Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management (EBFM) is rapidly becoming the default approach in global fisheries management. The clarity of what EBFM means is sharpening each year and there is a real need to evaluate progress and assess the effectiveness and impacts. We examine a suite of over 90 indicators (including socioeconomic, governance, environmental forcing, major pressures, systems ecology, and fisheries criteria) for 9 major U.S. fishery ecosystem jurisdictions, and systematically track the progress the country has made toward advancing EBFM to an operational reality. We view this progress as synonymous with improved management of living marine resources in general, with the lessons learned in US systems directly applicable for all parts of the global ocean. Much work still remains, but significant progress has occurred.