Healthy oceans and productive fisheries are crucial for the future of our planet, the survival of our species, and the prosperity of our country. Learn why effective management of U.S. federal fisheries is critical for the long-term conservation of our oceans.
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On December 16, 2024, conservation-minded striped bass anglers waited to see whether the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Striped Bass Management Board (Management Board) would vote to reduce 2025 striped bass landings, and so make it more likely that the currently overfished striped bass stock would be rebuilt by 2029, the deadline set by […]
The black sea bass is the enigma of mid-Atlantic fisheries. Since 2007, when the spawning stock biomass (SSB) was barely above the threshold that denotes overfishing, the stock has staged a remarkable comeback, with SSB reaching a high of 24,680 metric tons (mt), approximately 220 percent of the biomass target, in 2022. The SSB has […]
By any objective measure, the coastal migratory population of Atlantic striped bass has fallen on hard times. In Maryland, the juvenile abundance index (JAI), which has gauged the success of each year’s spawn since 1957, was 2.0 in 2024, far below its long-term average of 11.0. It was the sixth consecutive year of spawning failure […]
Indigenous collaborative co-stewardship will drive management For National Marine Sanctuary Day, the Marine Fish Conservation Network celebrates its newest addition: the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary! On October 11, NOAA announced America’s 17th national marine sanctuary, Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. The first Tribally nominated national marine sanctuary covers 4,543 square miles of coastal and […]
This article was originally published in the Wild Oceans Horizon Summer 2024 newsletter and is reprinted with permission. In the Winter 2008 edition of our newsletter, then called the NCMC Marine Bulletin, we published a story titled “River Herring Disappearing”. In this article, we suggested that at-sea bycatch was the likely culprit for the disappearance […]
The Marine Fish Conservation Network is a coalition of commercial and recreational fishing associations, regional and national conservation groups, aquaria, sustainable seafood suppliers, and marine science organizations dedicated to sustaining abundant fish populations, healthy marine ecosystems, and thriving fishing communities through defending and strengthening U.S. ocean conservation policy, including our primary federal fisheries law, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Learn more.
