Laws & Policies

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The purpose of the Endangered Species Act is to conserve endangered and threatened species and their ecosystems. Congress passed the ESA in 1973, recognizing that the natural heritage of the United States was of “esthetic, ecological, educational, recreational, and scientific value to our nation and its people.” It was understood that, without protection, many of our nation’s native plants and animals would become extinct.

"Nothing is more priceless and more worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed." – President Nixon, upon signing the Endangered Species Act

NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service share responsibility for implementing the ESA. NOAA Fisheries is responsible for most marine and anadromous species. U.S. FWS is responsible for terrestrial and freshwater species. They are also responsible for several marine mammal species like walrus, sea otters, manatees, and polar bears. The two agencies share jurisdiction over several other species, such as sea turtles, Gulf Sturgeon, and Atlantic salmon.

What the Endangered Species Act Protects

Under the ESA, the federal government has the responsibility to conserve endangered and threatened species and their critical habitats.

Learn more about terms related to the ESA

Endangered and Threatened Species

Endangered species are in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of their range. Threatened species are likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of their range.

View the list of threatened and endangered species

Critical Habitat

Critical habitats are specific areas:

• Within the geographical area occupied by the species at the time of listing if they contain physical or biological features essential to conservation and those features may require special management considerations or protection
• Outside the geographical area occupied by the species if the agency determines that the area itself is essential for conservation

Learn more about critical habitats

Visit the Critical Habitat Mapper

Endangered Species Act Provisions

Major provisions of the ESA include the following:

Section 4

• Listing, delisting, and reclassifying species 
• Designating critical habitat
• Developing protective regulations for threatened species
• Developing and implementing recovery plans for listed species
• Monitoring and evaluating the status of listed species

Sections 6, 7, 8, and 9

• Providing grants to states and grants to tribes for species conservation
• Consulting on federal actions that may affect a listed species or its designated critical habitat to minimize possible adverse effects
• Entering bilateral and multilateral agreements with other nations to encourage conservation of listed species
• Investigating violations of the ESA

Section 10

• Cooperating with non-federal partners to develop conservation plans, safe harbor agreements, and candidate conservation agreements with assurances for the long-term conservation of species
• Issuing permits that authorize scientific research to learn more about listed species, or activities that enhance the propagation or survival of listed species
• Designating experimental populations of listed species to further the conservation and recovery of those species

Learn how we implement the ESA

Regulations, Policies, and Guidance

We have issued regulations, national policies, and guidance to promote efficiency and consistency in implementing the ESA to conserve and recover listed marine species.

Learn more about ESA regulations, policies, and guidance

Congress passed the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972 in response to increasing concerns among scientists and the public that significant declines in some species of marine mammals were caused by human activities. The MMPA established a national policy to prevent marine mammal species and population stocks from declining beyond the point where they ceased to be significant functioning elements of the ecosystems of which they are a part. This was the first legislation to mandate an ecosystem-based approach to marine resource management.

Three federal entities share responsibility for implementing the MMPA:

• NOAA Fisheries is responsible for the protection of whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, and sea lions.

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for the protection of walrus, manatees, sea otters, and polar bears.

• Marine Mammal Commission provides independent, science-based oversight of domestic and international policies and actions of federal agencies addressing human impacts on marine mammals and their ecosystems.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, a part of the Department of Agriculture, is responsible for regulations managing marine mammals at public display facilities (i.e., aquaria and zoos) under the Animal Welfare Act.

All marine mammals are protected under the MMPA. Some are also protected under the Endangered Species Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

 Learn More: Glossary of Terms Used in the Marine Mammal Protection Act

Innovative Legislation

The MMPA was an innovative piece of legislation for the early 1970s. In addition to shifting the focus of conservation from species to ecosystems, the MMPA contains other features never before established in legislation. The MMPA:

• Included protection for population stocks in addition to species and subspecies. A population stock is a group of marine mammals of the same species or smaller taxa in a common spatial arrangement that interbreed when mature.

• Shifted the burden from resource managers to resource users to show that proposed taking of marine mammals would not adversely affect the resource or the ecosystem. "Take" as defined in the MMPA means to harass, hunt, capture, or kill, or attempt to harass, hunt, capture, or kill any marine mammal.

