° Tropical specimen collecting; 



° Spearfishing; 



° Bottom trawling and specimen-dredging; 



° Discharging or depositing any substance; 



° Tampering with, removing, or otherwise damaging, cultural 

 or historic resources; and 



° Dredging or alteration of or construction on the seabed. 



Hook and line fishing, net fishing and activities such as snorkeling and 

 SCUBA diving will not be subject to regulation under the current Designation 

 except where regulations relating to the damaging of natural resources apply. 



Proposed Regulations 



The proposed restrictions on activities are set forth in the draft regu- 

 lations (Appendix A). At the present time NOAA is not proposing to regulate 

 alteration of or construction on the seabed or bottom trawling and specimen- 

 dredging. However, by listing these activities in the Designation, restrictions 

 could be proposed in the future should conditions warrant it. NOAA may legally 

 promulgate regulations only in relation to the specific activities listed in 

 the Designation, but the Designation itself does not constitute regulations or 

 impose restrictions. Specific regulations must be proposed, subjected to public 

 review and comment and promulgated if NOAA wishes to control any aspect of the 

 activities listed in the Designation. 



Specific regulations summarized here and presented in detail in Chapter 

 Two, are proposed for the protection of the natural resources and the safety of 

 the various user groups as part of NOAA's preferred alternative. To the extent 

 possible, the sanctuary managers will coordinate with existing authorities in 

 both the administration and enforcement of the regulations. These regulations 

 will apply only within the sanctuary boundaries. The full text of the proposed 

 regulations as they appear in the Federal Register is presented in Appendix A. 



The proposed regulations would impose the following controls: 



(1) Prohibit damage to or the collecting of coral except by permit 

 for research and educational purposes; 



(2) Prohibit the collecting of tropical marine specimens 

 except by permit for scientific and educational purposes; 



(4) Prohibit the use of wire fish traps; 



(5) Prohibit lobster trapping on the Fore Reef (consisting of a 

 trapezoid within Loran "C" points 1 , 2, 3 and 4 consistent 

 with the Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC) proposed 

 by the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Fishery Management 

 Councils); 



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