Federal Ocean Policy

H.R. 200 is the latest attempt by some members of Congress to weaken the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act—the law governing marine fishery management in federal waters. Two similar bills considered by the House in 2014 and 2015 failed to garner support in the U.S. Senate.  Read More

For more than 20 years, Steve Meserve has run the Lewis Fishery, the last commercial shad operation on the Delaware River. He is the fourth generation to lead the Lambertville, New Jersey, business. Like his great-grandfather captain Bill Lewis, who turned the former American Shad Fishery into the Lewis Fishery in 1888, Meserve is a proud steward of the river. Read More

Look again—it’s Groundhog Day on Capitol Hill. Like the endlessly repeating day that a cynical weatherman lives through in the 1993 movie, a fisheries bill recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives is a reprise of legislation we saw in the past two Congresses. And, just like those prior bills, the “new” one would significantly weaken our nation’s... Read More

Those of us who care about healthy oceans and fish populations are pleased to see two strong spotlights shine last week on ecosystem-based fishery management, or EBFM. Read More

Protecting U.S. fisheries from overfishing, and restoring populations of fish that are at unsustainably low levels, just got a little tougher. On Oct. 13, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) announced a final version of guidelines to implement National Standard 1, which directs fisheries managers to prevent overfishing while attaining... Read More

H.R. 200 is the latest attempt by some members of Congress to weaken the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act—the law governing marine fishery management in federal waters. Two similar bills considered by the House in 2014 and 2015 failed to garner support in the U.S. Senate.  Read More

For more than 20 years, Steve Meserve has run the Lewis Fishery, the last commercial shad operation on the Delaware River. He is the fourth generation to lead the Lambertville, New Jersey, business. Like his great-grandfather captain Bill Lewis, who turned the former American Shad Fishery into the Lewis Fishery in 1888, Meserve is a proud steward of the river. Read More

Look again—it’s Groundhog Day on Capitol Hill. Like the endlessly repeating day that a cynical weatherman lives through in the 1993 movie, a fisheries bill recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives is a reprise of legislation we saw in the past two Congresses. And, just like those prior bills, the “new” one would significantly weaken our nation’s... Read More

Those of us who care about healthy oceans and fish populations are pleased to see two strong spotlights shine last week on ecosystem-based fishery management, or EBFM. Read More

Protecting U.S. fisheries from overfishing, and restoring populations of fish that are at unsustainably low levels, just got a little tougher. On Oct. 13, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) announced a final version of guidelines to implement National Standard 1, which directs fisheries managers to prevent overfishing while attaining... Read More

On one side: fish. On the other side: fishermen. In the middle: Zeke Grader. For more than four decades, the California-based fishing advocate has worked to find common ground between taking care of the environment and looking out for the needs of family fishermen. Read More

As a North Carolina graduate student, Bill Hogarth remembers fishermen proudly hanging giant marlin high on the wharf at Morehead City so people could admire and photograph the prized catch. But after the crowds lost interest, it was Hogarth’s job to cut down the nearly half-ton behemoths and watch their lifeless bodies float out to sea. Read More

The race to save bluefin tuna reached a critical milestone today. The federal government published its long-awaited rules to aid the fish, and what’s been put on paper will soon start to have a major impact in the water. Read More

Taking a look at the big picture is wise when buying a house—and equally wise when making many other decisions, including how we conserve our oceans. Read More

Too often, fisheries begin in a new location, or target a new species, without any scientific evaluation of potential adverse effects on the health of the ecosystem. Congress should address this issue as it updates the primary law governing management of our nation’s ocean fish—the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Read More

After decades of overfishing, our nation is making remarkable strides in restoring depleted fish stocks to healthy, sustainable levels. Read More

U.S. fish populations, some of the best-managed in the world, are on the rebound. Under the Magnuson-StevensFishery Conservation and Management Act, the primary law governing conservation of U.S. ocean fisheries,34 depleted populations have been rebuilt since 2000. Read More