Posted Dec. 4, 2024
Coastlines Georgia | December 2024 | Vol. 7, Iss. 4

Navigating the Waters:

How fishery management agencies shape the future of Georgia's coast

By Tyler Jones
Public Information Officer

If you’ve ever enjoyed a fishing trip off Georgia’s coast or indulged in a seafood feast of shrimp and fish, you’ve experienced the direct benefits of thoughtful fishery management.

Behind every regulation, from size limits to seasonal closures, are agencies working tirelessly to keep fish stocks healthy while ensuring fishing opportunities remain available. Three important players in Georgia’s marine fishery management are the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Coastal Resources Division (CRD), the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC), and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). 

These organizations may seem like they’re doing the same job, but each has a unique role, focus, and jurisdiction that shapes how they manage fisheries in Georgia and beyond.

Let’s explore what each of these groups does, how they work together, and why their collaboration is critical for the future of South Atlantic fisheries.

Coastal Resources Division: 
Protecting Local Waters

As a state agency, CRD focuses primarily on Georgia’s waters, particularly its inshore and estuarine areas. Georgia’s coastline may be just 100 miles long, but its marshes, tidal creeks, and estuaries form one of the most biologically productive ecosystems in the country. These habitats serve as nurseries for many important fish and shellfish species, including spotted seatrout, red drum, blue crab, and shrimp.

DNR’s authority—and by extension, CRD’s—comes from Georgia law, which gives the agency the power to manage marine resources within state waters—defined as the area up to three nautical miles offshore. The Division’s mission is to balance conservation with economic development,  managing Georgia’s coastal and marine ecosystems for long-term sustainability, ensuring that both current and future generations can enjoy these resources.

To achieve this, CRD proposes fishing regulations that are carefully tailored to local needs. The Board of Natural Resources, a 19-person panel appointed by the Governor in staggered, 7-year terms to oversee DNR, has authority from the General Assembly to implement those proposals. 

For instance, spotted seatrout, one of the most popular game fish in Georgia, is managed through size and bag limits that protect juvenile fish while allowing anglers to enjoy a healthy population of adults. Similarly, red drum—another inshore favorite—are managed with a slot limit to ensure the species can spawn successfully.

CRD’s efforts also go beyond just setting rules for fishing. Habitat restoration is a major part of its mandate. Projects like oyster reef restoration and marsh conservation help rebuild critical habitats that support a wide range of marine species. What makes CRD unique is its deep connection to Georgia’s local communities. The Division works closely with anglers, commercial fishermen, and other stakeholders to gather input and ensure its policies are both effective and practical. CRD uses citizen advisory panels and public hearings to learn from citizens on a variety of topics. Through this localized approach, CRD addresses the specific challenges and opportunities of Georgia’s coastal fisheries.

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission: 
Building Bridges

While CRD focuses on distinct ecosystems along Georgia’s coast, the ASMFC exists to encourage cooperative management of species that migrate up and down the east coast. Founded in 1942, the ASMFC is an interstate compact that coordinates the management of shared fishery resources along the Atlantic Coast. Its members include representatives from all 15 Atlantic coastal states.

The ASMFC’s statutory authority comes from the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act, which allows it to develop management plans for species that migrate between state waters, such as red drum, Atlantic menhadden, and horseshoe crabs. These species are often called “interjurisdictional” because their life cycles take them through the waters of multiple states.
The ASMFC’s mission is to promote the sustainable use and conservation of these shared resources, ensuring that no single state overfishes a species at the expense of others. To achieve this, the ASMFC develops coastwide management plans that establish tailored regulations across state lines. 

One benefit of the ASMFC’s structure is that it allows states the opportunity to propose regulations that will achieve fishery management goals, but through unique, state-specific action. Called “conservation equivalency,” this approach allows states to develop their own management plans, rather than the ASMFC setting strict coast-wide regulations. 

