(5-A) - Multi-Species Data Tables -
(5-B) -Marine Mammals - [1] Whales, [B2] Bowhead Whale, [B3] Minke Whale, [B4] Grey Whale, [B5] Blue Whale, [B6]~ Hump-backed Whale, [B7] Pilot Whale, [B8] Porpoise, [B9] Right Whale, [B10] Sperm Whale, [B11] By-Catch, [B12] Sea Lions, [B13]~ Seals, [B14] Otters,
(5-C) - Marine Fin Fish - [C1] Demersal (bottom-dwelling) Species, [C2] Pollock, [C3] Miscellaneous Fin Fish, [C4] Spiny Dogfish, [C5]~ Striped Bass, [C6] Swordfish, [C7] Sharks, [C8] By-Catch, [C9] Groupers,
(5-D) - Tuna - [D1] Bluefin Tuna, [D2] Albacore Tuna,
(5-E) - Salmon - [E1] Atlantic Salmon, [E2] Pacific Salmon,
(5-F) - Sturgeon -
(5-G) -Octopus, Squid, Mollusks, Crustaceans, Turtles, etc. - [G1] Octopus, [G2] Squid, [G3] Mollusks, [G4] Crustaceans, [G5]~ Turtles,
(5-H) - Sardines, Menhaden and Other Low-Trophic-Level Species - [H1] Sardines, [H2] Menhaden, [H3] Krill,
(5-I) - Freshwater Fish / Mussels - [I1] Global, [I2] Asia, [I3] Africa, [I4] North America, [I5] South America,

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NOTE: The notation (su6) means that the data is used in the document analyzing the sustainability of the productivity of the world's food, fiber and water supply systems. (See elsewhere in this website.)

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SECTION (5-B) - Marine Mammals - [B1] Whales, [B2] Bowhead Whales, [B3] Minke Whale, [B4] Grey Whale, [B5]~ Blue Whale, [B6]~ Hump-backed Whale, [B7] Pilot Whales, [B8] Porpoises, [B9] Right Whale, [B10] Sperm Whale, [B11] By-Catch, [B12]~ Sea Lions, [B13]~ Seals, [B14] Otters

Over 18,000 whales have been killed since an International Whaling Commission moratorium took effect 12 years ago. A World Wildlife Fund report says that Norway and Japan are violating the moratorium by taking advantage of a legal loophole allowing the killing of whales for "scientific" purposes. In the past 3 years, Japan's annual whale catch has increased by over 90%, while Norway's annual whale catch has "more than doubled" (AP report of 5/13/98).

Official estimates of the numbers of the 18 kinds of beluga whale around the Arctic range from 40-80,000, but these numbers may need to be revised to 200,000 (Reuters, 9/8/98).

Whale-watching operations generate more than $500 million/ year worldwide (99M1).

The 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals (the most recent edition) lists as Endangered the Northern Right Whale (including the Pacific population), Sei Whale, Blue Whale (again, the entire species, not just the Antarctic population). Fin Whale, Humpback- and Sperm Whales are listed as Vulnerable. The Okhotsk Sea- and Spitzbergen stocks of Bowhead Whale and the northwest Pacific stock of Grey Whale are listed as Endangered. Two other Bowhead stocks are listed as Vulnerable. Of the great whales, this leaves only the Southern- and Pygmy Right Whales, Bryde's Whale and the Minke Whale without at least some stocks on the endangered or vulnerable list - and of these, the Pygmy Right Whale is extremely little-known, and the Southern Right Whale has been the subject of considerable international conservation concern (99O1).

The Norwegian whaling season started 5/3/99 with a quota of 753 Minke whales. 36 vessels are licensed to take part in this year's hunt. (High North Web News (5/3/99)) Ordinary whaling resumed in 1993. The catch has increased from 226 in 1993 to 624 in 1997. Most of the hunt takes place in the North-East Atlantic Minke whale stock, which has been estimated to number 112,000 animals by unanimity by the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). Some whales are also taken in Norwegian waters around the Jan Mayen island. These animals belong to the Central Atlantic stock, which has been estimated to 72,000 by the Scientific Committee of the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission (High North Web News (5/3/99)).

Minke whales, which Japan hunts, number about 1 million, the International Whaling Commission said (AP, St George's, Grenada, 5/28/99).

Worldwide Minke whale population: 1 million (High North Web News (5/3/99)).

The Minke whale has a world population of more than 1 million according to the International Whaling Commission's (IWC's) Scientific Committee (William Aron of the IWC in the Wall Street Journal of 9/9/97).

Japan kills 300 Minke whales/ year for "scientific" purposes. Much of the meat ends up in high-priced restaurants and shops (Ref. 50 of (94W1)).

Norway's official count of Minke whales in the North Atlantic: 86,700. But correcting an error in the analysis gave 60,000. Another independent analysis of the data gave 53,000. Norwegian scientists say that a total whale count in excess of 86,000 justifies a limited whaling program, and have set a quota of 301 whales/ season. Minke whales in seas off the west coast of Scotland, in the Irish Sea and to the west of Ireland are not included in these data (95M3).

Norway killed 157 Minke whales in 1993 (Ref. 50 of (94W1)). Norway's minke whale kill: 500-505 for season ending 7/97; 381 for 7/96 (Ministry of Fisheries data; 7/24/97 Pittsburgh Post Gazette)

During Norway's Minke whaling season (5/3/98-8/17/98) 950 tonnes of whale meat was landed, for which whalers, on average, received $4000/ tonne (98U6).

Norway harvests Minke whales from the Northeast and Central North Atlantic stocks, which are estimated to total 184,000 (112,000 and 72,000 respectively) (98U6).

