This made the United States the fifth leading producer of fish, after China, Peru, India, and Indonesia, with 3.8 percent of the world total.

[8] NMFS works in partnership with industry, universities, and state, local, and tribal agencies to collect data about commercial species.

Fisheries observers on fishing vessels, transmit real time data electronically to NMFS.

NMFS is establishing marine protected areas and individual fishing quotas, and implementing ecosystem based fishery management.

Those of greatest interest include invertebrate species like crabs, shrimps, abalones, clams, oysters, and scallops.

[5] Management is spread out among the coastal states and other local authorities, and a comprehensive treatment of the fisheries has not been attempted.

Additional protection for scallops was given closing parts of Georges Bank to groundfish fishing.

[5] Menhaden and stone crabs and the three major species of shrimp - (pink, brown, and white) - are fully exploited.

[5] Until 2016, commercial fish farming was prohibited in federal waters, meaning that the Gulf of Mexico was closed to the practice.

In 2005, about 80,000 km2 (30,000 sq mi) of seafloor around the Aleutian Islands were permanently closed to destructive fishing gears.

In 2008, NOAA fisheries created the Aleutian Islands Habitat Conservation Area (AIHCA), most of which is closed to bottom trawling.

There was big interest in seamounts during the 1960s, when it was discovered that they can maintain large stocks of commercially important fishes and invertebrates.

[5] Generally, seamounts are found in the high seas, outside the continental shelves, and outside the jurisdiction of any nation's EEZ.

The largest fisheries are the landings from the Great Lakes, worth about $13 million in 2003,[15] with a similar amount from the Mississippi River basin.

Fishing gear became more technical: Alaska purse seiners were in use by 1870, longliners were introduced in 1885; otter trawls were operating in the groundfish and shrimp fisheries by the early 20th century.

Individual fisheries have their own biological, economic, and sociological characteristics which make broad policies impractical.

Vessels are often configured so they can change rapidly between two or more gear types, such as lobster pots to bottom trawls to scallop dredges.

[15] A marine protected area (MPA) is federally defined as: "any area of the marine environment that has been reserved by federal, state, tribal, territorial, or local laws or regulations to provide lasting protection for part or all of the natural and cultural resources therein.

[2] In practice, these MPAs are defined areas where natural and/or cultural resources are given more protection than occurs in the surrounding waters.

United States MPAs cover many habitats including the open ocean, coastal areas, intertidal zones, estuaries, and the Great Lakes.

They vary in purpose, legal authorities, agencies, management approaches, level of protection, and restrictions on human uses.

[15] Aquaculture, in the United States, includes the farming of hatchery fish and shellfish which are grown to market size in ponds, tanks, cages, or raceways, and released into the wild.

Aquaculture is also used to support commercial and recreational marine fisheries by enhancing or rebuilding wild stock populations.

It also includes the cultivation of ornamental fish for the aquarium trade, as well as plant species used in various pharmaceutical, nutritional, and biotechnology products.

[20] According to the FAO, in 2004 the United States ranked 10th in total aquaculture production, behind China, India, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Japan, Chile, and Norway.

The United States imports aquaculture products from these and other countries, and operates an annual seafood trade deficit of over $9 billion.

As a result of recent advances in offshore aquaculture technology, commercial finfish and shellfish operations have been established in more exposed, open ocean locations in state waters in New Hampshire, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.

[20] Large aquaculture facilities (i.e. those producing 20,000 pounds (9,100 kg) per year) which discharge wastewater are required to obtain permits pursuant to the Clean Water Act.

[21] Facilities that produce at least 100,000 pounds (45,000 kg) of fish, molluscs or crustaceans a year are subject to specific national discharge standards.