin known as a sail, which often stretches the entire length of the back...

.

Sharks: bull
Bull shark
The bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas, also known as Zambezi shark or unofficially known as Zambi in Africa and Nicaragua shark in Nicaragua, is a shark common worldwide in warm, shallow waters along coasts and in rivers...

, dusky
Dusky shark
The dusky shark is a species of requiem shark, family Carcharhinidae, occurring in tropical and warm-temperate continental seas worldwide. A generalist apex predator, the dusky shark can be found from the coast to the outer continental shelf and adjacent pelagic waters, and has been recorded from...

, bignose
Bignose shark
The bignose shark is a species of requiem shark, family Carcharhinidae. Distributed worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters, this migratory shark frequents deep waters around the edges of the continental shelf. It is typically found at depths of , though at night it may move towards the...

, night
Night shark
The night shark is a species of requiem shark, family Carcharhinidae, found in the temperate and tropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean...

, Caribbean reef
Caribbean reef shark
The Caribbean reef shark is a species of requiem shark, family Carcharhinidae. It is found in the tropical waters of the western Atlantic Ocean from Florida to Brazil, and is the most commonly encountered reef shark in the Caribbean Sea...

, spinner
Spinner shark
The spinner shark is a species of requiem shark, family Carcharhinidae, named for the spinning leaps it makes as a part of its feeding strategy. This species occurs in tropical and warm temperate waters worldwide, except for in the eastern Pacific Ocean...

, silky
Silky shark
The silky shark is a species of requiem shark, family Carcharhinidae, named for the smooth texture of its skin. It is one of the most abundant sharks in the pelagic zone, and can be found around the world in tropical waters. Highly mobile and migratory, this shark is most often found over the edge...

, tiger
Tiger shark
The tiger sharks, Galeocerdo cuvier, is a species of requiem shark and the only member of the genus Galeocerdo. Commonly known as sea tigers, tiger sharks are relatively large macropredators, capable of attaining a length of over . It is found in many tropical and temperate waters, and is...

, lemon
Lemon shark
The lemon shark, Negaprion brevirostris, is a shark in the family Carcharhinidae, that can grow to long. It is known as the lemon shark because, at certain depths, light interacting with the local seawater can give this shark a tanned and yellow pitted appearance, much like the surface of a...

, sand
Sand shark
Sand sharks, also known as sand tiger sharks or ragged tooth sharks, are lamniform sharks of the family Odontaspididae . They are found worldwide in temperate and tropical waters, including on both sides of the Atlantic coast, but most notably in the Western Indian Ocean and in the Gulf of Maine...

, nurse
Nurse shark
The nurse shark, Ginglymostoma cirratum, sometimes referred to as the Nur Shark is a shark in the nurse sharks family, the only member of its genus Ginglymostoma...

, scalloped, smooth smooth hammerhead
Hammerhead shark
The hammerhead sharks are a group of sharks in the family Sphyrnidae, so named for the unusual and distinctive structure of their heads, which are flattened and laterally extended into a "hammer" shape called a "cephalofoil". Most hammerhead species are placed in the genus Sphyrna while the...

and white shark.

The biomass

Biomass (ecology)

of swordfish

Swordfish

Swordfish , also known as broadbill in some countries, are large, highly migratory, predatory fish characterized by a long, flat bill. They are a popular sport fish of the billfish category, though elusive. Swordfish are elongated, round-bodied, and lose all teeth and scales by adulthood...

in the North Atlantic has increased, probably due to catch reduction and strong recruitment.

In the Pacific, these transboundary fisheries are also important to other Pacific Rim

Pacific Rim

The Pacific Rim refers to places around the edge of the Pacific Ocean. The term "Pacific Basin" includes the Pacific Rim and islands in the Pacific Ocean...

nations and to U.S. fleets fishing within and beyond the EEZ. The major U.S. catch stock is tuna, though billfish, swordfish and shark are also caught. These stocks account for 99 percent of the Western Pacific region's catch.

Seamounts

A seamount

Seamount

A seamount is a mountain rising from the ocean seafloor that does not reach to the water's surface , and thus is not an island. These are typically formed from extinct volcanoes, that rise abruptly and are usually found rising from a seafloor of depth. They are defined by oceanographers as...

is a mountain rising from the ocean seafloor that does not reach the ocean surface. They are defined by oceanographers as independent features that rise at least 1,000 meters above the seafloor. Seamounts became interesting during the 1960s when it was discovered that they can maintain large stocks of commercially important fishes and invertebrates. From 1968 to about 1990, foreign fleets harvested pelagic armorhead

Armorhead

The Armorheads are a small family, Pentacerotidae, of fishes in the order Perciformes. They are native to the Indian Ocean, western and central Pacific, and southwestern Atlantic...

across seamount

Seamount

s in the Hawaiian Ridge. Since 1984, fishing been prohibited there so the stock can recover.

