Virtually all of our important fisheries, both commercial and recreational, are managed by Fishery Management Plans (FMPs). These plans, which are generally created by the appropriate regional fishery management council(s), are approved by the Secretary of Commerce before being implemented. The management measures that they institute can include limits on the number of participants in particular fisheries, on who those participants can be, on how many fish of a particular species they can catch, of how, when and where they can catch them, and on how large (or how small) they must be. Additionally, an increasing number of fisheries are being managed for the bycatch of other species.

Ultimately, in those few instances where these other controls don't work and a commercial fishery exceeds its allowable harvest in a given year, "paybacks" are instituted. In these, commercial overages are deducted from the subsequent year's allowable harvest. It's important to note that such measures are seldom required because of the effectiveness of the management measures in place in controlling commercial fishing mortality,

Every FMP must be in compliance with ten National Standards, as enumerated in the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (available at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/magact). According to the Act, "any fishery management plan prepared, and any regulation promulgated to implement any such plan, pursuant to this title shall be consistent with the following national standards for fishery conservation and management."

Among the ten National Standards (emphasis added) are:

#1 - Conservation and management measures shall prevent overfishing while achieving, on a continuing basis, the optimum yield from each fishery for the United States fishing industry.

#2 - Conservation and management measures shall be based upon the best scientific information available.

#4 - Conservation and management measures shall not discriminate between residents of different States. If it becomes necessary to allocate or assign fishing privileges among various United States fishermen, such allocation shall be (A) fair and equitable to all such fishermen; (B) reasonably calculated to promote conservation; and (C) carried out in such manner that no particular individual, corporation, or other entity acquires an excessive share of such privileges.

(It's important to note that neither these nor the other seven National Standards differentiate between commercial and recreational fishing nor commercial and recreational fishermen.)

Primarily due to regulations imposed in FMPs to conform to these National Standards, it's fair to say that commercial fishing is among the most heavily regulated modern industries. There is no facet of a commercial fisherman's workday that isn't strictly controlled by government regulation, and penalties for not abiding by those regulations are among the most onerous of any that the Federal government can impose, ranging from fines that can reach into hundreds of thousands of dollars to lifetime expulsion from the commercial fishing industry.