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.
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.