This paper examines the future of social assessment in fisheries management. Analysis of U.S. Forest Service experience with social assessment over the past decade reveals the limitations of the use of social assessment which have occurred because of budgetary limitations, lack of agency expertise, and difficulties in incorporating social assessment into natural resource planning. Observations of federal forestry and marine fisheries agencies, particularly in northwestern states, suggest that the prognosis for acceptance of social assessment is better for marine fisheries management than for federal forest management. The social and organizational variables most likely to affect fisheries management, when such management is subjected to social assessment, are explored.