Stellwagen Bank Final EIS and Management Plan Page 126 



which may be identified in the future. No Sanctuary 

 regulation of fishing activities would be proposed, 

 however, without following the procedures required 

 by Title III of the MPRSA (found at 15 CFR 

 § 922.31(f))- Those procedures include providing 

 the appropriate fishery management council the 

 opportimity to prepare and recommend draft 

 regulations for fishing within the Sanctuary. 



c. Regulation of Fishing Activities: Under this 

 regulatory alternative, NOAA/OCRM would 

 regulate fishing activities in the Sanctuary. The 

 intent of such regulation would be the preservation 

 of fishery resources, which have been identified as 

 a nationally-significant quality of the Sanctuary. 

 However, such measures by the Sanctuary would 

 also create duplicative and overlapping regulations. 

 Such regulations are not supported by a 

 demonstrated need, particularly in Ught of recent 

 management mandates imposed upon the FMCs 

 and NMFS to rectify the currently-overfished status 

 of several groundfish stocks within the Sanctuary 

 area. 



