Important gains in fishery conservation and management have been made with successive reauthorizations of the national fisheries law (the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act), but there remain significant impacts on fisheries that are outside its jurisdiction. Integrating coastal and marine spatial planning could provide significant benefits to fisheries, such as better protection of important fish habitat and greater consultation regarding the compatibility of uses and activities with fishing and healthy marine ecosystems.

The Marine Fish Conservation Network recently submitted comments regarding coastal and marine spatial planning to the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force. The Task Force will provide its recommendations for a coastal and marine spatial planning framework to the President in December 2009.