Fishing, though an attraction for tourists and sportsmen, plays only a marginal role in the economic life of the state. In 1998, the commercial catch by New York fishers was 57,532,000 lb, less than 1% of the US total and far below the 1880 peak of 335,000,000 lb. The catch was valued at $84,323,000. Important species for commercial use are menhaden and, among shellfish, clams and oysters. Virtually all of New York's commercial fishing takes place in the Atlantic waters off Long Island. Montauk, on the eastern end of Long Island, is the state's leading fishing port.
Pollution and poor wildlife management have seriously endangered the state's commercial and sport fishing in the ocean, rivers, and lakes. Commercial fishing for striped bass in the Hudson River was banned in 1976 because of contamination by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Commercial fishing in the river for five other species—black crappie, brown bullhead, carp, goldfish, and pumpkinseed—was banned in 1985. Also banned in 1985 was commercial fishing for striped bass in New York Harbor and along both shores of western Long Island.
In recent decades, however, the Department of Environmental Conservation has taken an active role in restocking New York's inland waters. The US Fish and Wildlife Service distributes large numbers of lake trout and Atlantic salmon fingerlings and rainbow and brook trout fry throughout the state.