Resources

2016 marks the 40th anniversary of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the primary law governing marine fisheries in U.S. waters. The Act ushered in a new era of managing marine fisheries and conserving fish stocks by extending federal fisheries jurisdiction out to 200 miles and establishing the Regional Fishery Management Council system. This publication, developed jointly by the eight regional fishery management councils, explores how fisheries were managed before the Act was put in place.