Commercial Fishing

USA Federal Fishery Management and Commercial Fishing Regulations

By daybreak
Published: March 3, 2007

The Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976

The Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 established a U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between 3 and 200 miles offshore, and created eight regional fishery councils to manage the living marine resources within that area. The bill was amended on October 11, 1996 and re-named the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

The Act was passed principally to address heavy foreign fishing, promote the development of a domestic fleet and link the fishing community more directly to the management process. Each Council was directed to prepare fishery management plans for implementation by the Secretary of Commerce. The eight councils are administered by NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries Service).

The 1996 amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Act, known as the Sustainable Fisheries Act, significantly changed the focus of fisheries management by adding key provisions to address overfishing of currently depressed stocks, rebuild depleted stocks,reduce bycatch and minimize the mortality of unavoidable bycatch, designate and conserve essential fish habitat, reform the approval process for FMPs and regulations, reduce conflict-of-interest on regional councils and establish user fees.

New England Fishery Management Council

The New England Fishery Management Council is responsible for the conservation and management of fish stocks within the federal 200-mile limit off the coasts of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. The Council is made up of eighteen voting members. It consists of the Regional Administrator or a representative of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS),state marine fishery management officials for Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, and twelve members nominated by the governors of the New England coastal states and appointed by the Secretary of Commerce.

Non-voting members represent the United States Coast Guard, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of State, and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is responsible for the conservation and management of fish stocks within the federal 200-mile limit off the coasts of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina.

The Mid-Atlantic Council consists of representatives from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. The Council consists of 25 members (21 voting, 4 non-voting), representing State and Federal agencies and the public. The voting members are the Regional Administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service, a State fisheries official from each State, and thirteen public members nominated by the State Governors and selected by the Secretary of Commerce.

Non-voting members represent the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of State,and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

South Atlantic Fishery Management Council

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is responsible for the conservation and management of fish stocks within the federal 200-mile limit off the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and east Florida to Key West.

Non-voting members represent the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of State, and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council

infomation pending....

Pacific Fishery Management Council

The Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission is responsible for the conservation and management of fish stocks within the federal 200-mile limit off the coasts of California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska.

Non-voting members represent the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of State, and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

PSMFC’s primary goal is to promote and support policies and actions to conserve, develop, and manage our fishery resources in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska. Tasks include coordinating research activities, monitoring fishing activities, and facilitating a wide variety of projects. PSMFC also serves as a primary contractor on state and federal government funded grants and contracts. PSMFC also collects and maintains data on salmon, steelhead, and other marine fish for fishery managers and the fishing industry.

North Pacific Fishery Management Council

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) has jurisdiction over the 900,000 square mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off Alaska. The Council has primary responsibility for groundfish management in the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands. Among the species managed are cod, pollock, flatfish, mackerel, sablefish, and rockfish species harvested mainly by trawlers, hook and line longliners and pot fishermen.

<>The Council also makes allocative and limited entry decisions for halibut, though the U.S. - Canada International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) is responsible for conservation of halibut. Other large Alaska fisheries such as salmon, crab and herring are managed primarily by the State of Alaska.

Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council is the policy-making organization for the management of fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ, generally 3 to 200 miles offshore) around the Territory of American Samoa, Territory of Guam, State of Hawaii, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and US Pacific island possessions an area of nearly 1.5 million square miles.

The Western Pacific Council has 13 voting and 3 non-voting members. Half of the members are appointed by the US Secretary of Commerce to represent fishing and related community interests in the region. The others are designated state, territorial and federal officials with fishery management responsibilities.

<>The main task of the Council is to protect fishery resources while maintaining opportunities for domestic fishing at sustainable levels of effort and yield. To accomplish this, the Council monitors fisheries within its region and prepares and modifies fishery management plans as needed. The regulations are enforced jointly by the National Marine Fisheries Service, US Coast Guard and deputized state and territorial agents. The Council encourages cooperative fishery management among the island and distant-water fishing nations throughout the Pacific.

Caribbean Fishery Management Council

The Caribbean Fishery Management Council (CFMC) includes the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. It has ten members, seven with vote and three with voice but no vote. Four of the voting members are appointed by the US Secretary of Commerce upon recommendations of the Governors of PR and the USVI. The other voting members are directly designated by the Act: the principal officials from PR and USVI with marine fishery management responsibility, and the Regional Administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service NMFS, Southeast Regional Office SERO.

The three non-voting members are: the Director of the Southeast (Atlanta) Region of the Fish and Wildlife Service USFWS, the Commander of the Seventh (Miami) District of the US Coast Guard, and a representative from the US Department of State.

The CFMC the only council that does not include one of the fifty states of the Union. The Caribbean Fishery Management Council is responsible for the creation of management plans for fishery resources in waters off Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands.