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A Mylar balloon on the shoreline of Santa Rosa Island off the coast of California. Credit: Courtesy of NOAA Marine Debris Program
Steve Wilson, Director of NOAA Fisheries' Seafood Inspection Program, analyzes a shrimp sample at NOAA's National Seafood Inspection Lab in Pascagoula, Mississippi. NOAA Fisheries’ seafood inspectors conduct the necessary inspection and grading of seafood purchased through USDA’s Commodities Procurement Program. Credit: NOAA Fisheries
Explore Related Topics
Fishing Permits
Going fishing? Find permits and other forms for federally managed fisheries.
Rules & Regulations
Find current regulatory actions for our nation’s fisheries, including notices and proposed rules that are open for public comment, final rules, and season changes.
Bycatch
Part of ensuring healthy, sustainable populations of marine life means fishermen need to be careful when they are out at sea to prevent accidental catch of the wrong fish species and life-threatening interactions of protected species with fishing gear.
Stock Assessments
This is how we monitor the health of fish populations. Stock assessments are the scientific foundation for helping us manage sustainable fish populations. Learn more or take a dive deep into the data.
Fishery Observers
Observers are NOAA-trained biologists that stay busy onboard commercial fishing vessels, tallying the number of fish kept or discarded, and collecting data on fishing effort. Become an observer, get observer resources, or find out how to get an observer for your vessel.
Socioeconomics
We study coastal communities that depend on living marine resources for their livelihoods. We gather and evaluate economic and social science data to help us determine what types of management actions are needed to increase benefits for our coastal communities.
