The National Fisheries Corporation (NFC) is a public corporation established by the FSM Government in 1984. The aim of the corporation is to develop and promote a profitable and long-term commercial fishery within the FSM. In addition to the National Fisheries Corporation's own industry development programs the corporation works closely with the individual states in joint fishery projects.
The two most important fish resources in the FSM are tuna and bottom fish. Annually in excess of 150,000 tonnes of tuna is harvested within the FSM.
The tuna fishery can be divided into two major groups:
purse seine fishery- which targets its operations at surface schooling fish such as Skipjack and small Yellowfin tuna.
long-line fishery - which targets its operations at deep-water species such as Yellowfin and Big-eye tuna.
A commercial fishery for bottom fish is being developed within the FSM and the target species for this group are:
Deep-water Snapper (Fam. Lutjanidae)
Deep-water Grouper (Fam. Serranidae)
The locally operated commercial fishery within the FSM includes more than 50 smaller vessels utilizing long-line, pole-and-line and bottom fishing methods. The vessels range in size from 1.5 - 30 tonnes and are all fitted with modern equipment.