Generally, seamounts are found in the high seas, outside the continental shelves and outside the jurisdiction of any nation's EEZ. However, the U.S. Pacific Coast region has an unusually small continental shelf, while the Western Coast region contains islands with no continental shelf. As a result, there are some seamounts within U.S. jurisdiction.

Inland fisheries

Fisheries in inland waters of the United States are small compared to marine fisheries. The largest fisheries are the landings from the Great Lakes

Great Lakes

The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...

, worth about $13 million in 2003, with a similar amount from the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

basin. This is less than one percent of the dollar value of the marine fisheries.

Fishing fleet

Until the late 19th century, the U.S. fishing fleet

Fishing fleet

A fishing fleet is an aggregate of commercial fishing vessels. The term may be used of all vessels operating out of a particular port, all vessels engaged in a particular type of fishing , or all fishing vessels of a country or region.Although fishing vessels are not formally organized as if they...

used sailing vessels. By the early 20th century, fishing vessel

Fishing vessel

A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing....

s were built as steam boats with steam engines, or as schooners with auxiliary gasoline engines. By the 1930s the fleet was almost completely converted to diesel vessels. Fishing gear became more technical: Alaska purse seiners were in use by 1870, longliners were introduced in 1885; otter trawls were operating in the groundfish

Groundfish

Groundfish are fish that live on, in, or near the bottom of the body of water they inhabit. Some typical saltwater groundfish species are sole, flounder, and halibut....

and shrimp fisheries by the early 20th century. In the late 1960s, factory ship

Factory ship

A factory ship, also known as a fish processing vessel, is a large ocean-going vessel with extensive on-board facilities for processing and freezing caught fish...

s from other countries started fishing haddock

Haddock

The haddock , also known as the offshore hake, is a marine fish distributed on both sides of the North Atlantic. Haddock is a popular food fish and is widely fished commercially....

, herring

Herring

, salmon

Salmon

and halibut

Halibut

Halibut is a flatfish, genus Hippoglossus, from the family of the right-eye flounders . Other flatfish are also called halibut. The name is derived from haly and butt , for its popularity on Catholic holy days...

on traditional U.S. fishing grounds.

Technological advances have played an important role in the development of U.S. fisheries.
Increases in size and speed allowed vessels to fish in more distant waters. Advances include double trawls, the Puretic power block

Puretic power block

The Puretic power block is a special kind of mechanised winch used to haul nets on fishing vessels. The power block is a large powered aluminium pulley with a hard rubber-coated sheave...

s for retrieving seine nets, refrigerated holds, durable synthetic fibres

Monofilament line

Monofilament fishing line is fishing line made from a single fiber of plastic. Most fishing lines are now monofilament because monofilament fibers are cheap to produce and are produced in a range of diameters which have different tensile strengths...

for lines

Fishing line

A fishing line is a cord used or made for angling. Important parameters of a fishing line are its length, material, and weight...

and nets

Fishing net

A fishing net or fishnet is a net that is used for fishing. Fishing nets are meshes usually formed by knotting a relatively thin thread. Modern nets are usually made of artificial polyamides like nylon, although nets of organic polyamides such as wool or silk thread were common until recently and...

, GPS to navigate and locate fishing grounds, fishfinder

Fishfinder

A fishfinder is an instrument used to locate fish underwater by detecting reflected pulses of sound energy, as in SONAR. A modern fishfinder displays measurements of reflected sound on a graphical display, allowing an operator to interpret information to locate schools of fish, underwater debris,...

s for the location of fish, and spotter planes to locate fish schools.

The vessel size and gear types of the U.S. fishing fleet varies geographically and between fisheries. Because of this, management of U.S. fisheries with a single policy is not feasible. Individual fisheries have their own biological, economic, and sociological characteristics which make broad policies impractical. On the other hand, ad hoc regulations for individual fisheries is not practical either.

U.S. fisheries use most fishing gear types. Vessels are often configured so they can change rapidly between two or more gear types, such as lobster pots to bottom trawls to scallop dredge

Scallop dredge

A fishing dredge, also known as a scallop dredge, oyster dredge, etc, is a kind of dredge which is towed along the bottom of the sea by a fishing boat in order to collect a targeted edible bottom-dwelling species. The gear is used to fish for scallops, oysters and other species of clams, crabs, and...

s. The main techniques are purse seining and trawling

Trawling

Trawling is a method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats. The net that is used for trawling is called a trawl....

