The Tide has Turned: Atlantic Mackerel Shows Signs of Improvement

Since 2017, NOAA Fisheries and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council have been trying to help the Atlantic mackerel population rebuild. The population has been struggling, but a recent stock assessment shows that the population is showing signs of improvement.

We manage Atlantic mackerel under the Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan. In 2017, a benchmark stock assessment found that the mackerel population was dangerously low and overfishing was occurring. As a result, in 2019 we developed and implemented a 5-year rebuilding plan to help the mackerel population recover. That rebuilding plan was extended to 10 years after a 2021 management track assessment indicated the stock could not rebuild within the initial 5-year window. A 2023 management track assessment revealed the stock was no longer experiencing overfishing, but the mackerel population was still struggling to rebound. As a result, commercial possession limits and fishery specifications were reduced further.

In September 2025, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center completed another management track assessment for mackerel using updated data through 2024. That assessment indicated the mackerel population is no longer low, and overfishing is still not occurring. Mackerel abundance from the 2024 spring bottom trawl survey was also near a record high. In 2024 egg production in U.S. waters was the highest since the 1980s, and estimated recruitment was the highest it's been since 1983. While the mackerel population is showing signs of improvement, there is a substantial amount of uncertainty. Mackerel assessments have tended to overestimate terminal year recruitment in the past, and the abundance of older, larger fish in the mackerel population is low. However, the 2025 assessment results represent an improvement from the last few assessments.

New Commercial Fishing Measures

During its December 2025 meeting , the Council reviewed the results of the new assessment and advice from its Committees and Advisory Panels. The Council recommended increasing mackerel fishery specifications in 2026 and 2027 through Framework Adjustment 17 to the Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish fishery management plan. In April 2026, NOAA Fisheries published an interim final rule implementing Framework 17. The new 2026 mackerel fishery specifications are almost all substantially higher than before. In particular:

• 2026 acceptable biological catch (15,134 metric tons) is 373 percent higher than 2025 (3,200 metric tons)
• 2026 annual catch limit (14,634 metric tons) is 368 percent higher than 2025 (3,126 metric tons)
• 2026 commercial quota (11,237 metric tons) is 1,195 percent higher than it was in 2025 (868 metric tons)

Framework 17 also increased the commercial possession limits for vessels issued a federal mackerel permit.

Commercial Mackerel Possession Limits by Permit Category

The increased fishery specifications and commercial possession limits implemented through this action will increase fishing opportunities for the commercial mackerel fleet. They will provide fishermen with relief from the reduced limits that have been in place since October 2023.

New Recreational Fishing Measures

In addition to increasing the commercial mackerel possession limits, Framework 17 also increased recreational mackerel possession limits. It established separate limits for private and for-hire recreational fishing.

Recreational Mackerel Possession Limits

These new possession limits will increase recreational fishing opportunities for mackerel, facilitating harvest of the increased specifications that were implemented for the fishery. The new limits were also responsive to feedback from the recreational fishing community. In particular, the new possession limit for for-hire vessels carrying customers is intended to address industry concerns that the previous limit discouraged people from booking mackerel trips. This resulted in a loss of business opportunities for the party/charter fleet.

Next Steps and New Research Partnerships

We will check the mackerel stock again in 2027. To address uncertainties in the assessment model and improve our understanding of mackerel population dynamics, we recently launched a new cooperative research initiative . Through this program, NOAA Fisheries scientists will partner with members of the fishing industry to collect and analyze data from mackerel through 2028. For more information, contact the Northeast Fisheries Cooperative Research Program.