Fisheries Management

Fisheries management involves regulating when, where, how, and how much fishermen are allowed to harvest to ensure that there will be fish in the future. NOAA Fisheries Service (also known as NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service or NMFS) is the Federal agency responsible for fisheries management in the United States' "Exclusive Economic Zone" (EEZ), waters 3 to 200 miles offshore (or 9 to 200 miles offshore in western Florida and Texas). Coastal states are responsible for inshore waters out to 3 miles of the coast (9 miles off the west coast of Florida and off Texas). The 30 coastal states often manage their fisheries through interstate marine fisheries commissions and/or through state-specific management programs. NOAA Fisheries Service plays a supportive and advisory role in the management of living marine resources in coastal areas under state jurisdiction, and the states generally operate in partnership with NOAA to ensure that management is consistent, conservative, and science-based. For links to individual states' fishery management programs, click here.

Federal fisheries management in the United States is driven primarily by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. First drafted in 1976, the Act has been reauthorized several times to meet changing demands on marine resources. The original version of the Act set up a democratic form of fisheries management in which stakeholders of fisheries resources held important roles in their overall management. Early days of the Act were concerned with establishing national authority over the EEZ and reducing the impact of foreign fishing fleets on fish stocks in national waters. Details have changed since the first version of the Act, but the overarching theme remains the same - conserving and managing U.S. fisheries. In fact, in recent revisions to the Act, 10 National Standards were included to ensure that U.S. fisheries are managed to be sustainable. If you buy a fish managed under a Fishery Management Plan (FMP) approved by NOAA Fisheries Service, you know it meets the following 10 US National Standards for fisheries conservation and management approved by Congress.

National Standards of the Magnuson-Stevens Act
Conservation and management measures shall:
(1) Prevent overfishing while achieving optimum yield.
(2) Be based upon the best scientific information available.
(3) Manage individual stocks as a unit throughout their range, to the extent practicable; interrelated stocks shall be managed as a unit or in close coordination.
(4) Not discriminate between residents of different states; any allocation of privileges must be fair and equitable.
(5) Where practicable, promote efficiency, except that no such measure shall have economic allocation as its sole purpose.
(6) Take into account and allow for variations among and contingencies in fisheries, fishery resources, and catches.
(7) Minimize costs and avoid duplications, where practicable.
(8) Take into account the importance of fishery resources to fishing communities to provide for the sustained participation of, and minimize adverse impacts to, such communities (consistent with conservation requirements).
(9) Minimize bycatch or mortality from bycatch.
(10) Promote safety of human life at sea.

The original Magnuson-Stevens Act created eight regional Fishery Management Councils, with membership from commercial and recreational fisheries, academics, the conservation community, states, tribes, and other stakeholders. The Councils work with NOAA Fisheries Service to compile scientific findings about fisheries in their region, along with historic and statistical data and current concerns, and incorporate them into Fishery Management Plans (FMPs). These FMPs contain the framework for managing regional fisheries. Each FMP includes biological details of the fishery, as well as social and economic information that must be taken into consideration for sustainable management. There are currently 45 FMPs for 531 stocks in U.S. waters. These include plans for familiar seafood or recreationally caught species as well as for plants and corals. Over time, an FMP may be updated to account for new data on the fishery, or to respond to changing environmental, demographic, market, or social conditions that impact fisheries. Amendments to FMPs require not only the work of the councils and NOAA, but the participation of all who are concerned about the fishery. This requires that all processes related to fisheries management be open and transparent and allow for public participation and comment

Final FMPs include new fishing regulations, or revisions to existing ones, in response to improved knowledge of the fishery, current conditions, or other factors. These plans are implemented as part of the work of the NOAA Fisheries Service Regional Offices, who coordinate fisheries management activities with local stakeholders.

Science-based fisheries management requires accurate information. NOAA satisfies this need through regional Fisheries Science Centers that partner with regional universities, tribal and state researchers, and private and international research firms to continually improve our understanding of fish and fisheries. NOAA's fleet of research vessels includes state-of-the-art ships designed to study ocean life. New technologies allow scientists to remotely observe fish, marine mammals, and sea turtles in their environment without disruption. Acoustically quiet ships, autonomous and remotely operated underwater vehicles, and submersibles allow NOAA to provide valuable scientific data for better fisheries management.

NOAA Fisheries Service assesses the Nation's federally managed fish stocks to ensure they are meeting the guidelines of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Fisheries assessments consist of two separate activities, (1) learning as much as possible about the biology of fish including growth rate, migration patterns, life span, etc.; and (2) focusing on fishing activities, such as number of fishermen, type of gear, amount and location of catch, etc. Fisheries assessments are performed annually. The status information on individual species is published in the Status of U.S. Fisheries Report to Congress.

In fisheries management, participation by stakeholders is key to the creation of measures that ensure sustainability of the resources as well as the long-term viability of fishing activities and fishing communities. To learn more about the fisheries management process, and to get involved, please visit the Fishery Management Councils and the Interstate Fishery Management Commissions on the web.

Fisheries regulations and other laws pertaining to marine resources are enforced by NOAA Fisheries Service law enforcement agents, the U.S. Coast Guard, NOAA General Counsel for Law Enforcement, state law enforcement agents, and other federal agents.

In the international arena, NOAA Fisheries Service provides scientific and policy leadership and implements international conservation and management measures as appropriate.