white lighthouse overlooking the water
Protect Marine Life Archived Project

New England Ocean Conservation

Working on a Sea Change in New England's Fishery Management

Since 2007, Pew has advocated for sustainable fishing, ocean habitat conservation, and other measures to protect vital marine resources in New England..

Over that period, Pew has worked toward ending chronic overfishing in the region through science-based catch limits and promoted strategies to reduce bycatch. Pew also worked with scientists and conservationists to establish the U.S. Atlantic’s first marine national monument and to protect deep-sea corals outside the monument’s boundaries. Together with the Herring Alliance—a coalition of more than 100 organizations from Maine to North Carolina—Pew has advanced conservation of forage fish as a critical food source for marine wildlife, including whales, seabirds, and hundreds of larger fish species.  

In 2019, Pew expanded its commitment to ocean conservation in the U.S. to include protecting endangered North Atlantic right whales and rebuilding oyster reefs. Read more about Pew’s ongoing work on these and related issues at our Conserving Marine Life in the U.S.— East Coast  page.

Conserving Marine Life in the U.S. – East Coast

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Protect Marine Life The Magnuson-Stevens Act at 40

Reasons major U.S. fishing law should shift to big picture management