The California gray whale, once hunted nearly to extinction, has rebounded robustly under the protection of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and a commercial whaling ban, scientists say. The whale was taken off the list of creatures protected under the ESA in June 1994. Since that time its numbers have continued to grow. The gray whale population, estimated at 26,635, is now considered healthy. By early 20th century, the population of gray whales on the Pacific Coast was reduced to about 2,000, less than 10% of its original number (99M2).

Since 1947, Gray whales have increased to 26,600 animals (99F1).

On the West Coast of the US, the once endangered gray whale was removed from the ESA list in 1997 (99L1).

The gray whale, which was removed from the endangered species list in 1994, has a population of over 20,000 (William Aron of the IWC in the Wall Street Journal, 9/9/97).

The number of gray whale carcasses discovered along the North American coast in spring 1999 range in estimate from 80-100 (a record). 50% of the dead whales died of starvation. The estimated population of gray whales which migrate along the North American coast is 26,000, and growing at 2.5%/ year (99H2).

Gray whales typically feed during the summer in the Bering Sea. In autumn they migrate 6440km down the coast to Baja Mexico, eating little and surviving off stored body fat until they return to Alaska in the spring. An estimated 800 gray whales die of natural causes each year - about 3% of the population (99H2).

Grey whales number 22,500, up 3%/ year, the International Whaling Commission said (AP, St George's, Grenada, 5/28/99).

Fishing for the Antarctic blue whale probably would have become uneconomical several years earlier had it not been for the simultaneous occurrence of finback whales in the same area. It appears likely that whalers agreed to a moratorium on blue whales in 1965 because they did not anticipate any significant further profits from the species (73C1).

A 1999 estimate of abundance for humpback whale in just the North Atlantic was 10,600 (Smith et al. 1999, Marine Mammal Science 15: pp.1-32). Similarly, the North Pacific population was recently estimated by Calambokidis and colleagues at 6,000-8,000, and there are reasons to believe that this is a significant under-estimate. Estimates for the southern hemisphere populations indicate strong growth rates approaching the theoretical biological maximum in several cases. It should also be borne in mind that most populations of humpbacks are either not under study, or not under sufficiently intensive study to produce reliable estimates; consequently, the true worldwide figure is likely to be considerably more than the sum of existing estimates. (Contact: Phillip J. Clapham, Ph.D., Large Whale Biology Program Northeast Fisheries Science Center, 166 Water St., Woods Hole MA 02543 508-495-2316 phillip.clapham@noaa.gov

New research into the population of the endangered North Atlantic humpback whale shows their numbers have more than doubled since the last estimate more than a decade ago. According to the international study, conducted in 1992 and 1993, the new population of humpback whales ranging from the Arctic to the Caribbean is 10,600, compared with the 5,500 estimate last made in the 1980's (99L1). The new population figures may generate questions about continued protection of the large whales under the federal Endangered Species Act. If that eventually does happen, protection will continue under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act (99L1).

Humpback whale populations are now growing at 10%/ year and number more than 8,000, the International Whaling Commission said (AP, St George's, Grenada, 5/28/99).

The North Atlantic pilot whale population is estimated to be 780,000 animals (High North Web News, 5/21/99).

Pilot whales number 1.4 million, the International Whaling Commission said (AP, St. George's, Grenada, 5/28/99).

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution urging Japan to cut back the quota of porpoises fishermen could kill. With the annual kill up to 18,000 porpoises/ year from 11,000 in 1992, conservationists charge that the animal may be over hunted. The slaughter has soared since the IWC's moratorium on whale hunting came into effect in 1986, the Environmental Investigation Agency said. Surveys in 1990 estimated that there were 226,000 Dall-type porpoises in the North Pacific, the Bering Sea and the Sea of Japan. The population of true-type porpoises of the northwest Pacific and Okhotsk Sea was put at 217,000 (Agence France-Presse (AFP), 5/27/99).

By 1900 the North Atlantic right whale was near-extinction; it is considered extirpated in the eastern Atlantic, and numbers approximately 300 in the western Atlantic. The population has undergone a more than five-fold increase in mortality rate in 15 years. Combining these estimates of survival probability with a recorded increase in time between births, the population is now declining by 2.4%/ year. (Caswell, Hal, Masami Fujiwara, and Solange Brault. Declining survival probability threatens the north Atlantic right whale. Procedures of the National Academy of Sciences USA 98: (1999) p. 4865) (99C3).

Southern right whales, hunted to near-extinction early in the 20th century, are making a comeback off the Argentine coast. The global population of southern right whales is around 7000 vs. 100,000 at the start of the 20th century. The southern right whale population grows 6.8%/ year, based on a survey over the last 4 years. Whalers slaughtered southern right whales between 1900-35, when the hunt was banned. US marine biologist Roger Payne, estimated Argentina's southern right whale population growth at 7.7%/ year (99A3).

The North Atlantic right whale is prone both to ship strikes and entanglements, and is considered severely endangered, with 326 left in the world (99L1).

An 85% decline in sea lions and harbor seal populations in certain areas of the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska has coincided closely with a doubling of the pollock, mackerel and cod catches. In 1965 the estimated total population of western stellar sea lions was about 230,000. The current population is 85% less. Within the sea lion's western population core area, from Kenai Peninsula to Kiska Island, the number of observed sea lions fell by 140,000 adults and juveniles to less than 18,000 in 1995. Harbor seal populations in the central Gulf of Alaska have declined by over 90% in key locations since the 1970s. During 1974-95, harbor seal counts declined by more than 80% on Otter Island. These declines are attributed to declines in pollock populations. Beginning in 1964 with the development of a process for reducing pollock to a protein paste called surimi, the pollock catch from the Bering Sea soared from less than 170,000 tonnes/ year to almost 1.8 million tonnes/ year today. Akta mackerel catches in critical sea lion habitats rose from less than 10,000 tonnes/ year in the late 1970s to 80,000 tonnes in 1996. Despite a reclassification of western populations of sea lions as endangered in 1997, the NMFS authorized a 60% increase in Gulf of Alaska groundfish fishery catch in 1998. (Posting of Chris Sexton, EAJUS, and Andrew Davies, Greenpeace, to aoc-fishlinks@igc.org on 4/15/98).

