MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT ACT [Public Law 94-265, Approved Apr. 13, 1976, 90 Stat. 331] [Amended through Public Law, 106-557, Dec. 21, 2000] AN ACT To provide for the conservation and management of the fisheries, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That [16 U.S.C. 1801 note] this Act may be cited as the "Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act". TABLE OF CONTENTS Sec. 2. Findings, purposes, and policy. Sec. 3. Definitions. [Sec. 4. Authorization of appropriations.] 1 TITLE I-UNITED STATES RIGHTS AND AUTHORITY REGARDING FISH AND FISHERY RESOURCES Sec. 101. United States sovereign rights to fish and fishery management authority. Sec. 102. Highly migratory species. TITLE II-FOREIGN FISHING AND INTERNATIONAL FISHERY AGREEMENTS Sec. 201. Foreign fishing. Sec. 202. International fishery agreements. Sec. 203. Congressional oversight of governing International fishery agreements. 2 Sec. 204. Permits for foreign fishing. Sec. 205. Import prohibitions. Sec. 206. Large-scale driftnet fishing. TITLE III-NATIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM Sec. 301. National standards for fishery conservation and management. Sec. 302. Regional fishery management councils. Sec. 303. Contents of fishery management plans. Sec. 304. Action by the Secretary. Sec. 305. Implementation of fishery management plans. 2 Sec. 306. State jurisdiction. Sec. 307. Prohibited acts. Sec. 308. Civil penalties and permit sanctions. Sec. 309. Criminal offenses. Sec. 310. Civil forfeitures. Sec. 311. Enforcement. Sec. 314. Northwest Atlantic Oceans Fisheries Reinvestment Program. Sec. 312. Transition to sustainable fisheries. 4 1 The item in the table of contents for section 4 does not appear in law and is only included for the convienence of the reader. 2 This item does not conform with the heading of such section. 3 This item does not conform with the heading of such section and should be deleted. 4 This item conforms with the heading of such section, but was improperly added at the end of the table of contents by section 211 of P.L. 104–297. Sec. 313. North Pacific fisheries conservation. 4 Sec. 314. Northwest Atlantic Ocean fisheries reinvestment program. 2 TITLE IV-FISHERY MONITORING AND RESEARCH Sec. 401. Registration and information management. Sec. 402. Information collection. Sec. 403. Observers. Sec. 404. Fisheries research. Sec. 405. Incidental harvest research. Sec. 406. Fisheries systems research. Sec. 407. Gulf of Mexico red snapper research. SEC. 2. [16 U.S.C. 1801] FINDINGS, PURPOSES AND POLICY. (a) FINDINGS.-The Congress finds and declares the following: (1) The fish off the coasts of the United States, the highly migratory species of the high seas, the species which dwell on or in the Continental Shelf appertaining to the United States, and the anadromous species which spawn in United States rivers or estuaries, constitute valuable and renewable natural resources. These fishery resources contribute to the food supply, economy, and health of the Nation and provide recreational opportunities. (2) Certain stocks of fish have declined to the point where their survival is threatened, and other stocks of fish have been so substantially reduced in number that they could become similarly threatened as a consequence of (A) increased fishing pressure, (B) the inadequacy of fishery resource conservation and management practices and controls, or (C) direct and indirect habitat losses which have resulted in a diminished capacity to support existing fishing levels. (3) Commercial and recreational fishing constitutes a major source of employment and contributes significantly to the economy of the Nation. Many coastal areas are dependent upon fishing and related activities, and their economies have been badly damaged by the overfishing of fishery resources at an ever-increasing rate over the past decade. The activities of massive foreign fishing fleets in waters adjacent to such coastal areas have contributed to such damage, interfered with domestic fishing efforts, and caused destruction of the fishing gear of United States fishermen. (4) International fishery agreements have not been effective in preventing or terminating the overfishing of these valuable fishery resources. There is danger that irreversible effects from overfishing will take place before an effective international agreement on fishery management jurisdiction can be negotiated, signed, ratified, and implemented. (5) Fishery resources are finite but renewable. If placed under sound management before overfishing has caused irreversible effects, the fisheries can be conserved and maintained so as to provide optimum yields on a continuing basis. (6) A national program for the conservation and management of the fishery resources of the United States is necessary to prevent overfishing, to rebuild overfished stocks, to insure conservation, to facilitate long-term protection of essential fish habitats, and to realize the full potential of the Nation's fishery resources. (7) A national program for the development of fisheries which are underutilized or not utilized by the United States fishing industry, including bottom fish off Alaska, is necessary to assure that our citizens benefit from the employment, food supply, and revenue which could be generated thereby. (8) The collection of reliable data is essential to the effective conservation, management, and scientific understanding of the fishery resources of the United States. (9) One of the greatest long-term threats to the viability of commercial and recreational fisheries is the continuing loss of marine, estuarine, and other aquatic habitats. Habitat considerations should receive increased attention for the conservation and management of fishery resources of the United States. (10) Pacific Insular Areas contain unique historical, cultural, legal, political, and geographical circumstances which make fisheries resources important in sustaining their economic growth. (b) PURPOSES.-It is therefore declared to be the purposes of the Congress in this Act (1) to take immediate action to conserve and manage the fishery resources found off the coasts of the United States, and the anadromous species and Continental Shelf fishery resources of the United States, by exercising (A) sovereign rights for the purposes of exploring, exploiting, conserving, and managing all fish, within the exclusive economic zone established by Presidential Proclamation 5030, dated March 10, 1983, and (B) exclusive fishery management authority beyond the exclusive economic zone over such anadromous species and Continental Shelf fishery resources 1; (2) to support and encourage the implementation and enforcement of international fishery agreements for the conservation and management of highly migratory species, and to encourage the negotiation and implementation of additional such agreements as necessary; (3) to promote domestic commercial and recreational fishing under sound conservation and management principles, including the promotion of catch and release programs in recreational fishing; (4) to provide for the preparation and implementation, in accordance with national standards, of fishery management plans which will achieve and maintain, on a continuing basis, the optimum yield from each fishery; (5) to establish Regional Fishery Management Councils to exercise sound judgment in the stewardship of fishery resources through the preparation, monitoring, and revision of such plans under circumstances (A) which will enable the States, the fishing industry, consumer and environmental organizations, and other interested persons to participate in, and advise on, the establishment and administration of such plans, and (B) which take into account the social and economic needs of the States; 1 Effective upon the date on which the Agreement between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Maritime Boundary, signed June 1, 1990, enters into force for the United States, section 301(a) of the Flower Garden National Marine Sanctuary (P.L. 102-251; 106 Stat. 62) amends paragraph (1) by inserting ", and fishery resources in the special areas" before the semicolon at the end. |