Medidas de Gestao das Pescarias Marinhas e Aquicultura 2019 The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2018 | Page 60

PART 1 WORLD REVIEW
the Gulf of Mexico are now experiencing
overexploitation. Overall, 60 percent of the
assessed stocks were fished within biologically
sustainable levels in 2015.
3.5 million tonnes in 2015. Atlantic horse mackerel
(Trachurus trachurus) and capelin remained
overfished. Data for redfishes and deep-water
species are limited, but their likely vulnerability to
overfishing is of concern. Northern prawn
(Pandalus borealis) and Norway lobster (Nephrops
norvegicus) stocks are generally in good condition.
This area had 73 percent of the assessed stocks
within biologically sustainable levels in 2015.
The Southeast Atlantic has shown a decreasing
trend in landings, from a total production of 3.3
million tonnes in the early 1970s to 1.6 million
tonnes in 2015 (a slight recover y from the 2013
value of 1.3 million tonnes). The most important
species in the region are horse mackerels and
hakes, contributing 25 and 19 percent of the total
landings, respectively. Stocks of both deep-water
and shallow-water hake off South Africa and
Namibia have recovered to biologically
sustainable levels as a consequence of good
recruitment and strict management measures
introduced since 2006. However, the condition of
the Southern African pilchard (Sardinops
ocellatus) stocks has degraded appreciably,
warranting special conser vation measures from
both Namibian and South African fisheries
reg ulators. The sardinella (Sardinella aurita and
Sardinella maderensis) stocks, ver y important off
Angola and partially in Namibia, are still within
biologically sustainable levels. Whitehead’s round
herring (Etrumeus whiteheadi) is underfished,
while Cunene horse mackerel (Trachurus trecae)
remained overfished in 2015. The condition of the
perlemoen abalone (Haliotis midae) stock,
targeted heavily by illegal fishing, continues to
deteriorate and remains overfished. Overall, 68
percent of the assessed stocks were fished within
biologically sustainable levels in 2015.
The Northwest Atlantic produced 1.8 million
tonnes of fish in 2015, about the same as in 2013,
but still low compared with the 4.2 million
tonnes of the early 1970s. The group of Atlantic
cod, silver hake (Merluccius bilinearis), white
hake (Urophycis tenuis) and haddock
(Melanogrammus aeglefinus) has not shown good
recover y, with landings remaining at about 0.1
million tonnes since the late 1990s (only
5 percent of this group’s historical peak of 2.2
million tonnes). The lack of recover y may largely
be due to other factors than fishing pressure (e.g.
environmental), but further management actions
are still needed. In contrast, American lobster
(Homarus americanus) landings showed a rapid
increase to 160 000 tonnes in 2015. This area had
72 percent of the assessed stocks fished at
biologically sustainable levels in 2015.
Total catches in the Western Central Atlantic
reached a maximum of 2.5 million tonnes in
1984, then declined gradually to 1.2 million
tonnes in 2014 and bounced back slightly to 1.4
million tonnes in 2015. Important stocks such as
Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus), round
sardinella, skipjack tuna and yellowfin tuna were
estimated to be maximally sustainably fished.
The use of fish aggregating devices (FADs) by
small-scale fisheries has allowed some island
nations in the Caribbean Sea to increase their
landings of tropical tunas and other pelagic
fishes in the last decade. Stocks of valuable
invertebrate species such as the Caribbean spiny
lobster (Panulirus argus) and queen conch
(Strombus gigas) appear to be maximally
sustainably fished in most of their range, as do
those of shrimp resources in the Gulf of Mexico.
However, some stocks of penaeid shrimps in the
Caribbean and Guianas shelf have not shown
signs of recover y in recent years, despite
reductions in fishing effort. In addition, stocks of
American cupped oyster (Crassostrea virginica) in
The total landings in the Mediterranean and
Black Sea reached a maximum of about 2 million
tonnes in the mid-1980s, then declined to a low
of 1.1 million tonnes in 2014 and showed a slight
recover y to 1.3 million tonnes in 2015. Demersal
resources such as hake (Merluccius merluccius),
red mullets (Mullus spp.), turbot (Psetta maxima),
common sole (Solea vulgaris), sea breams
(Pagellus spp.) and small pelagic resources such
as anchov y (Engraulis encrasicolus) and sardine
are overfished. Most stocks of sardinellas
(Sardinella spp.), deep-water shrimps
(Parapenaeus longirostris, Aristeus antennatus and
Aristaeomorpha foliacea) and cephalopods are
probably maximally sustainably fished to
overfished. The General Fisheries Commission
for the Mediterranean (GFCM) has recently
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