Large declines in Stellar sea lions in western Alaska led to their listing under the Endangered Species Act as threatened in 1990 and endangered in 1997 (98G1). In its 1996 Report on the Bering Sea Ecosystem, the National Research Council identified fishery effects on prey-availability as the only factor with a high likelihood of playing a major role in the Stellar sea lion's on-going decline (98G1).

Since the late 1960s, Alaska's(?) Steller sea lion population slipped 70%, to fewer than 40,000 (98S2).

NOAA's most recent Steller sea lion stock assessment finds 110,000 in 1978; less than 40,000 in 1998. Counts of adults and juveniles declined by 72% between the late 1970s and 1990, dropped another 25% through 1996, and fell another 9% in 1997-98. Pup counts dropped 19% between 1994-98. Steller sea lions were listed as threatened in 1990, and those found in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska were reclassified as endangered in 1997 (98W4).

Canada's Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans estimates the Canadian harp seal population at 4.8 million in 1994. In 1997 the reported catch in Canada was 261,000, while the actual kill was between 323,000 and 364,000. Canadian taxpayers subsidize every full-time position in the sealing industry to the tune of $30,000/ year (Clive Southey, "The Newfoundland Commercial Seal Hunt: an Economic Analysis of Costs and Benefits", Dept. of Economics, University of Guelph).

A comprehensive assessment of the hooded seal stock for the Western ice fields (Jan Mayen area) estimates it to consist of 110,000 hooded seals at the age of one+ year (98U7).

Previously harp-seals in eastern ice fields of the White Sea was assumed to number 6-700,000. New estimates give 1.5-2 million animals. The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has, on this basis, increased its quota recommendation from 40,000 to 61,100. (Norwegian newspaper 'Aftenposten', 11/9/98) (98U7).

The harp seal population (presumably for the western ice fields-Jan Mayen area) is estimated at 400,000 aged 1+ year(s), writes 'Aftenposten' (98U7).

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(5B) Top of this Section-Marine Mammals
(5TC) Top of this Chapter-Harvest/Population Data - by Species
(11) Top of this Review's Appendices (units, conversions, definitions)
(12) Top of this Review's Reference List
(FI) Fishery Degradation: A Global Perspective (Table of Contents)
(T) Title Page of this entire web site (visit early!)
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SECTION (5-C) - Marine Fin Fish - [C1] Demersal (bottom-dwelling) Species, [C2] Pollock, [C3] Miscellaneous Fin Fish, [C4]~ Spiny Dogfish, [C5] Striped Bass, [C6] Swordfish, [C7] Sharks, [C8] By-Catch, [C9] Groupers,

Catches of 4 valuable (and high trophic level) demersal (bottom-dwelling) species (silver hake, haddock, Cape hake and Atlantic cod) decreased by 67% during 1970-92 (Ref. 26 of (98M7)).

During 1970-92, catches of four valuable demersal (bottom-dwelling) species (silver hake, haddock, Cape hake and Atlantic cod) decreased by 67% (98M1).

The catch of four commonly eaten, average-value fish (Atlantic cod, Cape hake, haddock, silver hake) fell from 5 million tons/year in 1970 to 2.6 million tons/ year in 1989 (93W1). In 1985, Atlantic fishermen hauled in 635,000 tons of cod (93U1). Depletion of cod and haddock off the coast of Nova Scotia has led to shrinking catches and heavy layoffs in the fishing and fish-processing industries. In July 1992, Canada banned all cod fishing off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador for two years (93B1). The cod catch in the Bering Sea increased from 100,000 tons in 1984 to 1.3 million tons in 1988 - a level that marine scientists think to be non-sustainable (89L1). Fishers catch around 60% of the cod and flounder fish populations each year - more than twice the sustainable level (94H1).

The hickory shad catch has declined 96% in Chesapeake Bay from its historical peak. The American shad catch has declined 66% (Ref. 50 of (94W2)).

The silver hake has a potential yield of 250,000 tonnes/ year, but the 1965 catch was 383,000 tonnes (270,000 tonnes/ year in the early 1970s and 62,000 tonnes in 1981) (85B1).

In the Pacific, stocks of boccacio, a Western groundfish, are 2-4% of their original size (99U3).

[C2] - Harvest/ Population Data - Marine Fin Fish - Pollock -

Aleutian Island pollock (age 3+ biomass) catch has declined steadily since the early 1980s, and appears to be at about 20% of its earlier abundance (98G1).

Eastern Bering Sea Pollock catch has declined by over 50% since the mid-1980s, and by 38% during 1994-97 (98G1). (Pollock is the most abundant groundfish species in the Bering Sea - 50-70% of the entire ground-fish biomass (98G1).)

Since 1990, the catch of spawning pollock in the eastern Bering Sea pollock fishery has soared to 500,000 tonnes/ year - 10 times the volume removed during 1977-86 (98G1).

Pollock (largest component of Alaska's groundfish fishery) is worth $673 million in processed product from more than 1.25 million tons of pollock landed in 1998 (98W4).

The average amount of pollock harvested annually from waters of critical habitat where sea lions feed and breed has increased from less than 30% of the total harvest prior to 1986 (672 million pounds) (336,000 tons), to as much as 70% (1.79 billion pounds) (895,000 tons) in the 1990s (98W4).

Off of Atlantic Canada and southern New England, barndoor skate populations have declined to the point of being near extinction over the past 40 years (98C3).

