Regional Fishery Management Councils
The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act created eight regional fishery management councils. These councils are responsible for the fisheries that require conservation and management in their region. Voting and non-voting council members represent the commercial and recreational fishing sectors in addition to environmental, academic, and government interests.
Under the MSA, councils are required to:
- Develop and amend fishery management plans
- Convene committees and advisory panels and conduct public meetings
- Develop research priorities in conjunction with a Scientific and Statistical Committee
- Select fishery management options
- Set annual catch limits based on best available science
- Develop and implement rebuilding plans
We support the councils by conducting the annual nomination and appointment process, training new members, and facilitating periodic meetings of the Council Coordination Committee.
We also work with the councils to designate essential fish habitat for federally managed species. Together we research and describe habitats essential for each life stage of many species, create maps, and designate Habitat Areas of Particular Concern.
Go to regional fishery management council websites:
To find out more about the councils, visit their collective page
Nominations and Appointments
Each year, we facilitate the annual process to appointment members to the councils. The ideal council appointee candidate is knowledgeable in commercial or recreational fishery conservation and management. They may have occupational experience, scientific expertise, or related training.
Learn more about council nominations and appointments
Council Coordination Committee
The Council Coordination Committee consists of the chairs, vice chairs, and executive directors from each management council. The committee meets twice a year to discuss issues relevant to all councils.
Learn more about the Council Coordination Committee
Council Training
We offer an annual training for newly appointed council members. Training topics include provisions of the MSA and other applicable laws, stock assessment science and procedures, and council operations.
Learn more about council training
Meeting Schedule
Each council holds meetings throughout the year to discuss issues important to the conservation and management of the region’s fisheries.
Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee
The Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee was established in 1971 under a federal charter by the Secretary of Commerce to provide advice on living marine resource matters under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Primarily, these matters fall under NOAA Fisheries.
Members represent a diverse set of perspectives from commercial, recreational, aquaculture, seafood and consumer, tribal, academic, environmental, and protected resources interest groups. Members draw on their expertise and other appropriate sources to advise on:
- Setting national living marine resource policies
- Developing and implementing Departmental initiatives and programs
- Evaluating and recommending needed changes during reauthorization processes for the Magnuson-Stevens, Endangered Species, and Marine Mammal Protection Acts
- Assessing other areas of interest to the Secretary and relevant to the mission and goals of NOAA Fisheries
Committee advice is derived from public deliberations and is typically conveyed in meeting summaries, written findings and recommendations, and formal reports transmitted to NOAA and the Department.
The committee functions solely as an advisory body, complying fully with the Federal Advisory Committee Act. It is available to the Secretary of Commerce and NOAA on an ongoing basis as an expert source for consultation during the development of marine resource policy. The committee generally meets in person a minimum of twice a year and all meetings are open to the public in person or virtually. The Committee is managed by NOAA Fisheries' Office of Policy.
News
- Nomination Period Is Now Open for the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (October 16, 2023)
- Secretary of Commerce Appoints Three New Committee Members to NOAA’s Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (September 15, 2023)
Upcoming Meetings
Contact Information
For questions or information, please contact:
Heidi Lovett, Acting Director (DFO)
Heidi.Lovett@noaa.gov
Katie Denman, Policy Analyst
(301) 427-8038
Katie.Denman@noaa.gov
American Fishery Advisory Committee
Fishing boats docked in Newport, Oregon. Credit: NOAA
The American Fisheries Advisory Committee is a 22-member committee with three representatives from each of six regions. Members represent seafood sectors, including processors, recreational and commercial fishermen and seafood farmers, fisheries scientists, and regional fishery management council members. Additionally, there are four at-large members, including one representative each from the retail and marketing sector, commercial fisheries, recreational fisheries, and NOAA Fisheries.
Who Can Serve on the Committee?
Members are selected so that the committee will represent as many seafood species as practicable. The committee is composed of 22 members.
There are three members from each region (18 total):
- One seafood harvester or processor
- One recreational or commercial fisherman or seafood farmer
- One representative of the fisheries science community or the relevant regional fishery management council
There are four at-large members:
- One individual with experience in food distribution, marketing, retail, or food service
- One individual with experience in the recreational fishing industry supply chain, such as fishermen, manufacturers, retailers, and distributors
- One individual with experience in the commercial fishing industry supply chain, such as fishermen, manufacturers, retailers, and distributors
- One employee of NOAA Fisheries with expertise in fisheries research
Committee Regions
- Region 1: Alaska, Hawaii, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa
- Region 2: Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut
- Region 3: Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Arkansas, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands
- Region 4: California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho
- Region 5: New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia
- Region 6: Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania
Committee Responsibilities
The committee is responsible for making recommendations to the Secretary of Commerce for financial assistance awards under the Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Competition. The committee will also make recommendations to the Secretary to assist in the development of the annual Notice of Funding Opportunities for submission to the grant competition. This may include:
- Identifying the needs of the fishing communities (program priorities)
- Establishing individual award funding limits
- Specifying the application review criteria and selection processes, and other sections of the Notice of Funding Opportunities as appropriate and allowable
NOAA Fisheries will coordinate the technical reviews of the grant applications prior to work done by the Committee.
Committee Meeting Frequency
The committee will meet no more than twice per year in person with potentially one or two virtual meetings as needed.
