[Publication] Fisheries and aquaculture management in the United States

The main regulatory agency for fisheries in the United States is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Within NOAA, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is responsible for fisheries management. The US divides fisheries management responsibilities between the federal and state levels. All fishing within three nautical miles of shore falls under state jurisdiction, where individual states can decide on regulations. Federal jurisdiction begins at three nautical miles and extends to 200 nautical miles. To unify management of the vast US exclusive economic zone (EEZ), a national law known as the ‘Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act’ (MSA) was created as the basis for all federal fisheries management. Under the MSA, eight Regional Fishery Management Councils (RFMCs) are responsible for developing and updating fishery management plans (FMPs) for their respective regions. The FMPs must follow the ten national standards that are outlined in the MSA.

The RFMCs base their fisheries management plans on the target species and their characteristics. A variety of management strategies are used, including catch shares, gear restrictions, size limits, and limited entry. The MSA encourages the RFMCs to minimise bycatch, through monitoring, research, and enforcement of bycatch regulations. Unlike the EU, the US does not have a mandatory landing requirement. Fisheries control in the US consists of vessel monitoring, cooperative enforcement and international enforcement. While there are requirements for an observer on board certain vessels, some vessels use electronic monitoring. State wildlife officers are also authorised to enforce fisheries management measures. Fisheries violations are enforced by the threat of a civil penalty, the amount of which depends on the severity of the violation.

Subsidies in the US focus on promoting sustainability or reducing the economic burden on fishers due to natural disasters. NOAA works with several other government agencies to provide subsidies to fishing communities and to improve the sustainability of fishing vessels. The US is a major player in international fisheries relations and participates in multilateral and bilateral agreements with several countries in an effort to promote international sustainable fisheries. Multilateral agreements in which the US participates focus on migratory and anadromous fish species. The US also has several bilateral agreements with Canada for Pacific halibut and salmon, as well as for fish species that inhabit the Great Lakes. Under these bilateral agreements, several commissions with members from both governments work together to develop FMPs. The US has also recently signed the World Trade Organization’s agreement to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

In the US, recreational fisheries are also managed at the federal level. Each RFMC creates separate regulations for any charter vessels or recreational fishers in federal waters. Each state’s fish and wildlife department regulates recreational fishing in state waters. Regulations for recreational fishing generally include size and catch limits. For species that occur in both federal and state waters, and therefore have both federal and state management regulations, the stricter regulations must be followed.