. Some vessels freeze their catch at sea, such as factory trawlers, tuna

Tuna

Tuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...

boats, Alaskan crab pot

Alaskan king crab fishing

Alaskan king crab fishing is carried out during the winter months in the waters off the coast of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. The commercial harvest is performed during a very short season, and the catch is shipped worldwide...

vessels, and some southeast shrimp trawlers. Vessels usually land their catches near their homeports.

Bycatch mitigation

Based in Hawaii is a longline fishery for tuna

Tuna

and billfish

Billfish

The term billfish is applied to a number of different large, predatory fish characterised by their large size and their long, sword-like bill. Billfish include the sailfish and marlin, which make up the family Istiophoridae, and the swordfish, sole member of the family Xiphiidae...

. New management approaches

Fisheries management

, including placing fisheries observer

Fisheries observer

s on vessels to observe what is happening with protected species such as albatross and leatherback, loggerhead and green sea turtles, is expected to reduce incidental catch.

Overfished stocks

By 2003, overfishing

Overfishing

Overfishing occurs when fishing activities reduce fish stocks below an acceptable level. This can occur in any body of water from a pond to the oceans....

had occurred on 60 stocks. Another 232 stocks were not overfished. Overfishing had been stopped on 31 stocks, and a gain was made of 13 stocks that had been fully rebuilt. There were 617 other stocks which have limited data or for which criteria for overfishing had not been defined. These stocks mostly have harvests which are not significant, so they are not allocated research funding. Their assessment can be expensive and there is no evidence of overfishing. Rebuilding strategies are operating or are being developed for most stocks which are overfished.

There were 267 major stocks, that is, stocks with at least 200,000 pounds (91,000 kg) in annual landings. Of these, 40 were overfished, 147 were not, and it was not known whether the remaining 80 stocks were overfished. There were 642 minor stocks, of which 20 were overfished, 85 were not, and the remainder had an overfishing status which is unknown or is undefined.

