New Rebuilding Plan Finalized for Overfished Pacific Sardines | Oceana

Victory | June 17, 2025

New Rebuilding Plan Finalized for Overfished Pacific Sardines

The United States’ National Marine Fisheries Service finalized a new science-based rebuilding plan to recover the overfished sardine population off the U.S. West Coast. Pacific sardines are an essential food for many Pacific Ocean species, including marine mammals, Chinook salmon, and other commercially important fish. Sardine recovery is critical to help the marine ecosystems and coastal communities that rely on them thrive. This victory happened after Oceana, represented by Earthjustice, previously challenged an inadequate plan by the Fisheries Service in federal court and won in 2024. The court required the Fisheries Service to revise its Pacific sardine rebuilding plan to recover the overfished population, which is now expected to happen within 17 years.