 |
 |
 |
NOAA Fisheries Strategic Plan
Our Mission
NOAA Fisheries is responsible for the management, conservation, and protection of living marine resources within the United States Exclusive Economic Zone. We also play a support and advisory role in the management of living marine resources in coastal areas under state jurisdiction, provide scientific and policy leadership in the international arena, and implement internationally agreed conservation and management measures. We have defined our mission as follows:
| Stewardship of living marine resources for the benefit of the nation through their science-based conservation and management and promotion of the health of their environment |
This statement expresses our commitment to taking a rational, scientific approach to the difficult, contentious issues of living marine resource management. NOAA Fisheries’ aim is to maximize benefits to the Nation from living marine resources without compromising the long-term health of coastal and marine ecosystems. As stewards, we manage for the sustainable use of living marine resources, including both consumptive and nonconsumptive uses, such as fishing, aquaculture, photography and observation. We strive to balance competing public needs and interests in the use and enjoyment of our living marine resources, while preserving their biological integrity.
Management Authority and Legal Mandates. The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, under which fisheries within the 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) are regulated, places responsibility for fishery management jointly with the Secretary of Commerce (through NOAA Fisheries) and eight Regional Fishery Management Councils which it established in 1976. Voting members of these Councils represent diverse interests. The majority are appointed by the Secretary of Commerce based on recommendations from the governors of the states in each region; others are members by virtue of their responsibility for fisheries management at the state and federal levels. A number of fisheries based primarily in state waters are managed by Interstate Marine Fisheries Commissions established cooperatively among the relevant states, with support from NOAA Fisheries. The Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act and the Atlantic Coast Striped Bass Conservation Act, under which many Atlantic coastal fisheries are managed, provide a special role for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in management of certain fisheries in federal waters.
Together, NOAA Fisheries, the Councils, and the Commissions are responsible for preparing Fishery Management Plans (FMP) for the Nation's fishery resources through extensive discussions with states, tribes, other federal agencies, fishers, processors, marketers, public interest groups, universities, and the general public, and through partnerships with international science and management organizations. FMPs for fisheries in the EEZ are developed by the Councils and are approved by the Secretary of Commerce, through NOAA Fisheries. Occasionally, FMPs are developed directly by NOAA Fisheries, with advice and comment from the public, including the Councils. FMPs for coastal migratory fisheries are developed and implemented by states and Interstate Marine Fishery Commissions with support from NOAA Fisheries. We also carry out a variety of statutes which implement international agreements.
Under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, as amended by the Sustainable Fisheries Act, FMPs must contain conservation and management measures which prevent overfishing while achieving, on a continuing basis, the optimum yield from each fishery. These measures must be based on the best scientific information available, consider efficiency, minimize costs, avoid unnecessary duplication, minimize bycatch and the mortality of bycatch, and promote the safety of human life at sea. They must also provide for the sustained participation of fishing communities while minimizing adverse economic impacts on them, to the extent practicable and consistent with conservation aims and requirements. FMPs must also contain provisions to conserve essential fish habitat. This requires NOAA Fisheries to establish guidelines to assist the Councils in the identification and conservation of such habitat, and to consult on all federal or state actions which could have adverse impacts on that habitat.
Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), NOAA Fisheries, as delegated by the Secretary of Commerce, is responsible for the protection of those marine species listed as threatened or endangered, and for identifying candidate species for such listings. The ESA mandates that we consult with other federal agencies to assess the impacts of actions that may affect listed species, and to minimize those impacts, either through regulation or otherwise. It also mandates conservation of critical habitat for threatened and endangered species. Recovery plans characterize and assess the species’ habitat needs, assess the cumulative effects of environmental variability and human-related activities, and include provisions to protect and conserve the habitat. Further, ESA allows us to establish cooperative agreements with states so that they can implement conservation and recovery actions for listed species.
Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NOAA Fisheries, as delegated by the Secretary of Commerce, is responsible for protecting certain marine mammals, namely cetaceans and pinnipeds, excluding walruses. We must protect all such cetaceans and pinnipeds, regardless of their population status. The MMPA mandates that by 2001, death of, and serious injury to, marine mammals incidental to commercial fishing operations must be reduced to insignificant levels approaching a zero rate. The MMPA establishes a long-range regime to govern interactions between marine mammals and commercial fisheries which includes the requirement to assess all stocks in U.S. waters, continue the categorization of fisheries and registration of fishers based on their interaction with marine mammals, and implement take reduction plans as needed to achieve the zero mortality requirement.
Various statutes confer on NOAA Fisheries a mandate to reduce and mitigate degradation and loss of living marine resource habitat. These include the Clean Water Act, the Federal Power Act, the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, the Oil Pollution Act, and the Coastal Zone Management Act, among others. Under these statutes, NOAA Fisheries plays a primarily advisory role in reviewing proposed projects and other actions which may affect living marine resource habitat, and making recommendations for the adequate conservation of that habitat.
The Stewardship Challenge. Living marine resources currently support extensive commercial, recreational, and subsistence uses. In 1995, commercial landings by U.S. fishers were 9.9 billion pounds valued at a record $3.8 billion. The 1995 U.S. marine recreational finfish catch was an estimated 339.1 million pounds taken on an estimated 65.5 million fishing trips. These are just some of the many benefits Americans derive from living marine resources.
However, many marine species are under stress from overexploitation or habitat degradation, or both. Over one-third of all fish stocks for which we have scientific population information are overutilized, and nearly one-half are below optimal population levels. Some populations of marine mammals, turtles, and fish are in danger of extinction, and many more are threatened by various human activities. There are many other fish stocks and marine species about which we have little information. Many of these marine species range across wide areas, including state and international boundaries, adding to the difficulty of management and demanding interjurisdictional cooperation.
Many factors, both natural and human-related, affect the status of fish stocks, protected species, and ecosystems. Although we do not have the means to control all of them, our scientific and management tools enable us to have a strong influence on many of them. Maintaining and improving the health and productivity of these species is the heart of our stewardship mission. This will maintain and enhance current and future opportunities for the sustainable use of these resources as well as the health and biodiversity of their ecosystems.
Estimates suggest that seafood production from wild fish stocks will be insufficient to meet growing U.S. and global demand for seafood products in the next century. While maintaining and rebuilding wild stocks remains the heart of our mission, stewardship also demands that we encourage the production of seafood products through environmentally sound aquaculture to help meet this increasing demand.
Carrying out this mission depends upon building strong, effective partnerships with our constituents. All federal agencies are experiencing budgetary constraints and increasing demands, and none can meet all of its mandates on its own. We must collaborate with other organizations with similar mandates to achieve our mutual aims. This includes state, interstate, and other federal agencies, local governments, universities, fishers, environmental and industry groups, sportsmen, Native American tribes, Pacific Islanders, conservation organizations, and many others. We must also increase the reliability of our data, explore new ideas, invest in new technology, and continue our willingness to make difficult resource management decisions.
Go to NEXT SECTION of the Strategic Plan
Return to TABLE OF CONTENTS
Back to NOAA Fisheries Home Page