As with similar environmental problems, there are multiple ways to manage a fishery. The objective of management in general is to conserve the resource while maximizing efficiency. To achieve efficiency, management policies should minimize the costs to the industry and the fishermen themselves. In the U.S., the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act is regarded as the authority for fisheries management within the nation's borders.
From a theoretical perspective, management based purely on economics is the most efficient method. A government can impose a tax, requiring fishermen to bear the costs of not fishing sustainably. An alternative approach with the same outcome is subsidizing sustainable fishing.
Another form of fisheries management is regulatory system, which, if imposed, would require all members of the fishing industry to adhere to a set of law. Economic sanctions would be issued in the case of noncompliance.
A regulatory system can have a set of input controls, which would dictate what technology can be used, where and when fishermen can fish, and how much they are allowed to take out. This would include establishing closed areas and quotas. Setting up a system purely regulated by input controls would be ineffective, because companies merely have to comply with the laws, and there is little incentive for them to actually work towards a sustainable fishery.
Another method of regulation would be uniform performance standards, or setting output controls. This method sets a target - for example, a fishery must be maintained at the level of the Maximum Sustainable Yield - for a fishery, and it is up to the fishery to decide how to reach that target.
Perruso, L. & Larkin, S. "A Dual Production Analysis of a Multispecies Fishery: The Case of the U.S. Atlantic Longline Fleet." http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/st5/documents/A_dual_production_analysis_of_a_multispecies_fishery.pdf
Jenkins, G. & Lamech, R. (1994). Green Taxes and Incentive Policies. San Francisco, CA: ICS Press.