Chinook salmon among fisheries deemed 'rebuilt' by NOAA
By Christina Williams
Sustainable Business Oregon editor
Chinook salmon are among the fish populations deemed "recovered" by scientists from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported to the U.S. Congress this week that a record six fisheries are no longer suffering from overfishing, including the chinook salmon runs of Northern California and the Klamath River Basin.
Other fisheries determined "rebuilt" by NOAA scientists include Washington's coho salmon, Pacific Coast widow rockfish, Alaskan snow crab, in addition to haddock and summer flounder in the Northeast.
In all, 174 U.S. fish stocks, or 79 percent, are not overfished.
NOAA makes annual reports to Congress on fish stocks that live within 200 miles of the U.S. under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The full report for 2011 is available on the NOAA website.
NOAA-imposed fishing moratoriums and restrictions on chinook salmon in 2005-06 wreaked havoc on Oregon fisheries.
The New York Times reports that when a fish stock is assessed at a healthy level, fishermen are allowed to increase their catch, but in many cases only to a degree.
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