NOAA’s Chesapeake Bay Office works with a variety of governmental, academic, and other organizations to discuss science and provide guidance to federal, state, and local governments that set regulations on fishing.

One NCBO effort leads is a multistate effort toward an ecosystem-based approach to management—the Fisheries Steering Committee. The Committee coordinates with the various Bay management jurisdictions and offers a forum for fisheries management agencies to communicate and coordinate decisions across management boundaries. The Committee also coordinates management and research activities that explore ecosystem-based fisheries management and conserving the Chesapeake Bay and coastal fishery resources.

NCBO is an integral part of a subgroup of the Fisheries Steering Committee, the Chesapeake Bay Stock Assessment Committee (CBSAC). CBSAC addresses issues of critical concern to resource managers of the important fish stocks of the Bay, and produces annual reports describing the status of various species. CBSAC also produces topical assessments, including the Blue Crab Advisory Report . The report, released at beginning of each new crabbing season, serves as the authoritative source of information for state fisheries managers as they make resource management decisions.