Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with the Chesapeake Watershed Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit

style="margin-left:0in;">Recreational fisheries contribute important nutritional and economic benefits to people, yet their role in supporting food security is often overlooked. As demand grows for sustainable, accessible food sources, there is a need for updated, regionally relevant information to support informed decision-making by federal and state fisheries managers. Leveraging emerging finer-scale inland recreational fisheries datasets, this project will update estimates of harvest, consumption, and economic value; refine species-specific vulnerability assessments; and integrate results to strengthen adaptive management techniques, prioritize monitoring efforts, sustain nutritional benefits, and enhance the resilience of U.S. fisheries. This project supports: 

• EO 14276 -Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness (April 17, 2025) by providing research that strengthens fisheries management and science
• EO 14313 Establishing the President's Make America Beautiful Again Commission (July 3, 2025) by advancing responsible stewardship of natural resources and collaborating with states to recover and sustainably manage fish.
• SO 3447 -Expanding Hunting and Fishing Access, Removing Unnecessary Barriers, and Ensuring Consistency Across the Department of the Interior Lands and Waters (January 7, 2026) by improving our understanding of how fish consumption contributes to stocking pressures in inland fisheries, providing managers with critical information that ensures fisheries remain available for all recreational purposes.
• EO 14303 -Restoring Gold Standard Science (May 23, 2025) by providing transparent, rigorous, and impactful research to inform policy and regulatory decisions.

Together, these efforts provide managers with critical information to sustain accessible, well-managed recreational fisheries.