NOAA Fisheries is pleased to present the 2016 Report to 

Congress on the Status of U.S. Fisheries as managed under 

the science-based framework of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). As a 

result of the combined efforts of NOAA Fisheries, the eight 

regional fisheries management councils (councils), and 

other partners, two previously overfished stocks were 

rebuilt, and the number of stocks on the overfishing and 

overfished lists remains near all-time lows. Two stocks 

were assessed for the first time in 2016, which resulted in 

new stock status information. Neither of these stocks are 

subject to overfishing or overfished. Continuous monitoring 

and improvement of our knowledge about the status of 

stocks is key to ongoing sustainable fisheries management 

under the MSA. 

Benefits of Sustainable 

Fisheries Management

Managing fisheries sustainably is an adaptive process that 

relies on sound science, innovative management approaches, 

effective enforcement, meaningful partnerships, and robust 

public participation. Sustainable fisheries play an important 

role in the nation’s economy by providing opportunities 

for commercial, recreational, and subsistence fishing, 

marine aquaculture, and sustainable seafood for the nation. 

Combined, U.S. commercial and recreational saltwater fishing 

generated $208 billion in sales and supported 1.6 million jobs 

in 2015. By ending overfishing and rebuilding stocks, we are 

strengthening the value of U.S. fisheries to the economy, our 

communities, and marine ecosystems. 

Status of Stocks 2016

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

Status Listings: 

Overfishing & Overfished

286 (91%) stocks 

are not subject to 

overfishing

30 (9%) stocks 

are subject to 

overfishing

OVERFISHED: 235 stocks with known status: 

OVERFISHING: 316 stocks with known status:

197 (84%) stocks are 

not overfished

38 (16%) stocks 

are overfished

U.S. Department of Commerce | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | National Marine Fisheries Service 1
Status of Stocks 2016

The Year in Review

At the end of 2016, the overfishing list included 30 stocks 

and the overfished list included 38 stocks. The number of 

stocks rebuilt since 2000 increased to 41. NOAA Fisheries 

tracks 474 stocks or stock complexes in 46 fishery 

management plans, or FMPs. Each year, assessments of 

various fish stocks and stock complexes are conducted to 

determine their status. These assessments include stocks 

of both known status and previously unknown status. 

Based on assessments conducted by the end of 2016, four 

stocks were removed from the overfishing list and six were 

added. There were no changes in the number of stocks on 

the overfished list. As required by the MSA management 

framework, the councils are developing management 

measures to end overfishing and rebuild all stocks added to 

the overfishing and overfished lists. Specific changes to the 

status of stocks in 2016 include:

2015

28 (9%) on

overfishing list

38 (16%) on

overfished list

39 stocks on 

rebuilt list

2016

30 (9%) on

overfishing list

38 (16%) on

overfished list

41 stocks on 

rebuilt list

OVERFISHING LIST

Removed Added

Chinook salmon – Columbia River Basin: Upper River Summer1

Chinook salmon – Washington Coast: Willapa Bay Fall Natural1

Chinook salmon – Washington Coast: Grays Harbor Fall1

Coho salmon – Washington Coast: Hoh1

Triggerfishes and Filefishes Complex – Puerto Rico

Caribbean spiny lobster – Puerto Rico 

Wrasses Complex – Puerto Rico 

Blue king crab – Pribilof Islands

Coho salmon – Puget Sound: Hood Canal1

Tilefish – Southern Atlantic Coast

OVERFISHED LIST

Removed Added

No Changes No Changes

REBUILT LIST

Barndoor skate – Georges Bank / Southern New England

Albacore – North Atlantic1

1

 This stock is fished by U.S. and international fleets. 

2 Status of Stocks 2016
U.S. Department of Commerce | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | National Marine Fisheries Service 3

Ending Overfishing 

Under Effective Laws

Under the MSA, the United States has become an international leader in fisheries 

management and we are committed to continuing our successful efforts to prevent 

overfishing and rebuild overfished fisheries. The MSA has been reauthorized twice 

since its enactment—once in 1996 and again in 2006. The 2006 reauthorization 

included a new requirement to use annual catch limits (ACLs) to end and prevent 

overfishing. By the end of 2016, catch was successfully kept at or below the ACLs 

for 92 percent of all stocks or complexes. Councils are implementing management 

measures to address any ACL overages that did occur. Monitoring catch levels and 

keeping them in check on an annual basis—as is done with ACLs—helps reduce the 

chance of overfishing and ensures long-term biological and economic sustainability.

