Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act

In the early 1970' growing numbers of U.S. fishers were experiencing a sharp decline in their catches, which they attributed to the presence of foreign fishing vessels in the Gulf of Maine. The first year that any form of official regulation was imposed on the New England groundfishery was 1973. The International Commission for the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries (ICNAF) implemented total allowable catch (TAC) limits for cod. But this wasn't enough- catches were increasing but had not reached the expected levels. In 1976, specifically in response to the foreign factory trawlers in New England waters, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSFCMA) instituted an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) prohibiting foreign fleets from fishing within 200-miles of the United States. It was this landmark policy that forever changed cod fishing in New England.

In addition to establishing U.S. control of waters out to 200 nautical miles from the coast, the MSCFMA was adopted to help stem the tide of overfishing, to allow then-currently overfished stocks to recover, and to conserve and manage fishery resources. In addition, the Act also created eight Regional Fisheries Management Councils. Starting in 1976 cod in the Gulf of Maine came primarily under the auspices of the New England Fisheries Management Council (NEFMC).

NEXT