For example, the ASMFC in 2019 placed restrictions on the harvest of bluefish. Georgia would have been required to reduce the daily limit of bluefish from 15 to 3 per recreational angler. Instead, Georgia developed a conservation equivalency plan that simply closes the fishery in March and April every year. This closure achieves the goal of reducing the annual catch without lowering the daily bag limit for anglers during the open season.

Fish stocks and fishing practices often vary along the Atlantic Coast, so this flexibility allows states to address local conditions, such as differing fishing seasons or gear types, while still meeting shared conservation targets.

The ASMFC does not have direct enforcement authority. Instead, it relies on the cooperation of its member states to implement its plans. This cooperative agreement obligates member states to comply with ASMFC regulations or risk federally enforced closures of their fisheries. This cooperative framework has been highly effective in managing species like striped bass, which rebounded from dangerously low levels in the 1980s thanks to coordinated efforts by the ASMFC and its member states.

South Atlantic Fishery Management Council: Regulating the Deep

While CRD handles inshore waters, the SAFMC oversees the vast federal waters beyond, stretching from three to 200 nautical miles offshore. Established under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) of 1976, the SAFMC is one of eight regional fishery management councils in the United States. Its jurisdiction covers federal waters off the coasts of Georgia, east Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, and its mission is to manage fisheries in these waters to prevent overfishing and rebuild depleted stocks.

Unlike CRD, which focuses on a relatively small geographic area, the SAFMC must address the needs of an entire region. Its mandate is to develop Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) for a wide variety of species, including snapper and grouper, which are highly prized by recreational and commercial fishers alike. The SAFMC uses eight FMPs to manage 64 species of fish. The plans set annual catch limits, establish quotas, and impose restrictions on fishing gear to protect both fish populations and their habitats.

The SAFMC’s authority is rooted in the MSA, which sets up a regulatory structure in federal waters three to 200 miles offshore. The SAFMC proposes federal fishing regulations, which are then reviewed and can be approved by NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Ultimately, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce approves or denies these regulations. 

Regulations are especially important for species like red snapper. Managing these species requires a delicate balance between conservation and economic interests, as evidenced by the SAFMC’s controversial restrictions of red snapper fishing seasons in recent years. While such measures have frustrated many anglers, they have also been critical in allowing red snapper populations to recover from decades of overfishing.

The SAFMC has a total of 17 members, with 13 voting members including eight citizens from the four southeastern states. Appointed members serve three-year terms and are appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce from lists of nominees submitted by the governors of each state. Appointees are limited to three consecutive terms.

The SAFMC engages with stakeholders from across its jurisdiction, including recrealtional and commercial fishers, conservation groups, state agencies like CRD, and federal agencies including the U.S. Coast Guard, NMFS, and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. By working at the regional level, the Council ensures that its policies consider the interconnected nature of marine ecosystems and the economic realities of coastal communities.

Comparing and Contrasting the Three Organizations

While CRD, SAFMC, and ASMFC all share a common goal of sustainable fishery management, their roles, jurisdictions, and approaches differ significantly. 

CRD is a state agency with a hyper-local focus on Georgia’s waters, making it uniquely positioned to address the specific needs of its estuaries and inshore fisheries. In contrast, the SAFMC operates at a regional level, proposing management techniques for federal waters across four states and addressing the broader challenges of offshore fisheries. Meanwhile, the ASMFC serves as a coordinating body for species that cross state boundaries, ensuring equitable management practices along the entire nearshore Atlantic Coast.

These differences are reflected in the species each organization manages. CRD’s focus is on inshore species like shrimp, spotted seatrout, and blue crab, while the SAFMC is responsible for offshore species such as snapper-grouper, Spanish and king mackerel, dolphin, and wahoo. The ASMFC, on the other hand, oversees migratory species like red drum and cobia, which require cooperation between multiple states.

The approaches of these agencies  to fishery management also vary. CRD emphasizes habitat restoration and localized regulations, working closely with Georgia’s communities to balance conservation and fishing opportunities. Both the ASMFC and  SAFMC rely heavily on scientific assessments and regional collaboration to develop comprehensive FMPs, and implement conservation measures like catch limits. The ASMFC focuses on interstate coordination, developing coastwide plans that align the interests of its member states while addressing the needs of migratory species.