The Atlantic halibut is commercially extinct, and the Atlantic swordfish is in such bad shape that the average size is 90 pounds, vs. 266 pounds in 1966 (99U3).

Gag grouper live in southeastern waters, first in sea grass beds as juveniles, then on coral and rocky reefs as adults. They are among the most economically important fish in the Gulf of Mexico. Recent scientific data indicate that the gag grouper population is declining, the proportion of males in the gag population has decreased dramatically in recent years, and inbreeding is occurring. Spawning success could be hurt by too few males, and that a long-term loss of genetic diversity could result from inbreeding. Targeting large individuals takes a particularly large toll on older, male gag groupers, which biologists estimate have declined 90-98% in recent years leaving the proportion of males in the population alarmingly low (Kim Davis (KDavis@flcmc.org) 6/28/99).

Many Northeast fishing stocks that were once on the brink of collapse appear to be on the mend, New England fisheries scientists say in a report to be released 8/10/99. The latest report by a panel of independent scientists indicates improvement in nearly a dozen commercially valuable and regulated stocks, particularly haddock, gray sole, and sea scallops. The data will be reviewed today by another panel of independent scientists who will in turn report back to the New England Fishery Management Council, which sets fishing policy for the region. The improvements, the scientists say in their report, come thanks to restrictive fishing regulations imposed by the council since 1994 and large sacrifices by fishermen. But the council warned that now is not the time to relax the guidelines. Despite better stock conditions, the restrictions are necessary to rebuild the delicate stocks to long-term sustainable levels, the council said. Among the report's findings: (Boston Globe, p. B02, 08/10/99)

• Sea scallops: Stocks in Georges Bank are the highest observed since 1982, primarily in areas closed to fishing. Mid-Atlantic stocks increased in 1998, but remain well below the management target.
• Gray sole (witch flounder): A valued species in the Gulf of Maine, has rebounded to near maximum levels.
• Cod on Georges Bank, stocks are now 43% higher than the record low levels in 1995. Stocks have increased yearly since 1994, but rebuilding prospects are poor until younger fish numbers increase.
• Georges Bank haddock: A four-fold increase since 1993, putting the fish at its highest levels since the early 1980s.
• Yellowtail flounder: On Georges Bank,
• the fish is at its highest level since 1983. Increases were observed as well in Southern New England and Cape Cod.
• American plaice: Stocks have remained stable despite poor growth in young fish stocks.

White hake: Stocks remain near record-low levels, but scientists believe species can be rebuilt in 5-10 years (Boston Globe, p. B02, 08/10/99).

Alaska pollock, Chilean jack mackerel, Japanese pilchard, South American pilchard and Peruvian anchovy made up most of the 1980's production increases. Although these 5 species accounted for 29% of the world fish catch by weight in 1989, they made up only 6% of the total value (Ref. 54 of (93W1)). (Anchovy and pilchard are used primarily for animal feed, fertilizer, and other industrial products. 30% of the world's fish catch goes to these secondary uses (Ref. 55 of (93W1)).

The central Bering Sea catch of Alaska (walleye) pollock dropped from 1.5 million tonnes in 1989 to 11,000 tonnes in 1992 due to over-fishing (95P1).

Until the 1990s, the Aleutian Atka mackerel catch never exceeded 38,000 tonnes/ year. The North Pacific Council raised the catch limit to 43,000 tons in 1992, to 80,000 tons in 1995, and 106,000 tons in 1996. In 1997 the estimated stock size was down 50% compared to 1991-94, suggesting that these record-high catch levels are not sustainable, and are driving down stock (98G1).

Red porgy have been over-fished to being in danger of collapse. (Red porgy inhabit various waters including the South Atlantic.) Catches of red porgy increased substantially from the 1970's to the 1990's. Although managers of these fish knew of this problem since 1992, conservation measures to protect red porgy were delayed until 1998 and were still insufficient to stop serious damage to the population. In 1999 a new population assessment of red porgy revealed that its condition was substantially worse than previously recognized. The number of young fish being added to the population declined over 99% from 1973-97 (7.6 million to 12,000 fish) and the current number of red porgy capable of reproducing was estimated to be 79% below the required number to maintain the population over time. (Contact Marianne Cufone, Regional Fisheries Manager, Center for Marine Conservation, One Beach Dr., Suite 304, St. Petersburg FL 33701, 727-895-2188 3/2/00).

The 1993 quota for Pacific Whiting on the US west coast was 142,000 tonnes/ year. Factory trawlers caught and processed 50% of the allowable catch in 1992 (90% in 1991) (92M2).

The sand eel (a small shoaling fish caught for fish meal and oil) catch peaked at 56,000 tons in 1982, and dropped to 4,800 tons in 1988 (93W1).

The Peruvian anchovy catch is plotted vs. time (1960-1983) in Ref. (85B1).

Combined landings of reef fishes such as groupers and snappers fell more than 80% during the 1980s (94S1).

Since the 1960s, the North Sea Mackerel fishery has declined by 80% (Ref. 21 of (98M7)).

The National Marine Fishery Service (NMFS) classified US Atlantic spiny dogfish ("Cape Shark") as "fully exploited" in 1994 based on 1993 data. Spiny dogfish landings: 6000 tonnes in 1989; more than 22,000 tonnes in 1993. In addition, the amount of spiny dogfish caught in other fisheries and discarded at sea is likely equal to, or in excess of, the amount taken, and recreational catches have tripled since 1979. Since 1993, fishing effort has grown 20-50% and average size has decreased. The spiny dogfish fishery in the Irish Sea has collapsed (Sonja Fordham, American Ocean Campaign Fishlink memo of 10/28/97).

