This Policy seeks to maximize the long-term benefits across all of our marine fishery resources by providing objective criteria to characterize both scientific and management uncertainty, and to evaluate management risk. Additionally, the Policy improves transparency in the management process, allowing for better communication among managers, industry, and other stakeholders.
Fisheries Science Guiding Documents
Key documents that outline the foundational principles, strategic goals, and policies guiding the Commission’s management and conservation efforts.
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This spreadsheet outlines the upcoming ASMFC assessments, including dates, deadlines, and key milestones. Use it to keep track of scheduled evaluations and manage your involvement in fisheries management activities. — Updated Dec. 2024
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NEAMAP surveys are conducted by NEAMAP partners; they include both partner and Operations Committee designed surveys, and operate on local and regional spatial scales. NEAMAP surveys are designed to collect long-term fishery-independent data on species abundance, distributions, and life history, as well as related ecosystem and environmental information.
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The aim of this document is to provide a transparent procedure for determining whether a retrospective adjustment is necessary, while allowing the individual assessment subcommittees to use their species- and fishery-specific expertise and best judgment to make decisions when the need is less clear.
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The purpose of this document is to improve the functioning of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission by providing guidance to all Commission technical support groups on the structure, function, roles, and responsibilities of Commission committees and their members. This document also provides guidance on the Commission stock assessment process.
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It is the intent of the Commission to continually update this document as research priorities are either met or as new research needs are identified. The overall purpose of this document is to encourage state, federal, and university research programs to develop projects to meet the research priorities of Commission-managed species and thereby improve the overall management of these fisheries. It is also hoped that state, federal, and non-profit organizations will utilize this document in prioritization of research projects for future funding programs.
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The objective of the Commission’s Data Use Policy is to achieve the fullest potential for application of data to stock assessments in order to inform fisheries management decisions, while protecting the rights of data providers.
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The purpose of this document is to formalize the design and administration of the SATP, including definition of the program’s mission, goals, and expectations. A formalized program design captured in this guidance document will improve the functionality of the program and lead to greater benefits to ASMFC, its member agencies, and science based fishery management of Atlantic coast resources.
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The purpose of this document is to explain the fisheries biology and stock status parts of the equation. It is intended for fishermen and other stakeholders interested in fisheries management issues, and serves as a primer for the technical basis of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s decision-making process.
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