16 U.S.C. § 5103

Current through P.L. 118-47 (published on www.congress.gov on 03/23/2024)

Section 5103 - State-Federal cooperation in Atlantic coastal fishery management

(a) Federal support for State coastal fisheries programs

The Secretary in cooperation with the Secretary of the Interior shall develop and implement a program to support the interstate fishery management efforts of the Commission. The program shall include activities to support and enhance State cooperation in collection, management, and analysis of fishery data; law enforcement; habitat conservation; fishery research, including biological and socioeconomic research; and fishery management planning.

(b) Federal regulation in exclusive economic zone

(1) In the absence of an approved and implemented fishery management plan under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), and after consultation with the appropriate Councils, the Secretary may implement regulations to govern fishing in the exclusive economic zone that are-

(A) compatible with the effective implementation of a coastal fishery management plan; and

(B) consistent with the national standards set forth in section 301 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1851 ).

The regulations may include measures recommended by the Commission to the Secretary that are necessary to support the provisions of the coastal fishery management plan. Regulations issued by the Secretary to implement an approved fishery management plan prepared by the appropriate Councils or the Secretary under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) shall supersede any conflicting regulations issued by the Secretary under this subsection.

(2) The provisions of sections 307, 308, 309, 310, and 311 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1857, 1858, 1859, 1860, and 1861 ) regarding prohibited acts, civil penalties, criminal offenses, civil forfeitures, and enforcement shall apply with respect to regulations issued under this subsection as if such regulations were issued under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).

16 U.S.C. § 5103

Pub. L. 103-206, title VIII, §804, Dec. 20, 1993, 107 Stat. 2449; Pub. L. 104-297, title IV, §404(b), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3619; Pub. L. 106-555, title I, §122(b)(3), Dec. 21, 2000, 114 Stat. 2766.

EDITORIAL NOTES

REFERENCES IN TEXTThe Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, referred to in subsec. (b), is Pub. L. 94-265, Apr. 13, 1976, 90 Stat. 331, which is classified principally to chapter 38 (§1801 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1801 of this title and Tables.

AMENDMENTS2000-Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 106-555 substituted "Magnuson-Stevens Fishery" for "Magnuson Fishery" wherever appearing. 1996-Subsec. (b)(1)(A). Pub. L. 104-297 substituted "compatible with" for "necessary to support".

Commission: The term "Commission" means the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission established under the interstate compact consented to and approved by the Congress in Public Laws 77-539 and 81-721.
Councils: The term "Councils" means Regional Fishery Management Councils established under section 1852 of this title.
Secretary: The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Commerce.
State: The term "State" means Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, the District of Columbia, or the Potomac River Fisheries Commission.
coastal fishery management plan: The term "coastal fishery management plan" means a plan for managing a coastal fishery resource, or an amendment to such plan, prepared and adopted by the Commission, that-(A) contains information regarding the status of the resource and related fisheries; and(B) specifies conservation and management actions to be taken by the States.
conservation: The term "conservation" means the restoring, rebuilding, and maintaining of any coastal fishery resource and the marine environment, in order to assure the availability of coastal fishery resources on a long-term basis.
exclusive economic zone: The term "exclusive economic zone" means the exclusive economic zone of the United States established by Proclamation Number 5030, dated March 10, 1983. For the purposes of this chapter, the inner boundary of that zone is a line coterminous with the seaward boundary of each of the coastal States, and the outer boundary of that zone is a line drawn in such a manner that each point on it is 200 nautical miles from the baseline from which the territorial sea is measured.
fishery: The term "fishery" means-(A) one or more stocks of fish that can be treated as a unit for purposes of conservation and management and that are identified on the basis of geographical, scientific, technical, commercial, recreational, or economic characteristics; or(B) any fishing for such stocks.
fishing: The term "fishing" means-(A) the catching, taking, or harvesting of fish;(B) the attempted catching, taking, or harvesting of fish;(C) any other activity that can be reasonably expected to result in the catching, taking, or harvesting of fish; or(D) any operations at sea in support of, or in preparation for, any activity described in subparagraphs (A) through (C).Such term does not include any scientific research activity or the catching, taking, or harvesting of fish in an aquaculture operation.