Minimum biomass estimates of mature female spiny dogfish have decreased nearly 50% since 1990. Harvest rates of spiny dogfish have exceeded replacement levels of the stock. As a result, spiny dogfish have been added to the NMFS list of over-fished stocks. (Spiny dogfish are found in the northwest Atlantic from Labrador to Florida.) (NMFS, Federal Register, 4/10/98, 63(69)).

[C5] - Harvest/ Population Data - Marine Fin Fish - Striped Bass -

Commercial US catches of Atlantic striped bass: 7500 tons in 1973; 800 tons in 1983 (Amicus Journal, Spring 1984). The stripped bass catch in Chesapeake Bay dropped nearly 90% over the past decade (85B1).

The population of adult stripped bass in the San Francisco Bay Delta fell 70% between 1972-91 (1.8 million to 682,000) as a result of diversion of fresh water for irrigation (94B1).

The swordfish's Atlantic breeding population has been halved since the 1970s, and swordfish are typically caught before they can breed (94S1).

An eight-fold increase in the catch of yearling swordfish since the early 1980s has caused the average weight of swordfish to decline from 115 lb. to under 60 lb. Females mature at 100 lbs. The Atlantic breeding population has declined by more than 60% (92S2).

North Atlantic swordfish populations have dropped 70% in the past two decades; white marlin populations have been reduced 86% since 1960; Atlantic large coastal shark populations have been reduced by approximately 85% in less than 25 years. Despite these population crashes driven by over-fishing, these species are still being caught and killed at a rate that is more than twice as fast as they can reproduce (99D1).

The NMFS reports that, if present trends continue, the swordfish will be commercially extinct within 10 years (97H2). Long-line fishermen, who take 98% of the US swordfish catch, caught 4125 tonnes (90,700 fish) in 1992, and 4019 tonnes (102,600 fish) in 1996. (These figures include swordfish discarded dead - mostly fish under the minimum size limit set by the ICCAT.) Dead discards: 363 tonnes(1992); 589 tonnes(1996) 58% of swordfish caught in US fisheries are sexually immature (97H2).

The North Atlantic swordfish population declined by 68% since 1960. 88% of swordfish caught by US fishing boats in 1995 were too young to have reproduced. Average weight of captured North Atlantic swordfish (including those from Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico) was 266 lb. before 1963 (133 lb. in 1970) (90 lb. in 1995) (Left alone, Swordfish grow to 1200 lb., and live for more than 25 years.) (Los Angeles Times, 1/19/98).

The NMFS has warned "the commercial fishery (of swordfish in the Atlantic) may not be viable in 10 years." Somewhat less than 80% of Atlantic female swordfish caught are immature (killed before they can breed). Longliners in the American Atlantic discard, dead, about 40% of the swordfish they catch - the fish are too small to sell. In 1996 Atlantic sword-fishers dumped 40,000 dead juvenile swordfish. Longline-fishing-caused depletion caused the amount of East Coast swordfish brought to port to plummet almost 60% during 1989-96 (Carl Safina, "Fish Market Mutiny").

Several important Atlantic shark species have declined 85-90% since the early 1980s (94S1).

California's Pacific shark landings: 1.2 million pounds in 1998 (99C4).

Alaska banned all targeted commercial shark fishing, but bycatch of sharks and skates in groundfish fisheries continues. Although 1.7 million pounds of sharks were reported landed in 1998, mortality is actually much higher because many more sharks are caught and discarded dead. In Alaska, 1150 tons of sharks and 23,900 tons of skates were caught in 1998. The vast majority was discarded dead (99C4).

US Pacific sharks in Hawaiian waters: In 1991 fewer than 3,000 sharks were killed, but by 1998, 61,000 of the nearly 100,000 sharks caught on longlines were killed. This amounted to 6.3 million pounds of landings - more than the other 4 Pacific states combined. Of these sharks, 98% were taken only for their fins (99C4).

In 1998, recorded landings of sharks for the five Pacific states exceeded 10.4 million pounds. Most sharks and skates killed in US Pacific waters are bycatch - caught unintentionally in fishing gear used for other fish and often discarded. In 1998, at least 75% of shark landings - 8 million pounds - were taken by Hawaii's long-line vessels targeting tunas and swordfish, and by Alaskan nets, lines and trawls (99C4).

Shark fin soup is an Asian delicacy that sells for as much as $200/ bowl. Shark finning in US Pacific waters results in the killing of more than 60,000 blue sharks/ year, 85% of them hauled aboard Hawaiian boats and all of them giving up their fins (and their lives) to make soup. The number of blue sharks finned in those waters has increased from 2,300 in 1991 to more than 60,000 in 1998. The shark fin market caused some Atlantic shark fisheries to collapse in less than 10 years; recovery will take several decades. (Sarah Clark Stuart (Ocean Policy Expert With the Environment Program at the Pew Charitable Trusts), "Shark Finning for Soup Is Nuts", Los Angeles Times shortly before 10/18/99.).

In the late 1950s and early '60s, Norwegians fished Northwest Atlantic porbeagle sharks to collapse in 7 years. The population has only recently recovered enough to support commercial fishing (99C2).

Sharks are especially vulnerable to over-fishing because they grow slowly, mature late and have few young. Decades of unregulated, intense fishing for large coastal species (such as blacktip, sandbar, and dusky sharks) devastated many Atlantic populations, with several stocks plummeting by 70-90% between the 1970s and the 1993 adoption of the first federal shark management plan (99C2).

From 1991-96, the price of fins doubled, the shark catch reported at Hawaii's docks jumped from 0.2 to 4.5 million pounds. About 99% of those sharks were used just for their fins, so catch-weights are estimated based on fin size. About 95% of finned sharks are blue sharks (98T1).

