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Recent annual landings have been ~100,000 in the NAS and ~275,000 tons in CB, a contrast that may reflect differences in phytoplankton production. Clupeoid fishes (anchovies, sardines, or menhaden) dominate fish biomass and catch in both ecosystems. Fisheries on anadromous and estuarine‐dependent species are more important in CB while diverse, demersal fisheries are relatively more important in NAS. Although total catches have remained high, anchovy stocks in the NAS collapsed in the 1980s.

In CB, oyster stocks declined rapidly during over the past five decades due to overfishing and disease, a trend that reduced their capacity to prevent accumulations in phytoplankton biomass and exacerbated the effects of anthropogenic nutrient enrichment on phytoplankton biomass and the magnitude of bottom‐water anoxia. In the NAS, fishing practices hinder the reestablishment of natural benthic communities. Thus, both systems would benefit from management actions that both reduce nutrient loadings and enhance natural benthic communities.