The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) kept a promise made at the National Recreational Fishing Summit, February 2014, by its leader, Eileen Soebeck, Assistant Administrator in September 2014, when it released the first draft of the policy.   The agency subsequently accepted public comments and in February 2015 at the Progressive Miami Boat Show released its finished version of the Policy, which establishes goals and guiding principles to be incorporated into all of NOAA’s fishery management processes.
The goals include: 1) support and maintain sustainable saltwater recreational fisheries resources, including healthy marine and estuarine habitats; 2) promote saltwater recreational fishing for the social, cultural, and economic benefit of the nation; and, 3) enable enduring participation in, and enjoyment of, saltwater recreational fisheries through science-based conservation and management.

The agency is currently drafting an implementation plan for the Policy, which should provide specificity to how the Plan will be integrated into government planning, managing and decision making.

For more information please visit www.nmfs.noaa.gov