Status of fisheries
Fishery	Region	Not overfished	Overfished
Nearshore fisheries
Coastal fisheries	Northeast	26 stocks	18 federally managed stocks are overfished: Gulf of Maine cod, Georges Bank cod, Gulf of Maine haddock, Georges Bank haddock, American Plaice, witch flounder, southern New England/Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder, Cape Cod/Gulf of Maine yellowtail flounder, white hake, Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic windowpane flounder, Southern New England winter flounder, ocean pout, Atlantic halibut, barndoor skate, thorny skate, Atlantic salmon, bluefish, golden tilefish, black sea bass, northern monkfish, and southern monkfish. Three of these overfished stocks are not managed under a Federal FMP: American shad, river herring, and Atlantic sturgeon.
Coastal fisheries	Southeast	29 stocks	Overfished species: Grouper: snowy Snowy grouper The snowy grouper is a species of fish in the Serranidae family. It is found in Aruba, the Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, French Guiana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, the... , red Red grouper The red grouper is a species of fish in the Serranidae family. It is found in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Brazil, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana,... , Warsaw, black Black grouper The black grouper is one of the best known of the large group of Perciform fish called groupers.-Description:The black grouper is a large marine fish, growing up to 150 centimetres in length and 100 kilograms in weight. It has an olive or gray body, with black blotches and brassy spots... , goliath Goliath grouper The Atlantic goliath grouper or itajara , commonly known as the Jewfish is a large saltwater fish of the grouper family found primarily in shallow tropical waters among coral and artificial reefs at depths anywhere from 15 to 165 feet... and Nassau grouper Nassau grouper The Nassau grouper is one of the large number of Perciform fish in the family Serranidae that are commonly referred to as groupers. It is the most important of the groupers for commercial fishery in the West Indies but has been endangered by overfishing.The Nassau grouper is a U.S. National Marine... . Snapper: vermilion Vermilion snapper The vermilion snapper , is an abundant species of fish found along the North American coast of the Atlantic Ocean from North Carolina to Bermuda and throughout the Gulf of Mexico to Brazil... and red snapper Red Snapper Red Snapper may refer to:Fish:* Several species from the genus Lutjanus, for example the red snapper .* Several species from the genus Sebastes, for example the vermilion rockfish and yelloweye rockfish Red Snapper may refer to:Fish:* Several species from the genus Lutjanus, for example the red... . The red snapper fishery has been under stringent management measures since the late 1990s. Cooperative efforts among NMFS, the Councils, and the states, have led to the recovery of yellowtail snapper Yellowtail snapper The yellowtail snapper, Ocyurus chrysurus, is an abundant species of snapper found along the North American coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Although they have been found as far north as Massachusetts, their normal range is along Florida down through the West Indies and Brazil.In certain reefs, most... . Management of yellowtail snapper Yellowtail snapper The yellowtail snapper, Ocyurus chrysurus, is an abundant species of snapper found along the North American coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Although they have been found as far north as Massachusetts, their normal range is along Florida down through the West Indies and Brazil.In certain reefs, most... started in 1983 with minimum size regulation. Later measures included a 10 fish per day recreational bag limit Bag Limit Bag Limit is a crime novel written by Steven F. Havill. It is a first person view story of a reluctant sheriff of Posados County named Bill Gastner.-Plot summary:... for most snappers, prohibiting entanglement gear, reducing the number of fish trap Fish trap A fish trap is a trap used for fishing. Fish traps may have the form of a fishing weir or a lobster trap. A typical trap might consist of a frame of thick steel wire in the shape of a heart, with chicken wire stretched around it. The mesh wraps around the frame and then tapers into the inside of... s, strict commercial trip limits, and management of commercial reef fish permits. Other species: black sea bass Black sea bass The black sea bass is an exclusively marine fish. It is a type of Grouper found more commonly in northern than in southern ranges.It inhabits the coasts from Maine to NE Florida and the eastern Gulf of Mexico.... , red porgy Red porgy The red porgy , or common seabream, is a species of fish in the family Sparidae. Although found in a wide variety of locations that range from Europe to the Caribbean, its status is considered endangered. Also known along the Gulf Coast as White Snapper, even though it is not a true... , golden tilefish, speckled hind, red drum Red Drum The Red Drum , also known as Channel Bass, Redfish, Spottail Bass or simply Reds, is a game fish that is found in the Atlantic Ocean from Massachusetts to Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Northern Mexico. It is the only species in the genus Sciaenops... , greater amberjack Greater amberjack The Greater amberjack is a jack of the genus Seriola. It is found in the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Indian coasts, living usually between 20 and 70 m of depth... , queen conch.
Coastal fisheries	Alaska		2 stocks: the Bering Sea snow crab and the Pribilof Islands Pribilof Islands The Pribilof Islands are a group of four volcanic islands off the coast of mainland Alaska, in the Bering Sea, about north of Unalaska and 200 miles southwest of Cape Newenham. The Siberia coast is roughly northwest... blue king crab.
Coastal fisheries	Pacific Coast		The NMFS has listed 26 Pacific Coast salmon stocks as endangered Endangered species An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters... or threatened species Threatened species Threatened species are any speciesg animals, plants, fungi, etc.) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future.The World Conservation Union is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories,... under the Endangered Species Act Endangered Species Act The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and... . Salmon recovery will take many years and requires cooperative efforts by federal, state, local, tribal, and private entities. Coastal pelagic fish stocks typically fluctuate widely, and most stocks are low compared to historic levels.
Coastal fisheries	Western Pacific
Distant fisheries	Atlantic
Distant fisheries	Pacific
Inland fisheries
Overall		232 stocks	60 stocks

Marine protected areas

A marine protected area

Marine Protected Area

(MPA) is federally defined as: “any area of the marine environment that has been reserved by federal, state, tribal, territorial, or local laws or regulations to provide lasting protection for part or all of the natural and cultural resources therein.”

Fourteen MPAs covering 150000 square miles (388,498.2 km²) have been federally-designated as National Marine Sanctuaries

United States National Marine Sanctuary

A U.S. National Marine Sanctuary is a federally-designated area within United States waters that protects areas of the marine environment with special conservation, recreational, ecological, historical, cultural, archeological, scientific, educational, or aesthetic qualities. The National Marine...

, and are administered by a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , pronounced , like "noah", is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...

(NOAA).

In practice, these MPAs are defined areas where natural and/or cultural resources are given more protection than occurs in the surrounding waters. United States MPAs cover many habitats including the open ocean, coastal areas, intertidal zone

Intertidal zone

The intertidal zone is the area that is above water at low tide and under water at high tide . This area can include many different types of habitats, with many types of animals like starfish, sea urchins, and some species of coral...

s, estuaries

Estuary

An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....

