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wildlife Service (Service) , the Department of Commerce's National 

 Marine Fisheries Service, 12 Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic 

 States, the District of Columbia, and the Potomac River Fisheries 

 Commission, Atlantic coastal migratory striped bass populations 

 are no longer considered to be on the decline. Their recovery is 

 evidenced by the opening of a limited (transitional) fishery 

 along the Atlantic coast in 1990. 



The Department of the Interior, through the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service provides both technical and financial assistance to the 

 States to support management of interjurisdictional coastal 

 fishery resources. Through administration of the Wallop-Breaux :. 

 fund, the Service provides Federal Aid funds to the States to 

 conduct research, surveys, and monitoring programs on marine, 

 estuarine, and anadromous fish species. The Service also 

 provides significant Federal Aid dollars to the Commission in 

 support of their efforts. The Service has expertise in 

 population modeling and stock assessment, provides widespread 

 fishery assistance (technical and coordination) , has fish 

 propagation and technology development capabilities, and has made 

 a strong commitment to habitat conservation. 



The Department is directly involved with the estuarine 

 environment through a myriad of Service programs and activities. 

 With estuarine associated fisheries providing significant 

 benefits to the U.S. economy, the fisheries program is a central 