ACLs are effective in preventing overfishing, but some challenges remain. For datapoor and rarely-sampled stocks, for example, fisheries managers are still learning 

how to accurately account for catch and determine effective mechanisms to address 

overfishing. The three Puerto Rico stocks added to the overfishing list this year are 

considered data poor and did not have catch limits prior to ACL implementation.

Improving Stocks,

Rebuilding Fisheries

In 2016, NOAA Fisheries added barndoor skate and North Atlantic albacore to the 

rebuilt list. When a stock is determined to be overfished, a council must develop 

a rebuilding plan. A typical rebuilding plan allows fishing to continue at a reduced 

level so that the stock can rebuild to its target level and can produce its maximum 

sustainable yield (MSY). This approach keeps fishermen and waterfronts working 

while stocks rebuild.

Forty-two stocks or stock complexes are currently in rebuilding plans. NOAA 

Fisheries monitors rebuilding stocks and, through the fishery management council 

process, adjusts management measures as necessary to increase stock abundance 

to a target level that supports MSY. When a rebuilding stock increases above the 

overfished threshold, the stock is removed from the overfished list but remains under 

its rebuilding plan until fully rebuilt. Currently, nine stocks are no longer overfished 

but continue to be managed under rebuilding plans. 

Click here for trends of stocks in rebuilding plans.

National Standard 1 

Guidelines 

U.S. fisheries management shall 

prevent overfishing and achieve 

Optimum Yield from each fishery 

on a continuing basis.

In 2016, NOAA Fisheries completed 

a major rulemaking to revise the 

National Standard 1 Guidelines. 

These guidelines help fishery 

managers determine how to achieve 

certain statutory requirements 

within the MSA such as preventing 

overfishing, rebuilding overfished 

stocks, and achieving “Optimum 

Yield.” The recent updates to 

the guidelines outlined optional 

management tools to increase 

stability within fisheries and 

provide flexibility to address fishery 

management issues identified since 

the 2006 MSA amendments requiring 

ACLs that prevent overfishing. The 

updated guidelines reflect advances 

in fisheries science and current 

approaches for the most effective way 

to end and prevent overfishing, as well 

as rebuild overfished stocks. 

The revised guidelines provide tools 

to help fisheries managers end 

overfishing and rebuild overfished 

stocks including: 

•	 Allowing for multi-year overfishing 

status determinations, which 

will help reduce uncertainty and 

increase fishery stability.

•	 Additional flexibility in setting 

target times to rebuild stocks 

based on the best scientific 

information available, which 

increases the likelihood of 

successful rebuilding plans.

•	 Guidance on determining adequate 

progress in rebuilding to help 

ensure that stocks rebuild on time.
Status of Stocks 2016

Stock Status by U.S. Region

n 38 On Overfished List •30 On Overfishing List

North Pacific 

n • Blue king crab – Pribilof Islands

Pacific

n Pacific ocean perch

n Yelloweye rockfish

• Coho salmon – Puget Sound: 

