Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission

"[2] The Commission serves as a deliberative body, coordinating the conservation and management of the states shared near-shore fishery resources—marine, shell, and anadromous—for sustainable use.

The one-state one-vote concept allows Commissioners to address stakeholder-resource balance issues at the state level.

It serves as a forum for the states to collectively address fisheries issues under the premise that as a group, using a cooperative approach, they can achieve more than they could as individuals.

The Commission does not promote a particular state or a particular stakeholder sector.The ASMFC gained regulatory authority in 1984 with the passage of the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act,[3] which was intended to enforce an interstate fisheries management plan agreed to in 1981.

[4] Under the act, the U.S. secretary of commerce could halt Atlantic striped bass fisheries in states found by the ASMFC to be noncompliant with the management plan.