In Hawaii, $30 million worth of shark fins changes hands annually at the docks. Because the markets for shark meat, skin and cartilage are small, fishermen throw the body overboard - sometimes still alive -after they cut off its fins. Shark finning is banned in federal waters of the Atlantic Ocean-where sharks have been over-fished - and is opposed by US representatives to international fisheries organizations. Yet it's still allowed in the Pacific (98T1).

Shark harvests in Southeast Asia have doubled since 1984 to nearly 93,000 tons in 1996 (Pittsburgh Post Gazette, 12/9/96).

Shark populations in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico have decreased by as much as 85% over the last two decades. They are threatened by a growing market for shark fin soup, which has led to an increase in finning (the practice of cutting the fins off live sharks and dumping the wounded shark back into the water, where it dies). For most Atlantic species, shark finning is banned under federal law, but is difficult to monitor without enforcement by individual states. Finning is not prohibited in US Pacific waters, or in most other oceans throughout the world (98C2).

New Jersey and Louisiana have two of the largest shark fisheries and no shark management whatsoever. Louisiana, which has some of the most important shark nursery ground in the Gulf of Mexico, landed more than 800 tons of sharks in 1996. In 1997 it landed almost 300 tons (dressed weight) of large coastal sharks after the protective closure of this fishery in federal waters. Other coastal states with no fishing regulations and relatively small shark fisheries are ME, MA, NH, RI and CT (98C2).

The US government promoted commercial shark fishing as an under-utilized resource in the 1980s, but it now admits that was a mistake (98M4).

About 380 shark species swim the world's waters (98M4).

Biologists say the problem is that sharks mature slowly - most take 7-12 years to reach sexual maturity - and have small numbers of young. Unlike other fish that lay millions of eggs, some species of sharks have only a few pups every other year (98M4).

[C8] - Harvest/ Population Data - Marine Fin Fish - By-Catch -

The rock sole fishery has had the highest rate of total discards, ranging from 60-70% from 1990-94 (98D1).

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SECTION (5-D) - Tuna - [1] Bluefin Tuna, [2] Albacore Tuna,

The number of breeding-age adults of Atlantic bluefin tuna have dropped to 13% of their mid-1970s population. Despite this, the US, Canada and Japan have agreed to increase the catch quota from 2200 tons to 2354 tons (Pittsburgh Post Gazette, 12/9/96).

Atlantic stocks of bluefin tuna have been reduced by 94% (Ref. 8, Ch. 5 of (94B3)).

Western Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks dropped 85% between 1975-88, and have stayed stable since then, though the 1994 catch was 78% of the 1988 catch (94H5).

A good description of the bluefin tuna population, its fishing and related laws is given in Ref. (84R1). The bluefin tuna population is estimated at only 15% of what it once was (84R1).

Atlantic stocks of bluefin tuna have been reduced by 94% (Ref.14 of (93B1)).

The sustainable catch of albacore tuna in the southern Pacific is expected to be exceeded by 600% in 1989 (89L1).

The population of bluefin tuna that spawns in the Gulf of Mexico has dropped 90% since 1975. The population that spawns in the Mediterranean Sea has declined 50% since 1975 (Ref. 117 of (94W2)).

The Mediterranean stock of bluefin tuna declined in the 1930s, rebounded during WWII, and declined permanently in the 1960s (84R1).

In 1963, European fish traps, that formerly caught bluefin tuna by the tens of thousands, bought in only 300-400 (84R1).

In the 1970s the US reduced its harvest of bluefin tuna by 30% - and the Japanese simultaneously increased their harvests in American waters (84R1).

In 1958, west-coast US purse seiners moved to the US east coast and to the Gulf of Mexico due to the decline of yellowfin tuna in the Pacific (84R1). Purse seiners nets can catch up to 5000 tons of bluefin tuna at a time. (Only small tuna are kept; medium tuna are discarded (dead) (84R1).)

Early in 1998, the salmon population in the North Atlantic Ocean dropped to 114,000 mature fish - its lowest point ever, and barely half of what experts say was needed to meet minimum spawning targets (98M6). With the North Atlantic salmon fishery on the brink of collapse, all 7 countries in the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization in 6/98 agreed to a moratorium on commercial salmon fishing. While the ban alleviates one part of the problem, it leaves another critical part not addressed: some of the most serious pressures on Atlantic salmon come not from fishing, but from pressures on spawning grounds (98M6).

A joint status review by the FWS and NMFS has found that despite efforts to insure its survival, the Atlantic salmon is in danger of extinction. The review is seen as a prelude to listing under the ESA, a move that ME Governor Angus King plans to challenge on grounds that the wild salmon are not genetically unique from the "6 million Atlantic salmon in cages off the coast of Maine" (Bangor (ME) News 10/9/99).

The collapse of wild Atlantic salmon populations has accelerated throughout their Atlantic basin range. Historically, Atlantic salmon numbers were 2.5-5 million. Numbers dropped to 800,000 by the 1970s, 125,000 in 1996, and 80,000 in 1998 (NY Times 9/14/99).

Pacific salmon have disappeared from about 40% of their breeding range in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California (98S1). More than 300 distinct salmon populations are at risk of extinction (98S1).

California's salmon and steelhead populations have fallen by 80% (Ref. 19 of (96P1)).

Idaho's Coho salmon (one of Idaho's 5 salmon species) went extinct in 1986 (95A1, 96A1).

In the Pacific Northwest, Coho salmon are extinct in 55% of its range, and declining in 39% (96A1).

Spring and summer Chinook salmon are extinct in 63% of their range, and declining in 31% (96A1).

Of 1000 historic stocks of Pacific Northwest fish, 100 are considered to be somewhat healthy (96A1).

Logging and mining along Canada's Fraser and Sheena Rivers have cut salmon populations to under 20% of previously recorded populations (95A1) (Ref. 15 of (96A1)).

