Ocean Conservation and the End of Overfishing

Report Read time:
Ocean Conservation and the End of Overfishing

In January 2007, President George W. Bush signed legislation to reauthorize and amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. If fully implemented, the Act will end overfishing and help restore ecosystems in U.S. waters.

Since 1976, the Magnuson-Stevens Act has been the primary tool for managing fishing from 3 to 200 miles off our coasts. The Act created eight regional councils to assist in managing ocean fisheries. Often these councils failed to set annual catch limits, and when they did, the levels were set counter to scientific advice, which resulted in overfishing, to the detriment of fish and fishermen alike.

In 1996, after more than 20 years of rapidly declining ocean fish populations, Congress amended the Magnuson-Stevens Act with the Sustainable Fisheries Act and strengthened it by prohibiting ‘overfishing,' the practice of killing fish faster than nature can replace them. The Sustainable Fisheries Act also directed fisheries managers to take steps to restore depleted fish populations to healthy levels.

Nonetheless, a decade later overfishing continued to imperil fish populations, and so, in 2006, Congress amended the Magnuson-Stevens Act to close many existing loopholes. The new Act requires, by 2011, the establishment of annual catch limits and accountability measures that prevent overfishing in all U.S. fisheries. The Act also directs the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to better integrate fishery management planning with national environmental review procedures.

The future of America's fisheries and fishermen depends largely on the implementation of the revised Act. During 2008, NMFS will develop new regulations on annual catch limits that end overfishing and strengthen environmental review of fishery management actions. The public has a key opportunity to help shape the rules that will govern the management of our ocean fisheries for years to come.

America’s Overdose Crisis
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Quick View
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up

MORE FROM PEW

A presentation being given by a businesswoman to a group of participants at a business conference. Four Plan Features Can Boost 'Retirement Readiness'
A large group of people in formal or traditional attire stands together on a stage, with a digital background depicting marine life and the large text “WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.” WTO Needs to Redouble Its Effort on Fishing Subsidies
A man in a winter hat and sunglasses kneels on a rocky shoreline in front of a campfire, holding a metal mug with gloved hands. Behind him, in the water, a motorboat is moored to the shore. Cliffs rise on both sides of the water. Why Newfoundland’s South Coast Fjords Are Sacred
An illustration of a couple holding hands walking away from an outline of houses behind them Pathways to Homeownership: Housing in America
Composite image of modern city network communication concept

Learn the Basics of Broadband from Our Limited Series

Sign up for our four-week email course on Broadband Basics
Quick View

How does broadband internet reach our homes, phones, and tablets? What kind of infrastructure connects us all together? What are the major barriers to broadband access for American communities?

Pills illustration
Pills illustration

What Is Antibiotic Resistance—and How Can We Fight It?

Sign up for our four-week email series The Race Against Resistance.
Quick View
Pills illustration

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also known as “superbugs,” are a major threat to modern medicine. But how does resistance work, and what can we do to slow the spread? Read personal stories, expert accounts, and more for the answers to those questions in our four-week email series: Slowing Superbugs.