 Hood Canal1

Pacific and Western Pacific

n • Pacific bluefin tuna – Pacific1

• Swordfish – Eastern Pacific1, 2 

Western Pacific

n • Striped marlin – Western and 

 Central Pacific1

n Seamount Groundfish 

 Complex – Hancock Seamount1

• Bigeye tuna – Western and 

 Central Pacific1

Gulf of Mexico 

n Greater amberjack

n Gray triggerfish

n Red snapper

Caribbean

n Goliath grouper

n Nassau grouper

n Queen conch

• Triggerfishes and Filefishes 

 Complex – Puerto Rico

• Caribbean spiny lobster – 

 Puerto Rico

• Wrasses Complex – Puerto Rico

New England 

n • Atlantic cod – Georges Bank 

n • Atlantic cod – Gulf of Maine

n Windowpane – Gulf of Maine/ 

 Georges Bank

n • Witch flounder

n • Yellowtail flounder – Cape Cod/Gulf 

 of Maine

n • Yellowtail founder – Georges Bank

n • Yellowtail flounder – Southern New 

 England/Mid-Atlantic

n Thorny skate – Gulf of Maine

n Atlantic halibut

n Atlantic salmon

n Atlantic wolffish

n Ocean pout

n Winter flounder – Southern New 

 England

n • Winter flounder – Georges Bank

Highly Migratory Species 

• Bigeye tuna – Atlantic1

n • Blacknose shark – Atlantic

n • Blue marlin – Atlantic1

n • Dusky shark – Atlantic

n • White marlin – Atlantic1

n • Scalloped hammerhead - Atlantic

n Porbeagle shark – Atlantic1

n Sandbar shark – Atlantic

n Bluefin tuna – West Atlantic1

• Sailfish – West Atlantic1

Mid-Atlantic 

• Summer flounder

South Atlantic

n • Hogfish – Southeast Florida 

n • Red snapper

• Blueline tilefish

• Speckled hind

• Warsaw grouper

n Red porgy

n Snowy grouper

• Tilefish – Southern Atlantic coast

1 Stock is fished by U.S. and international fleets.

2 The geographic boundary of this stock extends from 

Mexico south and west to the Palmyra Atoll.

4 Status of Stocks 2016 U.S. Department of Commerce | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | National Marine Fisheries Service 5
Status of Stocks 2016

Overfishing & 

Overfished

The main concepts related to 

overfishing and overfished covered 

in this report:

Maximum sustainable yield or 

MSY: The largest long-term average 

catch that can be taken from a stock 

under prevailing environmental and 

fishery conditions. 

Overfishing: A stock that has a 

harvest rate higher than the rate that 

produces its MSY.

Overfished: A stock that has a 

population size that is too low and 

that jeopardizes the stock’s ability to 

produce its MSY.

Rebuilt: A stock that was previously 

overfished and that has increased in 

abundance to the target population 

size that supports its MSY.

What’s the difference?

As a harvest rate, overfishing is a 

direct result of fishing activities. 

Allowed to continue unchecked, 

overfishing is associated with 

many negative outcomes, including 

a depleted population. Current 

management practices—such 

as annual catch limits and 

accountability measures—reduce 

the likelihood of this happening.

As a population size, overfished 

can be the result of many factors, 

including overfishing, and also habitat 

degradation, pollution, climate change, 

and disease. While overfishing is 

sometimes the main cause of an 

overfished stock, these other factors 

can also play a role and may affect the 

stock’s ability to rebuild.

Barndoor Skate

•	 Foreign fleets seriously depleted

the stock prior to MSA.

•	 Stock has recovered under

rebuilding plan.

•	 Landings have been prohibited

since 2003. The council may

now consider allowing landings

of barndoor skate in the future.

North Atlantic Albacore

•	 2016 was the 50th anniversary

of the International Commission

for the Conservation of Atlantic

Tunas (ICCAT). NOAA Fisheries

works with ICCAT to manage

international stocks, including

albacore.

•	 Despite having a small share of

the total catch, the United States

successfully negotiated with

other countries to reduce fishing

mortality and help rebuild the

North Atlantic albacore stock.

1965	 1985	 2005	 2015

Target Level

Stocked Level (survey biomass) 1.2

1.0

0.6

0.2

Barndoor Skate Stock Levels

The Science Behind Stock Status 

Fishery management plans must specify objective and measurable criteria, or 

reference points, to determine when a stock is subject to overfishing or overfished. 

A scientific analysis of the abundance and composition of a fish stock and the rate 

of fishing mortality is called a stock assessment. Typically, a stock assessment 

undergoes peer review by independent scientists before it is accepted as the best 

scientific information available.

The councils use information from stock assessments to develop and recommend 

ACLs and other conservation and management measures. While catch limits are set 

annually, assessments are often done less frequently. To determine whether catch 

limits have successfully ended or prevented overfishing, NOAA Fisheries may use 

either the results of a stock assessment or a comparison of catch to the overfishing 

limit (OFL). If the catch to OFL comparison is used, an overfishing determination 

is made annually. If a stock assessment is used, due to timing of the next stock 

assessment, several years may pass before we are able to determine if catch limits 

successfully ended overfishing. 

