Fishing in The United States - Management

Management

Historically, fisheries developed in the U.S. as each area was settled. Concern for the sustainability of fishery resources was evident as early as 1871, when Congress wrote that "... the most valuable food fishes of the coast and the lakes of the U.S. are rapidly diminishing in number, to the public injury, and so as materially to affect the interests of trade and commerce...." However, it was not until 1976, with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, that the federal government began actively managing fisheries.

Today, inland fisheries and nearshore marine fisheries are managed by state (or regional or county) fisheries commissions. State jurisdictions usually extend 3 nautical miles (6 km) out to sea. Coastal fisheries in the EEZ beyond state jurisdictions are the responsibility of the federal system. The primary institutions of the federal system are eight regional fishery management councils and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), also known as NOAA Fisheries. NMFS works in partnership with industry, universities, and state, local, and tribal agencies to collect data about commercial species. Fisheries observers on fishing vessels, transmit real time data electronically to NMFS.

NMFS works in partnership with the regional fishery management councils to prevent overfishing and restore overfished stocks. Objectives are to reduce fishing intensity, monitor the fisheries, and implement measures to reduce bycatch and protect essential fish habitat. NMFS is establishing marine protected areas and individual fishing quotas, and implementing ecosystem based fishery management.