Committee Member Terms
Committee member terms are staggered. One third of all members will serve an initial term of 2 years, one third an initial term of 3 years, and one third an initial term of 4 years. This will be followed by 3-year terms for each member thereafter. The established nomination and selection processes will be applied for all membership cycles going forward with respective dates to be determined.
Current List of AFAC members
Application Schedule and Details
The next call for membership will be in summer 2024. The call for nominations will be printed in the Federal Register with the member region and positions to be filled clearly identified.
Application Requirements
Each applicant must submit the following in PDF format:
- A cover letter that includes a brief statement of the applicant’s interest in serving on the Committee and their qualifications
- A resume/CV that details the applicant’s contact information (address, telephone number, email address) and specific qualifications and expertise as referenced in the Act
The selection process will be based on thorough vetting of all nominees, who will be appointed by the Secretary of Commerce through delegated authority to the NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator.
Saltonstall-Kennedy Funds
Saltonstall-Kennedy funds are used to provide grants or cooperative agreements for fisheries research and development projects addressing aspects of U.S. fisheries. This includes harvesting, processing, marketing, and associated business infrastructures. The grants and cooperative agreements are made on a competitive basis to execute projects that optimize the economic benefits of building and maintaining sustainable fisheries and practices, dealing with the impacts of conservation and management measures, and increasing other opportunities to support working waterfronts.
Tribal Governments
The relationship between the United States government and federally-recognized Indian tribes is one of government to government. Central to this unique relationship is the trust responsibility of the U.S. government, which is an obligation on the part of the United States to carry out the mandates of federal law while considering the rights and interests of American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and villages.
Understanding each tribe's unique political, historical, and cultural characteristics allows us to better understand tribal government priorities, concerns, and needs, which helps us be better stewards of our environment. We are committed to developing policies and procedures that improve our relations with federally-recognized Indian tribes on a government-to-government basis. NOAA's Tribal Relations Team works to ensure an accountable process for meaningful and timely consultations on policies that might have tribal implications. We also have a tribal consultations handbook (PDF, 34 pages) with guidelines for how we consult with federally recognized Indian tribes and Alaska Native corporations. Review these best practices for engaging with and incorporating traditional ecological knowledge in decision-making.
We collaborate closely with tribal governments in a number of regions as well as nationally. For example, our Species Recovery Grants to Tribes support tribally-led recovery efforts for eligible species under our jurisdiction, including species listed under the Endangered Species Act and others. Grants support a range of recovery efforts, including management, research, and outreach activities.
Alaska
Alaska Natives have a long history of self-regulation, based on the need to ensure a sustainable take of marine mammals for food and handicrafts. In Alaska, we consult with tribes and Native corporations about federal actions that might affect tribal governments and their members. Executive Order 13175 sets the framework for regular and meaningful consultation and collaboration with Alaska Native representatives in the development of policies, legislation, regulations, and programs.
The best available scientific information as well as traditional and contemporary Alaska Native knowledge and wisdom are used for decisions regarding Alaska marine mammal co-management to the extent allowed by law. Our co-management agreements with Alaska Native organizations encourage full and equal participation by Alaska Natives in decisions affecting the subsistence management of marine mammals, as a tool for conserving marine mammal populations in Alaska. Agreements encourage the exchange of information regarding the conservation, management, and use of marine mammals in U.S. waters in and around Alaska.
New England/Mid-Atlantic
In the Greater Atlantic Region, we coordinate and strive to build positive, productive relationships with tribes in New England and the Mid-Atlantic. With knowledge of tribal government processes and cultural practices, we can better understand tribal positions and needs and, together, be better stewards of our environment.
Partnerships with the tribes include working on issues related to protected species such as Atlantic salmon, marine mammals, and sea turtles; ecosystem restoration; aquaculture; and ocean acidification. Tribes in this region have awarded species recovery grants to support management, outreach, research, and monitoring projects that directly benefit ESA-listed species, recently de-listed species, species proposed for listing, and candidate species.
Pacific Islands
Although the Pacific Islands Region does not have any federally recognized tribes, we recognize the value of working with native Hawaiian groups and others on resource management issues. We partner with many indigenous Pacific Islander groups throughout the region who have interest in NOAA's activities and want to assist in executing our mission in a culturally responsible manner.
For instance, we engage with native Hawaiian cultural practitioners in marine mammal stranding responses whenever possible. We invite cultural practitioners to participate in helping us become more culturally sensitive about being respectful to an individual animal and to the people of the community where these strandings occur. It is our goal to continue to build respectful relationships and responses that expand this effort, while remaining in compliance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act and Endangered Species Act.
West Coast
We recognize the rights of federally-recognized Indian tribes to self-government and sovereign power over their members and territories. In the West Coast region, we protect those rights by partnering with Pacific Northwest Indian tribes to address natural and cultural resource issues.
Partnerships with the tribes include the formation of salmon recovery teams and development of implementation plans, task forces such as the Columbia Basin Partnership, education opportunities such as the Discovery Internship Program with the Northwest Indian College, and funding opportunities through various grants such as the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund, as well as providing resource tools and guides for tribal interaction and government-to-government consultation.
Habitat Conservation
We work with tribal governments across the country to conserve habitat on tribal lands while respecting their history and culture. Working together, we can help leverage additional funding and technical assistance to ensure that projects are completed efficiently and with the support of the tribal government.