• Established the concept of "optimum sustainable populations" to ensure healthy ecosystems. Prior to the MMPA, the management of marine species was aimed at producing a "maximum sustainable yield" to ensure the species replenished itself for an adequate harvest in subsequent years.

• Directed federal agencies to seek changes in international agreements, such as the Convention for the Regulation of Whaling and the North Pacific Fur Seal Convention, so they corresponded to the protections outlined in the act.

Amendments of 1992

The MMPA was amended in 1992 to include Title IV, the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program. Title IV mandates emergency responses to marine mammals in distress, monitoring health and health trends in marine mammal populations, and investigating marine mammal unusual mortality events.

Title IV was subsequently amended in 2000 to include the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program, which provides grants or cooperative agreements to eligible stranding network participants for:

• Recovery and treatment (i.e., rehabilitation) of stranded marine mammals
• Data collection from living or dead stranded marine mammals
• Facility upgrades, operation costs, and staffing needs directly related to the recovery and treatment of stranded marine mammals and the collection of data from living or dead stranded marine mammals 

Amendments of 1994

The MMPA was substantially amended in 1994 to provide:

• A statutory definition of the term "harassment," which is a prohibited activity and means "any act of pursuit, torment, or annoyance, which has the potential to:

  • Injure a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild (Level A harassment)

  • Disturb a marine mammal or marine mammal stock in the wild by causing disruption of behavioral patterns, including, but not limited to, migration, breathing, nursing, breeding, feeding, or sheltering (Level B harassment)."

• Certain exceptions to the moratorium on take, including for takes of small numbers of marine mammals incidental to specified activities, when access by Alaska Natives to marine mammal subsistence resources can be preserved, and the general authorization for scientific research. 

• A program to authorize and reduce the taking of marine mammals incidental to commercial fishing operations. Learn more about the Marine Mammal Authorization Program. 

• A requirement to prepare stock assessments for all marine mammal stocks in waters under U.S. jurisdiction. Learn more about stock assessment reports. 

• Studies of interactions between pinnipeds (seals and sea lions) and fisheries. 

Protection, Conservation, and Recovery of Marine Mammals

To protect all marine mammals, the MMPA prohibits the "taking" of any marine mammal species in U.S. waters where "take" means to hunt, harass, capture, or kill any marine mammal or attempting to do so. It also prohibits the import and export of marine mammals and their parts or products.

Exceptions to these prohibitions include:

• Permitted incidental take (e.g., unintentional take) by commercial fisheries managed through the Marine Mammal Authorization Program. 

• Authorized incidental take that may occur during non-fishing activities including oil and gas development, military readiness activities, renewable energy projects, construction projects, and research. 

• Permitted directed take and import for scientific research, enhancement, commercial or educational photography, and public display. 

• Permitted import, export, and receipt of parts for scientific research.

• Pre-act determinations for marine mammal parts taken before December 21, 1972.

• Take by Alaska natives for subsistence use or to create and sell authentic articles of handicrafts and clothing. 

In addition to managing the taking of marine mammals, NOAA Fisheries also performs the following conservation and management actions:

• Develops and implements conservation plans for species designated as depleted. 

• Develops and implements take reduction plans to minimize dead and seriously injured marine mammals in commercial fishing gear. 

• Coordinates the National Marine Mammal Stranding Network to support the mandates of the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program.

• Partner with other nations to ensure that international trade does not threaten species. 

• Investigates and prosecutes violations of the MMPA.

Read the full text of the MMPA

Co-Management with Alaska Native Organizations

Co-management involves collaboration between the federal government and Alaska Native Organizations to conserve marine mammal populations in Alaska.

Co-management efforts have integrated the field skills and traditional/indigenous knowledge of Alaska Native hunters with the scientific and technological expertise of agency scientists. This integration enhances understanding of marine mammals including their stock structure, status, trends, movement and habitat-use patterns, responses to climate change, animal health and condition, contaminants, and disease. Sampling of Native-harvested animals for scientific purposes (e.g., biosampling) has provided tissues for a variety of studies. Education and outreach efforts have trained hunters in good hunting practices and biosampling and familiarized Alaska Native youth with cultural and subsistence traditions. Such efforts contribute significantly to marine mammal conservation and the maintenance of subsistence cultures.

