NOAA FISHERIES SERVICE FishWatch Fact Sheet: Swordfish
Background Over the last decade, the North Atlantic swordfish stock has grown significantly. The population has gone from an overfished state in 1998 to one that is now no longer overfished. This is due, in part, to a number of management measures implemented by the United States that have been effective at reducing fishing mortality, and have allowed the swordfish population to grow. These management measures have also reduced the impact the U.S. fishery has on other marine animal populations, thus making it one of the most environmentally responsible longline fisheries in the world. Below are some highlights of management measures required of the U.S. North Atlantic swordfish fishery, and their positive impact on the ocean environment. North Atlantic swordfish fishery, and their positive impact on the ocean environment.
Partnering to Save Sea Turtles The Northeast Distant Fishery Experiment was conducted from 2001 through 2003 on the high seas of the Western Atlantic Ocean, in an area off Newfoundland known as the Grand Banks. In cooperation with Blue Water Fishermen’s Association and the Fisheries Research Institute, NOAA Fisheries was able to determine gear/bait combinations that minimized sea turtle encounters in pelagic longline fisheries, while not reducing the swordfish catch rate. Thirteen American longline vessels were contracted to carry out the research with NOAA Fisheries scientists and private sector gear developers to find the winning combinations used to achieve up to a 90 percent reduction in fishing gear-sea turtle interactions for leatherbacks and loggerheads. The researchers went a few steps further and developed new gear so fishermen could safely dehook and disentangle the few turtles that were accidentally caught. NOAA Fisheries and partners are now launching an international education initiative to invite all fishing nations with pelagic longline fleets to begin exploring this technology to make all the world’s longline operations more selective and help protect sea turtles, and other marine life.
NOAA Fisheries Service
FishWatch Fact Sheet: Swordfish 213kb .pdf