This month NOAA Fisheries celebrates the 40th Anniversary of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the federal law that set the U.S. on track to healthy fish stocks and fisheries. Underlying the success of this important U.S. law is a management system supported by good science. Biological surveys make it possible for scientists to provide reliable estimates of how many fish are in the ocean. Sometimes, scientists also get a few surprises, like discovering a new species.