Indigenous People's Council for Marine Mammals

Find Memoranda of Agreement between NOAA Fisheries, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Geological Survey, and the Indigenous People's Council for Marine Mammals that provide direction for developing MMPA Section 119 agreements to promote the sustained health of marine mammal species:

• 2006 Agreement (PDF, 9 pages)
• 1997 Agreement (PDF, 23 pages)

Learn more about the co-management of marine mammals in Alaska

Regulations, Policies, and Guidance

We have issued regulations, national policies, and guidance to promote efficiency and consistency in implementing the MMPA to conserve and recover marine mammal species.

Find MMPA policies and guidance

The National Environmental Policy Act, enacted in 1969, requires federal agencies to integrate environmental values into their decision-making processes by considering the environmental impacts of their major proposed actions. Its primary goal is to foster better decision making that takes into account all of the environmental impacts of an action and involves the public in that decision making.

The range of actions covered by NEPA is broad and includes:

• Making decisions on permit applications

• Adopting federal land management actions

• Constructing highways and other publicly-owned facilities

When NOAA Fisheries undertakes a federal action, the first thing we have to do is decide if the action is subject to NEPA environmental review. A federal action is an activity, such as a plan, project or program, which may be funded, regulated, conducted, or approved by a federal agency. If the action is subject to NEPA review, then we must document the environmental impacts at one of three levels of NEPA analysis by preparing a:

• Brief memorandum to the administrative record documenting that the activity qualifies for a categorical exclusion

• Concise environmental assessment, and if appropriate, a finding of no significant impact

• Detailed environmental impact statement

We also provide information for use in NEPA documents prepared by other federal agencies. When another federal agency comes to us to obtain a permit or authorization, we review and provide comments on these documents. Once they are complete, we can adopt them as our own analysis for our permitting or authorization action. Through this process, we seek to ensure that impacts to marine wildlife resources are adequately described and that needed mitigation is provided.

We are responsible for implementing and enforcing more than 40 laws and policies to protect living marine resources. These include laws to deal with illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing; illegally trading fish and wildlife; and even the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, which designates and protects areas of the marine environment with special national significance.

American Fisheries Act

Signed into law in 1998, the purpose of the act was to tighten U.S. ownership standards that had been exploited under the Anti-Reflagging Act, and to provide the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands pollock fleet the opportunity to conduct their fishery in a more rational manner while protecting non-AFA participants in other fisheries. The AFA established sector allocations in the BSAI pollock fishery, determined eligible vessels and processors, allowed the formation of cooperatives, set limits on the participation of AFA vessels in other fisheries, and imposed special catch weighing and monitoring requirements on AFA vessels.

Learn more about the AFA and pollock fisheries management

Read the AFA as signed in 1998

Read AFA amendments in the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010

Read the AFA, current, statutory note to MSA, 16 USC 1851, "Bering Sea Pollock Fishery"

Animal Welfare Act

The Animal Welfare Act ensures humane care and treatment for certain animals that are exhibited to the public, bred for commercial sale, used in medical research, or transported commercially. Marine mammals on public display at aquariums fall under this act.

Facilities using regulated animals for regulated purposes must provide their animals with adequate housing, sanitation, nutrition, water and veterinary care, and they must protect their animals from extreme weather and temperatures. U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal Care is the unit within the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service that upholds and enforces the act.

Learn more about the Animal Welfare Act

Antarctic Marine Living Resources Convention Act

The Antarctic Marine Living Resources Convention Act of 1984 provides the legislative authority to establish the U.S. AMLR Program, implementing the United States’ strategic goal of managing Southern Ocean resources using an ecosystem approach.

The program (working with the U.S. Department of State) supports U.S. participation in the Commission and Scientific Committee for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, and conducts directed research toward achieving the conservation objectives of the Convention.

Learn more about our Antarctic research

Antiquities Act

The Antiquities Act of 1906 gives the President of the United States the authority to create national monuments from federal lands to protect significant natural, cultural, or scientific features. There are five Marine National Monuments in U.S. waters, including four in the Pacific Ocean and one in the Atlantic Ocean. 

