The consequences of this so-called recovery plan could be disastrous. The U.S. recently issued a draft domestic recovery plan for North Atlantic swordfish that it feels is dependent upon international actions for full implementation.
Swordfish populations remain at all-time lows and are still declining.
Since 1992, U.S. fishermen have killed and discarded an average of 30,000 - 40,000 undersize swordfish each year. In 1997, dead discards of juvenile fish amounted to 455 metric tons over and above the U.S. catch allowance. However, even full compliance with the current inadequate management measures will not achieve rebuilding of depleted fisheries to healthy and productive levels. As a result, the only way the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service can ensure that swordfish are rebuilt to healthy and productive levels within ten years, as required under U.S. law, is to immediately enact the most stringent management measures allowed under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The OWC is a coalition of National Audubon Society, National Coalition for Marine Conservation, Natural Resources Defense Council, Wildlife Conservation Society, and World Wildlife Fund.