Why Collaboration Matters

Despite their differences, these organizations frequently collaborate to achieve their shared goals. For example, CRD and ASMFC are working together to manage red drum and cobia, with CRD enforcing state regulations that align with the ASMFC’s coastwide plan. Similarly, the SAFMC and ASMFC coordinate on issues like bycatch reduction in shrimp trawl fisheries, ensuring that both offshore and migratory species are protected.

Such collaboration is essential because fish don’t adhere to jurisdictional boundaries. A Spanish or king mackerel spawned off Georgia might migrate to South Carolina as it matures, while a snapper caught off Georgia’s coast may have spent part of its life in Florida waters. By working together, these organizations ensure that fish populations are managed holistically, benefiting ecosystems, communities, and economies across the region.

Looking Ahead

As climate change, habitat loss, and shifting species distributions continue to impact fisheries, the work of CRD, the SAFMC, and the ASMFC will become even more important.

These organizations will need to adapt their policies to address emerging challenges while maintaining the delicate balance between conservation and economic interests.

Locally, data show Georgia’s top five sought-after fish continue to be the inshore species of red drum, spotted seatrout, flounder, sheepshead, and whiting, also known as southern kingfish, with the order fluctuating annually. Additionally, dockside and telephone surveys indicate inland and nearshore fishing trips in Georgia’s state waters account for 92 percent of all fishing trips. Only about 8 percent of all fishing trips are beyond Georgia’s territorial waters up to three miles off shore. These trips are typically bottom fishing for snapper-grouper or trolling for mackerel and dolphin fish.   

Offshore species such as red snapper, with their extremely limited seasons, have commanded massive amounts of attention as of late, with public calls for the SAFMC member states to wrest management from the NMFS, “like the Gulf states did” a few years ago. 

CRD leadership has—along with its counterparts from the Carolinas and Florida— met with national recreational fishing interests and manufacturers to discuss management options and research needs of this iconic offshore species.  Not to be lost in this discussion is the Gulf States Marine Fishery Management Council’s annual harvest limit of nearly 8 million pounds, compared to the SAFMC’s 446,000 pounds. 

CRD is currently evaluating additional data-collection methods with an eye toward improving offshore species data, and will continue to meet with its counterparts until a solution is found; however, when prioritizing the limited resources available, it is apparent that inshore species, such as the top five, demand the most attention.  

With a regional overfishing and overfished status for red drum recently announced (see article "Finfish AP Hears Red Drum Stock Assessment"), it behooves CRD to maximize its efforts towards its recovery.  The ASMFC Red Drum Technical Committee is currently developing recommendations for South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. 

In addition, declining flounder availability is of concern regionally, with North Carolina recently implementing a total moratorium and South Carolina reducing their creel while increasing the minimum size. Georgia has very little information on flounder, a fact that needs immediate attention. 

Even though spotted seatrout minimum size limits were bumped up in 2016, constant study is required to manage this species properly. All this is on top of Georgia’s annual requirements for monitoring shrimp, blue crab and shellfish harvest.
CRD will continue its commitment to both the SAFMC federal and the ASMFC interjurisdictional fishery management processes, working together to recover red snapper, and to ward off impending challenges for species like black sea bass, Spanish mackerel, and cobia.

The challenges of managing fish populations across multiple jurisdictions are significant, but through science-based policies, collaborative efforts, and adaptive management strategies, these organizations are working together to ensure that the southeastern U.S. remains a place where fish, anglers, and coastal communities can thrive for years to come.

Whether you’re casting a line off the Georgia coast or enjoying a seafood dinner, it’s important to remember that the health of our fisheries depends on the hard work and dedication of these organizations.

By continuing to collaborate and adapt to new challenges, we can help keep our oceans full and our fishing traditions strong.

— Doug Haymans contributed to this article.

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