Ill 



national standards for fishery management contained in the 

 Fishery Conse*" vation and Management Act of 1976 (FCMA). In 

 the case of stocks managed primarily by one country and 

 those managed jointly, the Agreement provides for dispute 

 resolution to guard against the possibility that deadlock 

 may leave the stocks unprotected. 



The need for the proposed action stems from the 

 decision by both countries in 1976 to extend their 

 jurisdiction over fisheries to 200 miles and to undertake 

 national programs of fishery management within these 

 extended areas. Because a number of important fish stocks 

 migrate between areas they can be affected by fishing 

 pressure applied in either country's zone. For this 

 reason, U.S. and Canadian authorities perceived the need 

 to coordinate fishery management decisions for such stocks. 



Furthermore, the limits of the extended zones claimed 

 by the United States and Canada overlap in four areas. The 

 most pronounced overlap occurs in the Atlantic on the 

 northeastern third of Georges Bank, one of the world's 

 richest fishing grounds and traditionally one of 

 significant importance to U.S. fishermen. In the absence of 

 an established maritime boundary, fish stocks in this area 

 are particularly prone to the risks of competitive 

 overfishing . 



