Multi-Jurisdictional, Multi-Fishery Management of a Multi-Million Dollar Species

American eel (Anguilla rostrata) occupy a significant and unique niche in Atlantic coastal habitats and fishing communities. Since 2000, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) has coordinated interstate management of American eel from in the territorial seas and inland waters along the U.S. east coast from Maine to Florida. In 2012, the Commission completed a benchmark stock assessment for American eel and found the stock is depleted due to a combination of factors including historical overfishing, habitat loss, predation, turbine mortality, changing climatic conditions, contaminants, and disease. Successful restoration of current U.S. east coast American eel populations requires cooperative management among 19 state and federal regulatory authorities, across three distinct fisheries each targeting different life stages, on a species that remains mysterious and elusive. The glass, yellow, and silver eel fisheries each present unique examples of the competing interests and data limitations challenging the development of new regulations. Effective management needs to consider the historical composition of the fishery and current economic factors, as well as be flexible to future conditions and encompasses the entire range of American eel.