Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, an interstate compact entity headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, is a recipient of federal grants and contracts from NOAA and the Department of the Interior. Unlike for-profit vendors, ASMFC operates as a state government entity and U.S. government instrumentality rather than a commercial prime contractor or subcontractor; it receives awards as a grant recipient and holds two definitive service contracts with NOAA for fisheries observer program administration.

ASMFC's federal footprint is dominated by NOAA, which funds 50 of 79 total awards (96% coverage by award count and 99% by combined potential value of $56 million). The remaining activity splits across the Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 5 (14 awards), Fish and Wildlife Service (10 awards), and U.S. Geological Survey Office of Acquisitions and Grants (2 awards). ASMFC operates as a grant recipient on nearly all awards (99% prime, 1% sub split), with work spanning marine fisheries data collection, observer program administration, protected species research and monitoring, and interstate fishery management coordination across the Atlantic coast.

On the contract side, ASMFC holds two definitive contracts with NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, Northeast Fisheries Science Center: a $35 million firm fixed-price contract running through September 30, 2030, awarded October 1, 2025, for administration of invoice tracking and reimbursement of at-sea and industry-funded monitoring observer support services; and a preceding $12.79 million contract completed September 28, 2025, for the same scope. Both are sole-source awards under FAR 6.302-5 (except as provided).

ASMFC's grant portfolio spans NOAA Fisheries Data Program (CFDA 11.437), Cooperative Research Program (CFDA 11.472), and Unallied Science Program (CFDA 11.472) awards totaling $25.25 million for North Atlantic right whale and American lobster gear research, $10 million for Maine commercial fishing infrastructure repair following coastal storms (cooperative agreement effective September 1, 2024 through August 31, 2027), $6.91 million for fixed-gear whale-entanglement mitigation research, and $3.35 million for Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program (ACCSP) marine fisheries data collection and analysis systems. The Interior Department funds ASMFC through the National Fish Habitat Partnership (CFDA 15.686), Sport Fish Restoration (CFDA 15.605), and Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act programs. ASMFC operates ACCSP, a state-federal partnership of 15 Atlantic Coast states, the District of Columbia, NOAA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, three regional fisheries management councils, and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission, designing and maintaining marine fisheries statistics data collection standards and management systems.

ASMFC's Service Contract Inventory activity is minimal: $1.8 million invoiced across FY2023, representing 0.3 full-time equivalents. That SCI footprint reflects only service contracts above the $150,000 threshold and does not represent the Commission's total federal revenue, which is substantially captured by the grant and contract awards listed above.

Activity has been uneven but sustained: three awards in 2022, seven in 2023, five in 2024, six in 2025, and one in 2026 to date. Six awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months and will require recompete or renewal. The source identifies ASMFC as the primary provider of Northeast Fisheries Science Center at-sea monitoring administrative services since 2016, transitioning from grant-funded operations to direct contracting beginning in 2020. As an interstate compact organization coordinating marine fisheries management and conservation along the Atlantic coast, ASMFC operates a permanent infrastructure of scientific and administrative capacity supporting federal fisheries stock assessments and marine resource management initiatives.