NCMC was one of the first groups to recognize and act on the need to bring fish conservation into the mainstream of the environmental movement.  Today, conserving ocean fish is a national environmental priority, because of these and other accomplishments:

• In 2001, an NCMC lawsuit closed 133,000 square miles of the Atlantic to longlining to reduce bycatch of threatened species.
  
  
• In 2003, years of hard work leading the push for pro-active measures to protect dolphin was rewarded with a landmark conservation plan.
  
  
• In 2004, we formed an alliance of fishing and conservation groups, Menhaden Matter, that a year later successfully limited the industrial harvest of menhaden, a critically important prey fish.
  
  
• Also in 2004, the first federal conservation plan for Pacific big fish was approved, banning longlining off the U.S. west coast out to 200 miles.
  
  
• In 2005, we successfully obtained a resolution to protect habitat of big fish in the Atlantic, the first step toward an ecosystem-based approach at the international level.
  
  
• In 2006, we published a groundbreaking report, "Taking the Bait," which analyzes federal fishery management plans for prey species, such as herring, sardine and squid, and makes specific recommendations for changes that will secure adequate prey for predators.
  
  
• In 2007, we launched the Give Pacific Billfish a Break campaign to prohibit the importation and sale of Pacific marlin and sailfish within the United States.
  

Besides creating a new paradigm, these and other NCMC accomplishments are bringing real changes that will mean more fish in the sea.

To find out how you can help, please see our Membership page, or our Action Items page.