Fisheries Science Centers

Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC)

The research arm of NOAA Fisheries in the region. The Center plans, develops, and manages a multidisciplinary program of basic and applied research to: (1) better understand living marine resources of the Northeast Continental Shelf Ecosystem from the Gulf of Maine to Cape Hatteras, and the habitat quality essential for their existence and continued productivity; and (2) describe and provide to management, industry, and the public, options for the conservation and utilization of living marine resources, and for the restoration and maintenance of marine environmental quality.

Northwest Fisheries Science Center(NWFSC)

The NWFSC studies living marine resources (e.g., salmon, groundfish, and killer whales) and their habitats in the Northeast Pacific Ocean-primarily off the coasts of Washington and Oregon and in freshwater rivers and streams in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. sustainable fisheries, recover endangered and threatened species, and sustain healthy coasts.

Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC)

The Southeast Fisheries Service Center conducts multi-disciplinary research programs to provide management information to support national and regional programs of NMFS. The center provides supervisory and administrative support to large marine ecosystems prorgrams performing fishery research, collecting and reporting on stastistical data and controlling and operating Center data management support systems.

Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC)

The mission of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center is to generate the scientific information necessary for the conservation and management of the region's living marine resources. The Southwest Fisheries Science Center is the research arm of NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service in the Southwest Region.

Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC)

The Alaska Fisheries Science Center is the research branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service responsible for research on living marine resources in the coastal oceans off Alaska and off  parts of the west coast of the United States. This region of nearly 3 million square miles includes the North Pacific Ocean and the eastern Bering Sea which support some of the most important commercial fisheries in the world. These waters are also home to the largest marine mammal populations in the Nation.

Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC)

The Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Center administers scientific research and monitoring programs that support the domestic and international conservation and management of living marine resources.