Let’s go back to April 1976. A gallon of gas in the United States cost around 60 cents, a small computer company called Apple had just started, and The Bad News Bears and All the President’s Men were dueling it out at the box office.
And as the nation prepared to celebrate its bicentennial, something ominous had become clear off U.S. shores: America’s fisheries were in trouble.
Before 1976, large foreign fleets competed with American fishermen in a race to catch as many fish as possible, as quickly as possible. Iconic fish populations like Atlantic haddock and California sardines had already collapsed, and more species were hurtling toward the same fate. Whales, dolphins, seabirds, and other animals that feed on fish were struggling, and fishing industries central to millions of Americans and coastal economies were at risk of disappearing.
Enter two U.S. senators: Warren Magnuson, a Democrat from Washington, and Ted Stevens, a Republican from Alaska. Hailing from two states with significant interest in commercial fisheries, they developed what would become one of most important pieces of ocean policy ever enacted: the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA).
Senators Warren Magnuson (WA) and Ted Stevens (AK)
Since the MSA’s passage, more than 50 fish populations have rebounded, and many fisheries are now far healthier economically and ecologically.
But it didn’t start out that way, and the work to ensure ongoing sustainable management of America’s fish is far from over.
From Setting Boundaries to Science-Based Management
The original 1976 MSA primarily focused on removing foreign fleets from U.S. waters by establishing an exclusive “fishery conservation zone” out to 200 nautical miles from shore (now known as the Exclusive Economic Zone, or EEZ). It also established eight regional fishery management councils made up of policymakers and stakeholders to develop proposed regulations to balance coastal community, economic and conservation benefits.
Yet, while the original text of MSA kept more economic benefits within the United States, it still needed improvement to help collapsing fish populations as U.S. fleets simply expanded and continued to fish unsustainably.
In response, in 1996, a bipartisan group of 85 senators led by original author Ted Stevens marshalled the passage of a major update to the act. That update, called the Sustainable Fisheries Act, turned the focus from national boundaries to advancing science-based fishery management based on three core principles: prevent overfishing, protect habitat, and reduce bycatch. Senator Stevens said the 1996 update would mark “…the hallmark of conservation of fisheries throughout the world.”
But issues remained, even after those improvements. For example, many fisheries operated without meaningful catch limits, allowing excessive catch amounts with no mechanism for adjustments. That’s like setting a household budget to pay off your debts and then going over that budget every month but still expecting those debts to be paid.
In 2006, Senator Stevens applied Alaska’s successful catch-limit model to a major reauthorization of the MSA that included a clear requirement that each fishery have Annual Catch Limits set by scientific experts. That means that the “household budget” for America’s fisheries now had a bookkeeper, and almost every one of the 522 fish populations across the country is supposed to be managed with an eye towards accountability to rebuild and conserve the nation’s shared fisheries.
The Challenges and Opportunities Ahead
Today, many American fish populations are no longer overfished, some are rebounding, and a number of economically vital fisheries are thriving. In-depth scientific information on the potential for overfishing (catching too many fish, too fast), is now known for more than two-thirds of the 522 distinct fish populations managed by federal fishery managers, and since the year 2000 52 of those fish populations have been successfully rebuilt. Hopefully more of the 42 populations still known to be overfished will join that success story in the coming years.
NOAA graphic on the overfishing status of all 522 federally managed U.S. fisheries.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. recreational and commercial fisheries supported more than two million American jobs in 2023 and generated $319 billion in total sales nationwide.
The MSA represents a remarkable success story for healthy fisheries and ocean conservation. But emerging challenges – including climate change, the decline in some fisheries, and slow recovery of some species – illustrate the headwinds facing the act’s implementation, challenges that are now being further exacerbated by actions from the Trump administration.
Last year, President Trump proposed massive budget cuts to NOAA, the federal agency tasked with managing America’s fisheries. He also directed a reduction in staff that resulted in the loss of hundreds of biologists, data professionals, and other experts essential to implementing the MSA. Compounding these losses, the Trump administration and House Republicans have proposed additional budget cuts this year that represent a fundamental threat to America’s fish, wildlife, habitat, and the communities that depend on them.
In addition to those excessive cuts, recent letters from the Trump administration laid out a series of “fisheries priorities” to each regional fishery management council that would reverse many significant conservation gains. Following these letters to the councils, NOAA subsequently released a list of agency priorities that would reduce significant protections for fish and wildlife. These two actions appear to be the first steps in undermining the principles of science-based, locally led fishery management within the MSA itself and replacing them with the whims of the administration.
The administration has also proposed that all five National Marine Monuments, areas previously protected to support biodiversity and healthy ocean ecosystems, be reopened to commercial fishing, a direct threat the long-term health of remote ocean ecosystems.
As the nation celebrates its 250th birthday, and the MSA turns 50, we can celebrate progress already made, but we cannot lose sight of what’s ahead. In this time of a rapidly changing climate, ocean acidification, habitat loss, and increasing human pressures on marine life, we must continue to advance management approaches that protect ocean habitats, reduce waste, and promote healthy and resilient ocean ecosystems.
As a first and crucial step, Congress and the administration must fully fund NOAA and maintain the legal processes established by the MSA that we know work to support responsible fishing.
You can help by adding your voice to tell your representatives in Congress to fully fund NOAA, protect the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and support sustainable fisheries management.