, and the Great Lakes

Great Lakes

. They vary in purpose, legal authorities, agencies, management approaches, level of protection, and restrictions on human uses.

Aquaculture

The value of aquaculture

Aquaculture

products grew from $45 million in 1974 to about $866 million (393,400 tonnes) in 2003.

Aquaculture, in the United States, includes the farming of hatchery fish

Fish hatchery

A fish hatchery is a "place for artificial breeding, hatching and rearing through the early life stages of animals, finfish and shellfish in particular". Hatcheries produce larval and juvenile fish primarily to support the aquaculture industry where they are transferred to on-growing systems...

and shellfish

Shellfish

which are grown to market size in ponds, tanks, cages, or raceway

Raceway (aquaculture)

A raceway, also known as a flow-through system, is an artificial channel used in aquaculture to culture aquatic organisms. Raceway systems are among the earliest methods used for inland aquaculture. A raceway usually consists of rectangular basins or canals constructed of concrete and equipped with...

s and released into the wild. Aquaculture is also used to support commercial and recreational marine fisheries by enhancing or rebuilding wild stock populations

Fish stock

Fish stocks are subpopulations of a particular species of fish, for which intrinsic parameters are the only significant factors in determining population dynamics, while extrinsic factors are considered to be insignificant.-The stock concept:All species have geographic limits to their...

. It also includes the cultivation of ornamental fish for the aquarium

Aquarium

An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...

trade, as well as plant species used in various pharmaceutical, nutritional, and biotechnology products.

According to the FAO

Fão

Fão is a town in Esposende Municipality in Portugal....

, in 2004 the United States ranked 10th in total aquaculture production, behind China, India, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Japan, Chile, and Norway. The United States imports aquaculture products from these and other countries, and operates an annual seafood trade deficit of over $9 billion.

Shellfish (oyster

Oyster

The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....

s, clam

Clam

s, mussel

Mussel

The common name mussel is used for members of several families of clams or bivalvia mollusca, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which are often more or less rounded or oval.The...

s), account for two-thirds of marine aquaculture production, followed by salmon

Salmon

(25 percent) and shrimp

Shrimp

Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...

(10 percent). Production occurs mainly on land, in ponds, and in coastal waters under state jurisdiction. As a result of recent advances in offshore aquaculture technology, commercial finfish and shellfish operations have been established in more exposed, open ocean locations in state waters in New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

, Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

, and Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

.

Total U.S. aquaculture production, including aquatic plants, is about $1 billion annually, compared to the total world production of about $70 billion. Only about 20 percent of U.S. aquaculture production is from marine species. NOAA estimates that the annual U.S. domestic aquaculture production of all species could increase from about 0.5 million tons to 1.5 million tons by 2025.

Subsidies

In a study of federal investment in the fishery sector, most aspects of United States tax, fisheries, and societal policies were examined to see whether they created subsidies for the fishing industry and whether these subsidies had impacts. The gross value of direct U.S. subsidies was about 0.5% of the gross ex-vessel value of commercial landings. There are no major ship construction subsidies, market development or other forms of assistance that often exist in developed and developing fishing industries around the world.

Recreational

In 2006, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that 30.0 million U.S. anglers, 16 years old and older took 403 million fishing trips, spending $42.0 billion in fishing related expenses. Of these, 25.4 million were freshwater anglers who took 337 million trips tand spent $26.3 billion. Saltwater fishing attracted 7.7 million anglers who took 67 million trips and spent $8.9 billion.

Recreational fishing expenditures in $US billion
	subtotal	total	percent
Food and lodging	6.3
Transportation	5.0
Other trip costs: land use fees, guide fees, equipment rental, boating expenses, and bait...	6.6
Trip-related, total		17.9
Fishing equipment: rods, reels, tackle boxes, depth finders, and artificial lures and flies...	5.3
Auxiliary equipment: camping equipment, binoculars, and special fishing clothing...	0.8
Special equipment: boats, vans, and cabins...	13.2
Equipment, total		18.8
Magazines, books	0.1
Membership dues and contributions	0.2
Land leasing and ownership	4.6
Licenses, stamps, tags, and permits	0.5
Other, total		5.4
Overall total		42.0	100

External links

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Management

EEZ

Catch profile

Nearshore fisheries

Coastal fisheries

Northeast

Southeast

Alaska

Pacific Coast

Western Pacific

High sea fisheries

Highly migratory species

Seamounts

Inland fisheries

Fishing fleet

Bycatch mitigation

Overfished stocks

Marine protected areas

Aquaculture

Subsidies

Recreational

See also

External links