Learn more about monuments in the Pacific

Learn more about the monument in the Atlantic

Atlantic Tunas Convention Act

The Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of 1975 authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to administer and enforce all provisions of the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas to which the United States is a party. ICCAT conducts stock assessments on species of Atlantic tunas, swordfish, and billfish. Based on these stock assessments, member nations negotiate quotas and other management recommendations for these species. Ideally, the management recommendations rebuild overfished stocks and allow for sustainable fishing of these species across the Atlantic Ocean, including the Mediterranean Sea, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico.

Learn more about the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act

Aquaculture Act

The National Aquaculture Act of 1980 is a U.S. federal law that is intended to promote and support the development of aquaculture. The act aims to encourage development of aquaculture in the United States because aquaculture has the potential to reduce the U.S. trade deficit in fisheries products, augment existing commercial and recreational fisheries, and produce other renewable resources.

Learn more about the National Aquaculture Act

Billfish Conservation Act

In passing the Billfish Conservation Act, Congress recognized the conservation challenges facing billfish populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Section 4(a) of the act prohibits any person from offering billfish or billfish products for sale, selling them, or having custody, control, or possession of them for purposes of offering them for sale.

Learn more about our role in the Billfish Conservation Act

Coastal Zone Management Act

The Coastal Zone Management Act provides for the preservation, protection, development, restoration, and enhancement of our nation’s coastal zone resources for current and future generations. Under the act, there is a state-federal consistency provision that requires federal actions undertaken by federal agencies be consistent with enforceable policies of approved state management plans.

Learn more about the Coastal Zone Management Act

Federal Power Act

The Federal Power Act requires non-federal hydropower facility owners to obtain a license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission before operating their project. The act authorizes NOAA Fisheries to issue mandatory conditions for fish passage and to recommend other protection, mitigation, and enhancement measures for fish that migrate between freshwater and saltwater—such as salmon, shad, steelhead, river herring, eel, and sturgeon—and their habitat. Many of these species are listed as threatened or endangered and have critical habitat designated under the Endangered Species Act, or are managed fisheries under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

Learn more about the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act

The Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act requires that all federal agencies consult with NOAA Fisheries, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and state wildlife agencies when proposed actions might result in modification of a natural stream or body of water. Federal agencies must consider effects that these projects would have on fish and wildlife development and provide for improvement of these resources.

Under this act, we provide comments to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during review of projects under section 404 of the Clean Water Act (concerning the discharge of dredged materials into navigable waters) and section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (obstructions in navigable waterways). Our comments aim to reduce environmental impacts to migratory, estuarine, and marine fisheries and their habitats.

Learn more about the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act

Fur Seal Act

The Fur Seal Act prohibits the taking of North Pacific fur seals, except by Alaska natives for subsistence purposes or by permit from NOAA Fisheries.

Learn more about fur seal laws and treaties

High Seas Fishing Compliance Act

The High Seas Fishing Compliance Act requires that all commercial fishing vessels registered in the United States have a permit to fish on the high seas. The high seas are those waters extending beyond the exclusive economic zone, or seaward of 200 miles. Those holding this permit must comply with international living marine resource agreements, including any measure implementing such agreements. Permit holders are required to record all fishing efforts on the high seas.

Learn more about permitting, reporting, and requirements for vessel monitoring systems and fishery observers

Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing Enforcement Act

The Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing Enforcement Act was passed in 2015 to combat IUU fishing and seafood fraud internationally. IUU fishing undermines both the economic and environmental sustainability of our nation’s fisheries. Combating IUU fishing and seafood fraud is critical to sustaining the resilience of our global ocean fisheries, to leveling the playing field for the U.S. fishing and seafood industries, and to protecting the United States’ reputation as a leader in sustainable seafood.

The legislation includes several provisions designed to prevent illegally harvested fish from entering the United States and supports efforts to achieve sustainable fisheries around the world, including the Port State Measures Agreement. This agreement aims to prevent vessels carrying fish caught illegally from entering U.S. ports and keeping illegal product out of our markets.

Together, the IUU Fishing Enforcement Act and the Port State Measures Agreement protect domestic fishermen from unfair competition and ensure consumer confidence in the seafood supply chain.

