The Chesapeake Bay Program's Sustainable Fisheries Goal Implementation Team ("Fisheries GIT") is composed of the state fisheries managers from around the Bay and chaired by the director of the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office. The Fisheries GIT draws together a diverse group of managers and scientists to improve management and recovery of oysters, blue crab, menhaden, striped bass, and alosines. It focuses on advancing ecosystem-based fisheries management by using science to make informed fishery management decisions that cross state boundaries. The Fisheries GIT provides a forum to facilitate interjurisdictional decisionmaking necessary to successfully manage species that move and migrate across state and local boundaries. The team is working to apply ecosystem-based management practices that encourage sustainable Chesapeake Bay fish populations, support viable recreational and commercial fisheries, and provide for natural ecosystem function.

The Fisheries GIT will also seek input from managers and stakeholders to identify key research needs for better connecting fishery stock assessments to habitat, climate, and multispecies factors that influence fish populations and sustainability. NOAA will use this evaluation in coordination with Maryland and Virginia Sea Grant offices to set research funding priorities. NOAA will also work with the Fisheries Goal Implementation Team to develop and evaluate scientific tools such as ecological assessments, models, and forecasts to improve resource management decisionmaking in the Bay.

Institutions represented on the Fisheries GIT include the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office, Maryland Sea Grant, Virginia Marine Resources Commission, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Potomac River Fisheries Commission, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and District of Columbia Division of Fish and Wildlife. These members form an Executive Committee that meets once a month. Membership is expanding to achieve broader representation for the full Fisheries GIT, which meets twice a year.