KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Jay Barrett/KMXT
Two new reports from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration show that America’s commercial fish stocks are largely healthy and worth significant money to the nation.
Recently two officials with NOAA Fisheries presented the findings of the reports. Alan Risenhoover is director of the Office of Sustainable Fisheries, and Rita Curtis is an economist with the Office of Science and Technology.
Risenhoover said seven stocks were removed from the overfishing list and seven from the over-fished list, which he describes as good progress:
He pointed out that several stocks have been added to the overfishing and overfished list, but it was because scientists didn’t previously have the data to classify them.
The importance of commercial fishing to America was illustrated in how the employment and revenue it generated dwarfs sport angling. The commercial fishing industry generated $141 billion in sales, $39 billion in income, and supported 1.3 million jobs in 2012, while recreational fishing generated $58 billion in sales, $19 billion in income, and supported 381,000 jobs nationwide.
