The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) is a commission of U.S. states formed to coordinate and manage fishery resources—including marine (saltwater) fish, shellfish, and anadromous fish (migratory fish that ascended rivers from the sea for spawning)—along the Atlantic coast of the United States.
The Commission was formed by the 15 Atlantic coast states in 1940 and chartered by the United States Congress in 1942[1] in recognition that "fish do not adhere to political boundaries."[2] The Commission serves as a deliberative body, coordinating the conservation and management of the states shared near-shore fishery resources—marine, shell, and anadromous—for sustainable use.
Member states are (in order of north to south) Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Each member state is represented by three Commissioners: the director for the state's marine fisheries management agency, a member of the state legislature, and an individual appointed by the governor. Commissioners participate in the deliberations in the Commission's five main policy arenas: Interstate fisheries management, research and statistics, fisheries science, habitat conservation, and law enforcement. The one-state one-vote concept allows Commissioners to address stakeholder-resource balance issues at the state level.
According to the ASFMC's website:[2]
The Commission focuses on responsible stewardship of marine fisheries resources. It serves as a forum for the states to collectively address fisheries issues under the premise that as a group, using a cooperative approach, they can achieve more than they could as individuals. The Commission does not promote a particular state or a particular stakeholder sector.
The ASMFC gained regulatory authority in 1984 with the passage of the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act,[3] which was intended to enforce an interstate fisheries management plan agreed to in 1981.[4] Under the act, the U.S. secretary of commerce could halt Atlantic striped bass fisheries in states found by the ASMFC to be noncompliant with the management plan.[3]
