Interesting article on mackerel stocks..

[bulletbob]

Quick easy read, and very informative.. Blame is placed squarely on the commercials and their desire to wipe the sea of any damn thing with fins...

They are pretty much GONE yet the commercial quota is going to be increased ny NOAA if I read the text correctly.

If you are anything like me, this article will most likely piss you off.... bob

https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/researc...ighting-chance

Another species depleted due to commercial over harvest. Check out the following chart regarding annual harvest of Atlantic Mackerel and there's nothing else you need to know. Not climate change, recreational fishing pressure (which for all practical purposes died decades ago), lack of forage etc. Commercial greed and a government which allows the onslaught to go unabated.

Between 1970 thru 1980, average annual commercial harvest of Atlantic Mackerel was 4.6 million pounds. From 2000 thru 2010, the average increased to 56.4 million pounds, a 1300% increase in annual commercial landings. Two years, '04 and '06. the commercial harvest exceeded 124,000,000 pounds each year. A fishery can't sustain itself with that amount of pressure in commercial harvest. Not to mention the impact this has on the ocean's food chain and disruption caused to the entire ecosystem. Unless there's more emphasis placed on fisheries management and less on commerce, we're going to continue seeing one fishery after another succumb to political greed and overall fisheries mismanagement.

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by dakota560

Another species depleted due to commercial over harvest. Check out the following chart regarding annual harvest of Atlantic Mackerel and there's nothing else you need to know. Not climate change, recreational fishing pressure (which for all practical purposes died decades ago), lack of forage etc. Commercial greed and a government which allows the onslaught to go unabated.

Between 1970 thru 1980, average annual commercial harvest of Atlantic Mackerel was 4.6 million pounds. From 2000 thru 2010, the average increased to 56.4 million pounds, a 1300% increase in annual commercial landings. Two years, '04 and '06. the commercial harvest exceeded 124,000,000 pounds each year. A fishery can sustain itself with that amount of pressure in commercial harvest. Not to mention the impact this has on the ocean's food chain and disruption caused to the entire ecosystem. Unless there's more emphasis placed on fisheries management and less on commerce, we're going to continue seeing one fishery after another succumb to political greed and overall fisheries mismanagement.

boy oh friggin' boy... Your graph pees me off even more than the article i linked....
thats absolutely absurd.. A little common sense and we could have mackerel back in just a few years.. problem is, years ago no one wanted to eat mackerel to any extent.. these days its a "demand" species.. If there's a few nickels to be made on a fish species these days, there are more than enough guys ready to pick up the last nickel.bob

A fishery which was predictable, consistent and healthy for decades if not centuries was destroyed within 5 - 8 years. And our own government who sets quotas and establishes policy caused it to happen. Believe it's the growth of sushi markets, increased world wide demand for fish and the decline of other species placing more pressure on all other stocks. Trend is not good, my concern is if remedial measures aren't implemented some of these fisheries will never rebound.

[Reel Class]

Apparently the mackerel stocks just to our north, in New England and in the Canadian Maritimes, are VERY healthy as those fish are caught up there year round. I also understand the stocks across the atlantic in the UK are decent also.

These are fast growing fish who can certainly replenish themselves quickly, similar to scup, so you would hope that a little relief would help them even more.

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by Reel Class

Apparently the mackerel stocks just to our north, in New England and in the Canadian Maritimes, are VERY healthy as those fish are caught up there year round. I also understand the stocks across the atlantic in the UK are decent also.

These are fast growing fish who can certainly replenish themselves quickly, similar to scup, so you would hope that a little relief would help them even more.

Correct Capt...
Mackerel are doing fine says NOAA- Silver Hake [Whiting] stocks are also in good shape according to NOAA.
As we know, those good Whiting numbers pertain to new England waters, over 200 feet deep..
I think its the same type of deal with both Mackerel and Whting.

.. The NY Bight always had both species, but we are not really in the " prime time" latitude for these fish.. We are more on the southern end of their range.. Macks don't stay here of course, they just pass by, and head north where kids catch them from harbor docks in Maine and the Maritimes.
Whiting came into rec fishable range only in the cold months..

We needed big , more widespread populations of these species to enjoy a sport fishery,as we are more on the periphery of where they live..
We kind of got the "spillover".
Nowadays there is no peripheral population, and as long as the fish are on their traditional commercial fishing grounds in sufficient numbers, all is good in the eyes of big brother.
I can't believe NOAA is so damn blind... Recreational fishing means nothing to them.. Its all about having enough to ship to Asia that matters... Thats where the bulk of the catch goes from the reading I have done..bob