•    In New England the overall groundfish complex has increased by more than 150 percent in the past 5 years and, in particular, Georges Bank haddock and yellowtail flounder, silver hake and witch flounder have produced substantial gains.  The New England scallop resource is thriving and provides important benefits to consumers and scallop fishermen.  The stock of Atlantic herring is robust and the Councils are taking a proactive approach to carefully achieve full domestic utilization of the resource. 
•    In the Mid-Atlantic region, striped bass, summer flounder, Atlantic monkfish and sea scallops (fisheries also shared with New England) and other species that are extremely important to recreational and commercial fishermen and coastal communities are at or approaching record levels of abundance and the remaining stocks are being rebuilt on schedule. In addition, there is a significant and increasing emphasis on cooperative research and management in this region and recent monkfish research is a textbook example of what can be accomplished through this process.
•    In the South Atlantic, king and Spanish mackerel have been successfully rebuilt, gag grouper is nearly completely rebuilt, and bycatch is being significantly reduced in the snapper-grouper complex and shrimp fisheries through gear modifications.
•    In the Gulf of Mexico shrimp fishery (the 3rd largest fishery and the most valuable in the United States), parent stocks are healthy, not overfished, and the resource remains safely above the overfishing index level. In addition, bycatch has been significantly reduced through installation of Bycatch Reduction Devices (BRDs) and Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) in shrimp trawl nets.
•    On the Pacific coast, the Pacific Fishery Management Council and NMFS deployed an observer program during the last two years that is already meetings its goals for vessel coverage.  A new Vessel Monitoring System will be brought on line later this year.  At the request of the fishing industry, the Council made numerous changes in fishing gear use and industry innovators are experimenting with new nets to reduce bycatch.  Sardines have returned to Monterey Bay and are supporting a healthy fishery along the entire length of the west coast.  Recent salmon returns have been phenomenal.  Stocks of flatfish, squid, mackerel, swordfish, tuna and many rockfish stocks are all reported in good condition.
•    In the Western Pacific, the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council established the first complete ecosystem-based fishery management plan for coral reef fisheries and implemented strict effort controls on the longline fishery.  In addition, many Western Pacific fisheries continue to be healthy, with the majority being fished below Maximum Sustainable Yield catch levels. The Western Pacific is also a center for cutting edge research on mitigating protected species interactions with longline gear and in disseminating these results to the international community.
•    In Alaska, healthy fish stocks are the rule, not the exception.  According to NMFS’ most recent report to Congress, the crab, salmon, halibut and groundfish fisheries are being harvested at sustainable levels.  These fisheries account for half of all seafood landed annually in the U.S.
•    Internationally, management bodies in which the United States participates have successfully rebuilt the once overfished North Atlantic swordfish population (ICCAT) and sustainably manage tuna and other large species in the Eastern Tropical Pacific while minimizing dolphin mortalities (IATTC).  On the Pacific coast, US and Canadian commercial fishing interests recently reached an agreement on sustainable harvest levels and national quota shares for Pacific whiting, a settlement which has eluded the two governments for over a decade.