2016 Rebuilt Stocks

Two stocks, barndoor skate and North Atlantic albacore, were declared rebuilt in 

2016, adding to the list of rebuilding success stories. 

6 Status of Stocks 2016
Being Competitive in a 

Global Market

through Productive and Sustainable Fisheries

The need to increase our nation’s seafood supply is a continuing and growing 

challenge, and rebuilding and maintaining stocks at their sustainable levels will help 

achieve this goal. NOAA Fisheries is focusing on increasing trade opportunities so 

that we can remain competitive with other seafood exporting countries. In 2016, 

NOAA Fisheries finalized the Seafood Import Monitoring Program. The Program 

establishes, for imports of certain seafood products, the reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements needed to prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU)-caught 

and/or misrepresented seafood from entering U.S. commerce. This is the first-phase 

of a traceability program that will provide additional protections for our national 

economy, global food security, and the sustainability of our shared ocean resources. 

NOAA Fisheries is also committed to increasing our domestic seafood supply through 

aquaculture. NOAA Fisheries released the Marine Aquaculture Strategic Plan in 2016, 

which will guide efforts within NOAA Fisheries to support development of sustainable 

marine aquaculture from 2016-2020 and establishes a target of expanding 

sustainable U.S. marine aquaculture production by at least 50 percent by the year 

2020. Expanding U.S. aquaculture complements wild harvest fisheries and supports 

our efforts to maintain sustainable fisheries and resilient oceans.

Implementing the 

National Saltwater 

Recreational 

Fisheries Policy

Saltwater recreational fishing is 

an integral part of life in coastal 

communities in the United States and 

a major economic force. America’s 

approximately 8.9 million saltwater 

anglers support 439,000 jobs 

and generate $63 billion in sales 

impacts. In 2016, NOAA Fisheries 

released regional plans to implement 

the agency’s National Saltwater 

Recreational Fisheries Policy. These 

plans and other work are helping to 

continue constructive dialogue and 

collaboration with the recreational 

fishing community to support a 

diverse array of sustainable saltwater 

recreational fisheries. 

Visit our website for more information: 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/sfa

0

5

10

15

20

25

% Stocks on Overshing List % Stocks on Overshed List

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Percentage of Stocks

Stock Trends 2007–2016 

U.S. Department of Commerce | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | National Marine Fisheries Service 7
Status of Stocks 2016

Adapting for the Future

NOAA Fisheries and our many partners continue to build on 

the United States’ successful fisheries management approach 

by advancing policies and plans that will help us meet the 

challenges of today and tomorrow. 

Fisheries management occurs in a dynamic environment 

and amid increasingly changing ocean conditions and NOAA 

Fisheries continues to adapt our science and management 

process to address these changes. In 2016, NOAA Fisheries 

released five Regional Action Plans to guide implementation 

of its Climate Science Strategy. These plans identify specific 

actions to better track changes, assess risks, provide early 

warnings and forecasts, and identify the best management 

strategies under changing conditions in each region. 

Climate is just one important ecosystem-related challenge 

that affects U.S. fisheries management. To further strengthen 

the ability of fisheries managers to account for and anticipate 

complex ecosystem interactions, NOAA Fisheries finalized the 

Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management (EBFM) Policy

and Road Map in 2016. While NOAA Fisheries and the

councils are already implementing some facets of EBFM, this 

Policy and Road Map will facilitate more full integration of 

EBFM into our fisheries management decisions. 

Also finalized in 2016, the National Bycatch Reduction 

Strategy guides our efforts to reduce bycatch and bycatch 

mortality to further support sustainable fisheries management. 

These efforts are just a few examples of how NOAA Fisheries 

is looking to the future to ensure the long-term sustainability 

of our fisheries and the businesses and communities that 

depend on them. Our dynamic, science-based management 

process is proving successful at ending overfishing and 

rebuilding stocks, and helping us realize significant benefits to 

the U.S. economy. We look forward to working with Congress, 

the councils, our state partners, and other stakeholders 

to further these efforts and identify other opportunities 

to strengthen the long-term biological and economic 

sustainability of our nation’s fisheries.

Click here for more information on the

2016 Status of Stocks Report

8 Status of Stocks 2016