Here’s How Fisheries Can Be Saved

Once on the brink of collapse, U.S. fisheries have rebounded thanks to an unexpected partnership between commercial fishermen and environmental advocates that turned scarcity into sustainability and profit.

“We reduced our costs by 80% and doubled our profits,” said longtime Gulf fisherman Buddy Guindon. “It was shocking to see conservation make our business better, not worse.”

The transformation began when fishermen agreed to abandon the old “race to fish” system and adopt catch shares, a model that assigns each boat a fixed annual quota rather than daily limits. That change removed the frantic pressure to fish every day, cut fuel use dramatically and gave fish stocks time to recover. Today, more than 50 U.S. fisheries have rebuilt or are rebuilding, red snapper numbers in the Gulf have tripled since 2009, and commercial fishing jobs are up 38% since 2011. With 94% of assessed U.S. fisheries now sustainable, the once-adversarial relationship between regulators, activists and fishing communities has become a rare example of bipartisan environmental success — and one that puts more American-caught seafood on the table.