Federal fisheries management & conservation
Declining fish stocks and persistent overfishing plagued U.S. marine fisheries for decades, continuing into the early 2000s. Today, the U.S. has succeeded in recovering dozens of fisheries – from black sea bass and albacore tuna along the Atlantic Coast, king mackerel and yellowtail snapper in the Gulf of Mexico, Klamath Chinook and various rockfish species along the West Coast. How did things get so much better for U.S. fisheries? A little known conservation law, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (also known as the MSA), governs management of federal fisheries, and it requires science-based measures to recover and maintain sustainable fisheries. This law is the reason anglers today have more opportunities than ever to enjoy fishing the ocean’s bounty.
What makes the MSA successful?
Enacted in 1976, the MSA is the primary law guiding fisheries management in U.S. federal waters (typically 3-200 nautical miles offshore). Over the years, Congress has made changes to strengthen the law to ensure fisheries management decisions are driven by science – and not politics. In 1996, Congress strengthened the law’s requirements to ensure overfished stocks were recovered as quickly as possible, to maximize fishing opportunities. In 2006, Congress included requirements for science-based catch limits and accountability measures for exceeding fishing limits. These strong fisheries management measures are the reason the MSA has made so much progress toward ending and preventing overfishing and toward recovering stocks. The end result is more abundant marine fisheries that support successful fishing businesses, more fishing opportunities, and healthier marine ecosystems.
“We stopped the overfishing, I mean I can take my kid out here after school, and we can catch black sea bass, summer flounder, bluefish, where you really couldn’t have done that fifteen years ago. But it’s been a constant fight and I think we’d all lose a lot if we went back to the old days. We need to look at the long-term sustainability. We need to focus on having fish in the water, getting more people into the sport.”
How do inshore fisheries benefit from MSA?
Although the MSA manages federal fisheries, many of which occur in offshore waters, it still has significant impacts for nearshore fishing opportunities. The MSA provides protection for important spawning and nursery habitats and it is an important tool for managing the bait fish that are necessary to support abundant fish populations. Furthermore, many fish species travel between inshore state waters and offshore federal waters throughout their lives, and strong conservation and management approaches are necessary to protect these fisheries when they are in federal waters. So whether you fish from shore, or motor into the deep, the MSA impacts your fishing opportunities.
“Being part of something so much larger than yourself, you’re using the entire ecosystem. You’re always looking for the fish, or the bait, or the bird. It’s not just one dimension. Everything needs to be together for you to connect.”
How can we support continued success under MSA?
Congress has been discussing the next reauthorization of the MSA for some time. To continue the successful track record of species recovery and preventing overfishing, the MSA needs to maintain the strong, science-based fisheries management measures that have made it successful. Recreational anglers need to recognize and stand up for a strong MSA, because without the law’s strong conservation provisions, we would be left with depleted stocks, and suffering fishing businesses.