Fisheries Management
What is fisheries management?
The process of making decisions about how fish are caught, protected, studied and shared. These decisions often become fishing rules.
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type of fish being harvested, such as shrimp, blue crab, flounder or oysters
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fishermen, sellers, seafood workers, suppliers, and coastal communities
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specific water bodies and shorelines where fish are harvested
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seasons, days, and time of day fish are harvested
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how fish are harvested, including the rules, the gear used, and local knowledge
What is a fishery?
A system of harvesting fish that includes people, the resource, place, time, and practices.
Why manage
fisheries?
OVERFISHING - Fish are being removed from the population faster than they can reproduce.
OVERFISHED - The total population size of the fish stock is dangerously low.
RECOVERED - A previously overfished population that has successfully recovered to a healthy target size.
Fish belong equally to all citizens. They are a public trust resource like navigable waterways, beaches, and other wildlife. Governments are trusted to manage these resources for the benefit of citizens and future generations.
Fish stocks are affected by harvest, water quality, habitat conditions, disease, and other environmental conditions. The first step in managing a fishery is evaluating how healthy it is.
Mangers decide if the stock is healthy, if overfishing is happening now, if the stock is has been overfished, or if it has been rebuilt.
What is a stock status?
What are the types of fisheries?
Fisheries are defined by the reason for harvesting fish. There are three general types: commercial, recreational, and subsistence.
Commercial – harvest to provide seafood to consumers
Recreational – harvest for fun or personal use
Subsistence– harvest to provide for families or local traditions