The Chinook salmon population in the Sacramento River dropped from 118,000 to 191 over the past two decades (93M3).

The Chinook salmon species is now listed as "threatened" by the federal Endangered Species Act (93M3).

Runs of adult salmon and steelhead on Columbia River have declined from a historic high of 16 million fish to 1.5 million fish in 1992 (94B1). Salmon/ steelhead caught in the Columbia River by commercial fishermen: 21,100 tons in 1884; 600 tons in 1994 (96A2). In 1880, 19,500 tons of salmon and steelhead were harvested from the Columbia River (WA). In 1980 the harvest was 50 tons (96A1).

The commercial US (incl. Alaska) harvest of Pacific salmon (1956-1977) (millions of lb. round weight) (80H1):
Pink 90; Sockeye 80; Chinook+ Coho+ Chum 110; Total = 280

The commercial salmon catch in the Columbia River is plotted vs. time (1866-1994) in Fig. 5 of Ref. (96A2) (around 17,500 tons/ year during 1880-1930; around 2,500 tons/ year after 1980).

In Canada's Fraser and Skeena Rivers, Coho salmon is extinct in 55% of its range, and declining in 39% (causes: overfishing, logging, mining) (Ref. 110 of (96A2)).

100 years ago, 150,000 salmon were caught annually in the Netherlands and Germany. By 1920, the catch had dropped to fewer than 30,000, and by 1958 it completely disappeared (96A1).

Salmon caught in the Rhine River (Germany and Holland): 150,000/ year around 1896; 0 by the end of the 1950s (96A2).

Fisheries biologists have incomplete population estimates for most East Coast tributaries because so few Atlantic sturgeons remain. The largest remnant sturgeon population is found in the Hudson River where numbers of juvenile sturgeon have dropped from about 20,000 in the 1970s, to less than 5,000 in the 1990s. Atlantic sturgeon stocks in the US have been depleted since 1900. Atlantic sturgeon are classified under an ancient family of bony fish, but were prized by fisherman for their flesh, and for their eggs which were sold as caviar. Sturgeon caviar found on grocery store shelves today is imported from overseas or from West Coast aquaculture operations. During the early 1990's, as many as 100 tons/ year of Atlantic sturgeon were still being landed by commercial fishermen (99M3).

The peak sturgeon catch in the Hudson River was 8,500 tons/ year in the late 1890s. The Atlantic sturgeon has been virtually eliminated from most of the coast's estuaries (_4B1).

In the Iranian Sefid Rud River delta in the southern Caspian, the commercial catch of sturgeon dropped from 6,700 tons in 1961 to under 0.5 ton in 1993 (95P1).

Massive poaching and over-fishing were responsible for a drop in the adult sturgeon population in the Caspian Sea from 142 million in 1978 to 43.5 million in 1994 (David Filipov, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, 6/15/97).

The US accounts for 30% of the world's caviar market. The USFWS believes that 50% of the Caspian Sea caviar trade to be illegal. The US once led the world in sturgeon and caviar production, but by 1910 sturgeon in the US was nearly extinct (3/25/98 USFWS news release).

SECTION (5-G) -Octopus, Squid, Mollusks, Crustaceans, Turtles, etc. - [G1] Octupus, [G2] Squid, [G3] Mollusks, [G4]~ Crustaceans, [G5]~ Turtles,

The spectacular collapse of king crab stocks in the early 1980s was worse than the 1999 collapse of Bering Sea snow crab stocks because the pollock and snow crab industries had not yet been developed (99L2).

Alaska produces half the world's snow crab; Russia produces the rest (99L2).

The crash of Bering Sea snow crab stocks caused state and federal fishery managers set a harvest quota for this winter's snow crab fishery, to open 1/15/00, at 28.5 million pounds, way off last season's 196 million pounds. Because of a shortage of young crabs found during a summer research survey in the Bering Sea, managers expect to shut down the fishery altogether in 2001. Bering Sea snow crab, (opilio crab) has become one of Alaska's most important commercial fisheries, trailing only pollock and salmon in value (99L2).

Lobsters comprise the northeastern US fisheries' most valuable single commercial species, accounting for nearly 25% of all revenues for the Northeast fishing industry as a whole in 1996. The lobster fishery was valued at $242 million, and supported about 50,000 jobs. Since 1993, scientific analyses have shown the stock to be unusually abundant but at high risk of collapse as lobster fishing continues to increase dramatically beyond historical levels. Lobsters just reaching the minimum legal size now account for most of the landings and most of the brood stock (NOAA Constituent Affairs press release of 2/98 (Contact Teri Frady, 508-495-2239)).

Trawling for shrimp, pound-for-pound, is the world's most wasteful fishing practice. 80% of what is caught in shrimp trawls is juvenile finfish and other marine life, not shrimp. In the Gulf of Mexico alone, more than 20 million juvenile red snapper and billions of other fish, including many of commercial and recreational importance, are captured unintentionally in shrimp trawls and discarded, dead or dying (Center for Marine Conservation release on Bycatch and Red Snapper issues, 4/9/98).

German government documents filed with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) indicate that all Southern and Southeast Asian turtle species are threatened with extinction. The rapidly expanding turtle trade, especially for Chinese food markets, has severely decimated these turtle populations (as many as 26 species) (Pro-Wildlife statement, 8/6/99).

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SECTION (5-H) - Sardines, Menhaden and Other Low-Trophic-Level Species - [1] Sardines, [2] Menhaden, [3] Krill,

Menhaden, which depends on coastal wetlands for nursery habitat and food, have declined by 26% in 10 years (Ref. 35 of (98M7)).

In 1997 7.7 million tonnes of fish were caught from lakes, rivers and wetlands, a production level estimated to be at, or above, the maximum sustainable level for these systems (99F2).

