Editing Atlantic Ocean (section)

== Economy ==
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The Atlantic has contributed significantly to the development and economy of surrounding countries. Besides major transatlantic transportation and communication routes, the Atlantic offers abundant petroleum deposits in the [[sedimentary rock]]s of the continental shelves.<ref name="USN-2001" />
[[File:Kanstadsamlingen - NMF010005-01347.jpg|thumb|right|[[Cod fisheries|Cod fishery]] in Norway]]
The Atlantic harbors petroleum and gas fields, fish, [[marine mammal]]s ([[Pinniped|seals]] and whales), [[sand]] and [[gravel]] aggregates, [[placer deposit]]s, [[polymetallic nodules]], and precious stones.<ref>{{Cite book|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=hMywzK7xuKYC|page=11}}|title=Ocean Habitats|last1=Kubesh|first1=K.|last2=McNeil|first2=N.|last3=Bellotto|first3=K.|publisher=In the Hands of a Child|year=2008|access-date=5 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221191501/https://books.google.com/books?id=hMywzK7xuKYC&pg=PA11|archive-date=21 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
Gold deposits are a mile or two underwater on the ocean floor, however, the deposits are also encased in rock that must be mined through. Currently, there is no cost-effective way to mine or extract gold from the ocean to make a profit.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/gold.html|title=Is there gold in the ocean?|last=Administration|first=US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric|website=oceanservice.noaa.gov|language=EN-US|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331103450/http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/gold.html|archive-date=31 March 2016|access-date=30 March 2016}}</ref>

Various international treaties attempt to reduce pollution caused by environmental threats such as oil spills, [[marine debris]], and the [[incineration]] of toxic wastes at sea.<ref name="USN-2001" />

=== Fisheries ===
{{See also|Ocean fisheries#Atlantic Ocean|Fishing down the food web}}

The [[Continental shelf|shelves]] of the Atlantic hosts one of the world's richest [[Wild fisheries|fishing resources]]. The most productive areas include the [[Grand Banks of Newfoundland]], the [[Scotian Shelf]], [[Georges Bank]] off [[Cape Cod]], the [[Bahama Banks]], the waters around Iceland, the [[Irish Sea]], the [[Bay of Fundy]], the [[Dogger Bank]] of the North Sea, and the Falkland Banks.<ref name="USN-2001" />
Fisheries have, however, undergone significant changes since the 1950s and global catches can now be divided into three groups of which only two are observed in the Atlantic: fisheries in the eastern-central and southwest Atlantic oscillate around a globally stable value, the rest of the Atlantic is in overall decline following historical peaks. The third group, "continuously increasing trend since 1950", is only found in the Indian Ocean and western Pacific.<ref name="NOA-2016-p39">{{Harvnb|FOA|2016|pp=39–41}}</ref>

UN [[FAO]] partitioned the Atlantic into major fishing areas:

[[File:Northeast Atlantic bathymetry.png|thumb|Banks of the northeast Atlantic]]
;Northeast Atlantic:
Northeast Atlantic is schematically limited to the 40°00' west longitude (except around Greenland), south to the 36°00' north latitude, and to the 68°30' east longitude, with both the west and east longitude limits reaching to the north pole. The Atlantic's subareas include: [[Barents Sea]]; [[Norwegian Sea]], [[Spitzbergen]], and [[Bear Island (Norway)|Bear Island]]; [[Skagerrak]], [[Kattegat]], [[Sound]], [[Belt Sea]], and [[Baltic Sea]]; [[North Sea]]; [[Iceland]] and [[Faroes Grounds]]; [[Rockall]], [[Northwest Coast of Scotland]], and North Ireland; [[Irish Sea]], West of Ireland, [[Porcupine Bank]], and eastern and western [[English Channel]]; [[Bay of Biscay]]; [[Portuguese Waters]]; [[Azores Grounds]] and [[Northeast Atlantic South]]; North of [[Azores]]; and East [[Greenland]]. There are also two defunct subareas.<ref>{{Cite web|title=FAO Fisheries & Aquaculture|url=https://www.fao.org/fishery/en/area/27/en|access-date=7 August 2023|website=fao.org|archive-date=7 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230807030816/https://www.fao.org/fishery/en/area/27/en|url-status=live}}</ref>

: In the Northeast Atlantic total catches decreased between the mid-1970s and the 1990s and reached 8.7 million tons in 2013. [[Blue whiting]] reached a 2.4 million tons peak in 2004 but was down to 628,000 tons in 2013. Recovery plans for cod, sole, and plaice have reduced mortality in these species. [[Arctic cod]] reached its lowest levels in the 1960s–1980s but is now recovered. [[Pollachius virens|Arctic saithe]] and [[haddock]] are considered fully fished; [[Sand eel]] is overfished as was [[capelin]] which has now recovered to fully fished. Limited data makes the state of [[redfish]]es and deep-water species difficult to assess but most likely they remain vulnerable to overfishing. Stocks of [[northern shrimp]] and [[Norwegian lobster]] are in good condition. In the Northeast Atlantic, 21% of stocks are considered overfished.<ref name="NOA-2016-p39" />

: This zone makes almost three-quarters (72.8%) of [[European Union]] fishing catches in 2020. Main fishing EU countries are Denmark, France, the Netherlands and Spain. Most common species include [[herring]], [[mackerel]], and [[sprat]]s.

