The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 



Conservation and Management Act 



The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservadon and Man- 

 agement Act, Public Law 94-265 as amended (Magnuson- 

 Stevens Act), provides for the conservation and manage- 

 ment of fisher)' resources within the U.S. Exclusive 

 Economic Zone (EEZ). It also provides for fishen,- 

 management authority over continental shelf resources 

 and anadromous species beyond the EEZ, except when 

 they are found within a foreign nation's territorial sea or 

 fisher}' conservation zone (or equivalent), to the extent 

 that such sea or zone is recognized by the United States. 



llie EEZ extends from the seaward boundary' of each 

 of the coastal States (generaUy 3 nautical miles from shore 

 for aU but two States) to 200 nautical miles from shore. 

 The seaward boundaries of Texas, Puerto Rico, and the 

 Gulf coast of Florida are 3 marine leagues (9 nauUcal 

 miles). The EEZ encompasses approximately 3.36 

 million square nautical miles. 



GOVERNING INTERNATIONAL FISHERY 



AGREEMENT 



Under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Secretary of State, 

 in cooperation with the Secretary of Commerce, nego- 

 tiates Governing International Fishery Agreements 

 (GIFAs) with foreign nations requesting to fish witliin the 

 EEZ. After a GIFA is signed, it is transmitted by the 

 President to the Congress for ratification. 



FOREIGN FISHING PERMITS 



Title II of the Magnuson-Stevens Act governs foreign 

 fishing in the EEZ. The process applied to foreign 

 fishing has been described in prior issues of this publica- 

 tion. As U.S. fishing capacity grew, foreign participation 

 in directed fisheries, as well as in foreign joint ventures in 

 which U.S. vessels delivered U.S. harvested fish to 

 permitted foreign vessels in the EEZ diminished until, in 

 1991, foreign vessels no longer were permitted to 

 conduct directed fishing in the EEZ. This marked the 

 achievement of one of the objectives of the Magnuson- 

 Stevens Act, that is, the development of the U.S. fishing 

 industn,' to take what were in 1976 underutilized species, 

 and the displacement of directed foreign fishing effort in 

 the EEZ. 



As a result of the above, there has been very litde total 

 allowable level of foreign fishing (TALFF) issued since 

 1991. NMFS continues to maintain certain regulations 



pertaining to foreign fisliing should there be a situation in 

 the future in which aOowing limited foreign fishing in an 

 underutiUzed fisher)' would be of advantage to the U.S. 

 fishing industr)'. 



FMPs and PMPs 



Under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, eight Regional Fish- 

 er)' Management Councils are charged with preparing 

 Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) for the fisheries 

 needing management within their areas of authorit)'. 

 After the Councils prepare FMPs tiiat cover domestic 

 and foreign fishing efforts, the FMPs are submitted to the 

 Secretar)' of Commerce (Secretary) for approval and 

 implementation. The Department, through NMFS 

 agents and the U.S. Coast Guard, is responsible for 

 enforcing the law and regulations. 



The Secretary is empowered to prepare FIVIPs in the 

 Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico for highly migratory species. 

 W/Tiere no FMP exists. Preliminary Fisher)' Management 

 Plans (PMPs), which only cover foreign fisliing efforts, 

 are prepared by the Secretary for each fishery for which 

 a foreign nation requests a permit. The Secretary is also 

 empowered to produce an FMP for any fishery that a 

 Council has not duly produced. In tliis latter case, the 

 Secretary's FMP covers domestic and foreign fishing. 



The Atiantic swordfish, Atiantic sharks, and Adantic 

 biUfish fisheries are currentiy being managed by the 

 Secretar)' under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and the 

 Western Adantic bluefin tuna fishery is managed under 

 the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the Adantic Tunas Con- 

 vention Act. 



Under section 304 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, all 

 Council-prepared FMPs must be reviewed for approval 

 by the Secretary of Commerce. Approved FMPs are 

 implemented by Federal regulations under section 305 of 

 the Act. As of December 31, 2004, there are 48 FMPs 

 in effect. Of these, t\vo are Secretarial FMPs for Adantic 

 highly migratory species. The FMPs are Usted below, 

 under the responsible Council. FMl's may be amended 

 by the Council and the amendments are submitted for 

 approval under the same Secretarial review process as 

 new FMPs. Most of the FMPs have been amended since 

 initial implementation, and the number of amendments 

 IS shown with each plan. 



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