Learn more about U.S. efforts to combat IUU Fishing

Lacey Act

The Lacey Act, passed in 1900 as the first federal law protecting wildlife, was originally created to protect game and wild birds by making it a federal crime to poach game in one state with the purpose of selling the animal in another state. Today, the act reinforces other federal, state, and foreign wildlife protection laws by making it an offense to take, possess, transport, or sell wildlife that has been taken in violation of any law. The act also prohibits the falsification of documents for most shipments of wildlife (a criminal penalty) and makes the failure to properly mark wildlife shipments an offense (civil penalty).

The Lacey Act has been amended several times since its inception in 1900. The most significant amendments were those of 1969, 1981, and 1988. Among other changes, the 1969 amendments expanded the act to include amphibians, reptiles, mollusks, and crustaceans. As it relates to NOAA Fisheries, the 1981 amendments expanded the scope of the act in response to an increase in the illegal trade of fish and wildlife, both domestically and internationally. Additionally, new language was adapted, and the penalties for civil and criminal violations were increased.  

The Lacey Act is considered one of the broadest and most comprehensive federal laws that conservation enforcement personnel can employ to protect wildlife.

Learn more about the Lacey Act

Migratory Bird Treaty Act

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act makes it illegal to take, possess, import, export, transport, sell, purchase, barter, or offer for sale, purchase, or barter, any migratory bird, or the parts (feathers), nests, or eggs of such a bird except under the terms of a valid federal permit. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issues permits for otherwise prohibited activities under the act.

Learn more about the act and the birds that are protected

National Invasive Species Act

The National Invasive Species Act is a U.S. federal law intended to prevent invasive species from entering inland waters through ballast water carried by ships. This act reauthorized and amended a previous measure, the Non-Indigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990.

Learn more about invasive and exotic marine species

National Marine Sanctuaries Act

The primary objective of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act is to protect marine resources, such as coral reefs, sunken historical vessels, or unique habitats. The act authorizes the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to designate and protect areas of the marine environment with special national significance due to their conservation, recreational, ecological, historical, scientific, cultural, archeological, educational or esthetic qualities as national marine sanctuaries.

The National Marine Sanctuary System includes 13 national marine sanctuaries and five marine national monuments. NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement is responsible for the compliance with and enforcement of sanctuary regulations.

Learn more the National Marine Sanctuary System

Northern Pacific Halibut Act

The Northern Pacific Halibut Act is the implementing legislation for the Convention between the United States and Canada for the Preservation of the Halibut Fishery of the Northern Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. The act was created to conserve, manage, and rebuild the halibut stocks in the Convention Area to those levels that would achieve and maintain the maximum sustainable yield from the fishery.

It authorizes the U.S. Secretary of State, with the concurrence of the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, to accept or reject on behalf of the United States the halibut fishery regulations and management recommendations developed by the International Pacific Halibut Commission. The act also authorizes the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and the Pacific Fishery Management Council to develop, and the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to implement, additional halibut fishery regulations governing the U.S. portion of Convention waters.

Learn more about the Northern Pacific Halibut Act

Oil Pollution Act of 1990

In response to the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the U.S. Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. The act amended the Clean Water Act and addresses issues associated with preventing, responding to, and paying for oil pollution. Responsible parties are made accountable for the clean up costs. Parties that spill/discharge oil into the environment must also respond to impacted wildlife. In addition, responsible parties are required to have an Oil Spill Response Plan developed in consultation with NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Learn more about the Oil Pollution Act  

Shark Conservation Act

The Shark Conservation Act allows for sustainably managed shark fisheries while eliminating the harmful practice of finning—a process of removing shark fins at sea and discarding the rest of the shark. The act requires that all sharks in the United States, with one exception, be brought to shore with their fins naturally attached.

Learn more about our role in the Shark Conservation Act

Whaling Convention Act

The Whaling Convention Act implements the United States’ obligations under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, which provides for the conservation of whale stocks and the management of whaling. Among other things, the act prohibits whaling in violation of the Convention. And under the act, we co-manage subsistence whale hunts regulated by the International Whaling Commission.