The inland fishery harvest is believed to be greatly under-reported - by a factor of 2-3 (99F3).

At least 20% of all freshwater fish have become extinct, threatened, or endangered in recent years. (Known freshwater fish species exceeds 9000.) (95A1), (Ref. 2 of (96A1)).

12% of all animal species, including 41% of all recognized fish species, live in the 1% of the earth's surface that is fresh water. And yet, at least 20% of all freshwater species have become extinct, threatened or endangered in recent years (96A2).

Cambodia's Toule Sap (Great Lake) (13,000 km² in flood stage) feeds the Mekong River and provides a fish catch of 50,000-60,000 tons/ year. It is now threatened by dam projects planned by the Mekong River Commission and assisted by the Asian Development Bank (95A1).

One of the most productive freshwater fishing grounds in the world, Tonle Sap (lake), yields 50-60,000 tonnes/ year - the major protein source for Cambodia. It is being filled in with sediments at about 1.6%/ year (96A2).

Since the Pak Mun dam in northeastern Thailand was completed in 1994, all 150 species of fish have virtually disappeared from the Mun River (96A1). Thailand is now the world's largest fish exporter, and the top shrimp-farming country (96A2).

In China's Amur River, large species were 69% of the catch in 1969, 10% in 1982 (96A2).

The variety of fish species on Upper Reaches of Yangtze: 50 in the 1960's, 20 in 1999 due to over-fishing, water pollution, and water facility construction (Xinhua, 6/29/99).

80% of China's 50,000 km. of major rivers can no longer support fish (96A2). Comments: This is usually attributed to pollution.

In Bangladesh, per-capita fish supply has fallen by nearly 33% in the past two decades, yet its export-oriented fish culture has expanded rapidly (96A2).

In Vietnam, conversion of 1000 km² of mangrove swamps to shrimp culture farms is believed responsible for a 2/3 decline of the Mekong Delta's fishery (96A2).

The freshwater catch of shad in India dropped from 35,000 tonnes in 1978 to 11,000 tonnes in 1981 (85B1).

In South Africa, 2/3 of the 94 freshwater fish species are expected to disappear in the absence of special efforts to protect them (98B1).

In Malawi, the freshwater catch provides 70-75% of the animal protein for both urban and rural low-income families (96F1).

A Canadian study published in Conservation Biology finds "Freshwater animals are vanishing from North American lakes and rivers at the same alarming rate as they are from tropical rainforests,". With 123 species already extinct since 1900, freshwater snails, fishes and amphibians are dying out 5 times faster than land species, and 3 times faster than marine mammals. Now among the "most imperiled" species on Earth many of the endangered species, including 49% of mussel species, 23% of snail species, 33% of crayfish species, 26% of amphibian species and 21% of fish species will be lost in the next century if substantial conservation measures are not undertaken (ENS 10/4/99).

"A mass extinction is occurring in our lakes and rivers," said Anthony Ricciardi of Dalhousie Univ. in Halifax. Common freshwater species - from snails to fish to amphibians - are dying out 5 times faster than terrestrial animals, 3 times faster than marine mammals, and at the same rate as rain forest species. 123 freshwater species have been lost since 1900, and hundreds are considered imperiled - Ricciardi predicts 4%/ decade. The affect of large dams on freshwater species has been disastrous, while the second leading cause of loss is due to invasion of non-native species. North America has 60% of all known crayfish, 1/3 of all freshwater mussels and three times more freshwater fish than all of Europe and the former Soviet Union (10/16/99 ENN).

32 Southeastern US fish species are at significant risk, and another 78 are vulnerable. Tennessee, reports 66 of its fish species are threatened (10/26/99 AP).

A 9/99 USGS report (a $1 million 1,000-page survey of America's biological resources) notes that almost 60% of California fish species are extinct or nearly extinct (9/17/99 (Sacramento Bee).

37% of all freshwater fish species are either threatened or already extinct (42% in Europe) (98B1).

(In the US?) 67% of mussels, 64% of crayfish, 36% of (freshwater) fish, and 35% of amphibians are in jeopardy or are already extinct (95A1), (96A1).

(In the US?) ten fish species have disappeared during the past decade (Ref. 3 of (96A1)).

In the Mississippi River basin and eastern North America, 10% of freshwater mussel species have become extinct since 1900. 72% of the remaining 297 native freshwater mussel taxa in Canada and the US are endangered, threatened or of special concern (96A1).

(In the US?) since 1900, 10% of mussel species have become extinct; 67% of the remaining 297 species and sub-species are endangered, threatened or otherwise at risk; and some are represented only by an aging population that no longer reproduces. Only 25% are considered stable (96A2).

In the Great Lakes of the US, of the 11 species that once provided a commercial catch of 1400 tonnes/ year, 4 are extinct; the other 7 are at risk (96A2).

In the Missouri River the commercial fish catch has fallen 83% over the past 50 years (Ref. 28 of (96A2)).

63% of California's native fish are extinct, endangered, threatened or declining (96A2).

Since 1908, the commercial fish catch in the Illinois River has fallen 98%. It once produced 10% of the US freshwater fish catch (96A2).

The white abalone (a mollusk) catch in California peaked in 1972 at 65 tonnes. It fell to less than 1.0 tonne in 1979 and remained at that level until 1995 when harvesting of white abalone was banned entirely (San Francisco Chronicle, 7/7/98).

Most of the 200,000 tonnes/ year of fish caught in the Amazon River basin are harvested by small fishers for subsistence or local markets (Ref. 9 of (96A1)).

Fisheries production in Magdalena River (Colombia) dropped from 72,162 tonnes in 1977 to 23,321 tonnes in 1992 due to heavy fishing of large migratory species, oil pollution and land-use changes (96A2).

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