Commercial and Recreational Fisheries
Although some fisheries have seriously declined recently, our coasts and oceans still contain valuable marine resources. Food harvested from the ocean generates approximately $38 billion a year in economic activity for the nation. Recreational fisheries contribute an additional $18 billion a year to the U.S. gross national product (YOTO, 1998).
The Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976, now part of the Sustainable Fisheries Act, established eight regional councils that develop Fishery Management Plans to conserve U.S. fishery resources by establishing catch limits and establishing seasons, fishable zones, and allowable gear. Among the success stories is the recovery of king and Spanish mackerel populations after a significant decline in the late 1970s and early 1980s, as well as recovery in stocks of striped bass and surf and ocean quahogs.
In many states, the CZM program has been used to support and enhance fisheries by designating fishing as a preferred “water dependent” use of the coast. This has been important to the fishing industry, especially in terms of preserving the highly competitive harbor space for commercial fishing vessels. The National Estuary Research Reserve System, established by the CZMA, and the National Estuary Program, established by the Clean Water Act, as well as the CZM program protect sensitive coastal habitats such as estuaries and wetlands that act as nursery grounds for many commercially important fisheries.