As the U.S. marks 50 years of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, a new report from the Ocean Conservancy is raising concerns about the direction of federally managed fisheries.

The report being released on April 22 coincides with Earth Day and is called “Drifting Off Course: Challenges in U.S. Fisheries Management and Charting the Path Forward,” pointing out the mounting pressure from climate change, bycatch, and growing recreational demand.

According to the report, while the Magnuson-Stevens Act has helped rebuild 52 federal fisheries, 42 stocks remain overfished. Of those currently in rebuilding plans, 65 percent have shown flat or declining population trends. At the same time, fishery disasters are becoming more frequent and costly. A 2021 peer-reviewed study cited in the report found that extreme environmental events accounted for 95.3 percent of revenue loss from fishery disasters between 2014 and 2019, up sharply from 38.5% in the late 1990s.

“For decades, America’s fisheries were on the upswing thanks to our science-based approach to managing these resources,” said Ocean Conservancy’s senior director of fish conservation, Meredith Moore, and co-author of the report. “But between climate change, habitat destruction and pollution, growing recreational fishing demand and a troubling race to remove protections and sideline science, we’re really seeing a perfect storm come together. If we don’t address these new realities, America’s fishing future is at risk.”

The report highlights shifting ocean conditions– such as warming waters, acidification, and deoxygenation– that they share are already changing fish distribution and productivity.

Bycatch remains another persistent issue, with the report noting impacts in regions like Alaska, where salmon bycatch is contributing to declines in both commercial and subsistence fisheries.

Meanwhile, increasing coastal populations and fishing pressure are reshaping allocation debates. In some southeastern fisheries, the recreational sector now accounts for the majority of catch, yet often lags in data collection and accountability.

The findings come as the White House has proposed a $1.6 billion cut to NOAA, the agency responsible for implementing federal fisheries law.

“Funding cuts for NOAA could not come at a worse time when you consider just how vulnerable American fisheries and fishermen are right now,” said Jeff Watters, Ocean Conservancy’s vice president of external affairs. “We are essentially putting blindfolds on and hoping for the best.”