[[File:StLawrence Gulf bathymetry.jpg|thumb|Banks of the northwest Atlantic]]
;Northwest Atlantic: In the Northwest Atlantic landings have decreased from 4.2 million tons in the early 1970s to 1.9 million tons in 2013. During the 21st century, some species have shown weak signs of recovery, including [[Greenland halibut]], [[yellowtail flounder]], [[Atlantic halibut]], [[haddock]], [[spiny dogfish]], while other stocks shown no such signs, including cod, [[Witch (righteye flounder)|witch flounder]], and redfish. Stocks of invertebrates, in contrast, remain at record levels of abundance. 31% of stocks are overfished in the northwest Atlantic.<ref name="NOA-2016-p39" />
[[File:Time series for collapse of Atlantic northwest cod.png|thumb|left|Capture of Atlantic northwest cod in million tons]]
In 1497, [[John Cabot]] became the first [[Western European]] since the [[Vikings]] to explore mainland North America and one of his major discoveries was the abundant resources of [[Atlantic cod]] off [[Newfoundland]]. Referred to as "Newfoundland Currency" this discovery yielded some 200&nbsp;million tons of fish over five centuries. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, new fisheries started to exploit [[haddock]], [[mackerel]], and [[lobster]]. From the 1950s to the 1970s, the introduction of European and Asian distant-water fleets in the area dramatically increased the fishing capacity and the number of exploited species. It also expanded the exploited areas from near-shore to the open sea and to great depths to include deep-water species such as [[Sebastes|redfish]], [[Greenland halibut]], witch flounder, and [[Grenadiers (fish)|grenadiers]]. [[Overfishing]] in the area was recognized as early as the 1960s but, because this was occurring on [[international waters]], it took until the late 1970s before any attempts to regulate was made. In the early 1990s, this finally resulted in the [[collapse of the Atlantic northwest cod fishery]]. The population of a number of deep-sea fishes also collapsed in the process, including [[American plaice]], redfish, and Greenland halibut, together with flounder and grenadier.<ref>{{Harvnb|FAO|2011|pp=22–23}}</ref>

;Eastern central-Atlantic: In the eastern central-Atlantic small [[pelagic fish]]es constitute about 50% of landings with sardine reaching 0.6–1.0 million tons per year. Pelagic fish stocks are considered fully fished or overfished, with sardines south of [[Cape Bojador]] the notable exception. Almost half of the stocks are fished at biologically unsustainable levels. Total catches have been fluctuating since the 1970s; reaching 3.9 million tons in 2013 or slightly less than the peak production in 2010.<ref name="NOA-2016-p39" />

[[File:Bahamas.A2001138.1550.250m.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Bahama Banks]]]]
;Western central-Atlantic: In the western central-Atlantic, catches have been decreasing since 2000 and reached 1.3 million tons in 2013. The most important species in the area, [[Gulf menhaden]], reached a million tons in the mid-1980s but only half a million tons in 2013 and is now considered fully fished. [[Round sardinella]] was an important species in the 1990s but is now considered overfished. [[Grouper]]s and [[Lutjanidae|snappers]] are overfished and [[northern brown shrimp]] and [[Eastern oyster|American cupped oyster]] are considered fully fished approaching overfished. 44% of stocks are being fished at unsustainable levels.<ref name="NOA-2016-p39" />

[[File:Agulhas Bank NOAA ETOPO1.jpg|thumb|left|[[Agulhas Bank]]]]
;Southeast Atlantic: In the southeast Atlantic catches have decreased from 3.3 million tons in the early 1970s to 1.3 million tons in 2013. [[Horse mackerel]] and [[hake]] are the most important species, together representing almost half of the landings. Off South Africa and Namibia [[Merluccius paradoxus|deep-water hake]] and [[Merluccius capensis|shallow-water Cape hake]] have recovered to sustainable levels since regulations were introduced in 2006 and the states of [[southern African pilchard]] and [[southern African anchovy|anchovy]] have improved to fully fished in 2013.<ref name="NOA-2016-p39" />

;Southwest Atlantic: In the southwest Atlantic, a peak was reached in the mid-1980s and catches now fluctuate between 1.7 and 2.6 million tons. The most important species, the [[Illex argentinus|Argentine shortfin squid]], which reached half a million tons in 2013 or half the peak value, is considered fully fished to overfished. Another important species was the [[Brazilian sardinella]], with a production of 100,000 tons in 2013 it is now considered overfished. Half the stocks in this area are being fished at unsustainable levels: [[Whitehead's round herring]] has not yet reached fully fished but [[Cunene horse mackerel]] is overfished. The sea snail [[Haliotis midae|perlemoen abalone]] is targeted by [[illegal fishing]] and remains overfished.<ref name="NOA-2016-p39" />