Some Seafood Could Disappear From Menus

Some seafood soon could be swimming off menus if declining populations aren’t protected, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

“People need to know that there is not going to be a supply of everything on their menus forever,” said Liza Pike, spokeswoman for the council. “But the fish will come back if we do the right thing. We can do something about this.”

According to the non-profit environmental group’s report, “Hook, Line and Sinking: The Crisis in Marine Fisheries,” black sea bass, lingcod, Pacific red snapper, monkfish, sole, sea scallops and some types of tuna are among the most threatened species.

Overfishing - catching fish faster than the fish can replenish themselves - is the largest contributor to the problem, according to the 150-page report released Tuesday. Habitat destruction and pollution can have equally damaging results, the report says.

Rod McInnis, chief of the fisheries management division of the National Marine Fisheries Service, said his and other federal and state regulatory agencies are doing what they can to determine whether some species are being overfished.