Learn more about co-management of subsistence hunts with Alaska Natives

Learn more about NOAA Fisheries and the International Whaling Commission

There are several policies that determine how we manage and study living marine resources. Policies are statements of and instructions for implementing high-level direction and positions that guide organizational decisions and actions. These written policies promote accountability and consistency in management and science practices. They also demonstrate our commitment to implementing identified priorities.

Aquaculture Policy

In the United States, marine aquaculture operates within one of the most comprehensive regulatory environments in the world. We play a central role in developing and implementing marine aquaculture policies. We work to ensure that aquaculture complies with existing federal laws and regulations that we enforce under our marine stewardship mission.

Projects that are sited in U.S. waters must meet a suite of federal, state, and local regulations. These regulations ensure environmental protection, water quality, food safety, and protection of public health. Science and adaptive management inform NOAA policy, regulatory, and management decisions regarding aquaculture in marine waters.

We are working with federal, state, and tribal partners on a variety of initiatives. These initiatives stem from the 2011 aquaculture policies, the recent National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan and its mandates under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and the National Aquaculture Act. 

Learn more about our Marine Aquaculture Policy

Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management Policy

Resilient, productive ocean fisheries are critical to our economy and way of life. Managing these fisheries over the long-term means taking into account more than just one species at a time. It requires a holistic, science-based approach that looks at the entire ecosystem. This approach is known as ecosystem-based fisheries management.

NOAA Fisheries has developed an agency-wide EBFM policy, which outlines a set of principles to guide our actions and decisions over the long-term. It directs continued progress toward development and implementation of EBFM approaches. It also ensures our commitment to incorporate EBFM into the agency’s resource management decisions.

We developed a road map to guide implementation of the EBFM policy over the next five years. The road map outlines actions we can take now to further the policy’s six guiding principles:

1. Implement ecosystem-level planning.

2. Advance our understanding of ecosystem processes.

3. Prioritize vulnerabilities and risks of ecosystems and their components.

4. Explore and address trade-offs within an ecosystem.

5. Incorporate ecosystem considerations into management advice.

6. Maintain resilient ecosystems.

Learn more about ecosystems-based management

National Habitat Policy

Healthy habitat is vital to protecting coastal and ocean ecosystems and communities. In turn, healthy habitat is important for achieving the NOAA mission. We are responsible for ensuring the nation has a strong network of healthy habitats. These habitats sustain resilient and thriving marine and coastal resources, communities, and economies. However, with widespread loss and deterioration of coastal and marine habitats, we are in danger of losing this natural infrastructure. We are committed to confronting these challenges for many years.

The NOAA National Habitat Policy acknowledges that healthy habitat is crucial to our agency programs and activities. This long-term policy outlines a set of guiding principles that applies to all of NOAA’s habitat work. It will influence future actions and priorities related to habitat conservation, allowing us to be more efficient and effective. It’s a clear statement of our dedication to habitat conservation and resilient ecosystems and communities.

Learn more about our National Habitat Policy

National Saltwater Recreational Fishing Policy

This national policy aims to better serve millions of our nation’s recreational saltwater fishermen and their coastal communities. The policy reflects fishermen’s voices on existing and emerging concerns, including public access, resource stewardship, regulatory education, science innovation, and better lines of communication between state and federal rulemakers and the community.

Learn more about our National Saltwater Recreational Fishing Policy

Ocean Noise Policy

Increasing human activity is contributing to rising levels of underwater noise. Due to the efficiency with which sound travels underwater, aquatic animals have evolved to use acoustic cues in a wide variety of contexts. These cues support their survival and reproductive success, including selecting mates, finding food, maintaining group structure and relationships, avoiding predators, and navigation. Increasing noise levels can impact the animals and ecosystems that inhabit these places including through acute, chronic, and cumulative effects.

The Ocean Noise Policy codifies our commitment to working to reduce the impacts of human-made noise on marine organisms. It outlines how we will implement the NOAA Ocean Noise Strategy—a ten year strategy that addresses scientific and management actions.

Learn more about our Ocean Noise Strategy

Other NOAA Fisheries Policy Directives

NOAA Fisheries policy directives undergo an extensive internal review across NOAA Fisheries offices around the country and reflect our organization’s positions as a whole. They also provide specific instruction for how we implement key statutory requirements like the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act.

Explore our policy directives