The enforcement responsibilities delegated by the Secretary of Commerce 

 to NOAA/NMFS are currently administered and carried out by an Enforcement 

 Division in the Office of Fisheries Management (a staff function) and by 

 five separate and independent regional law enforcement organizations (line 

 function) operating under the direction and control of the respective Regional 

 Directors. The National Marine Fisheries Service administrative and enforcement 

 resources are currently limited since available funds and personnel must be 

 spread throughout the 200 mile fisheries conservation zone. 



The Florida Keys are part of the Eastern Enforcement Area of the NOAA/NMFS 

 Southeast Law Enforcement region, extending from North Carolina to Key West 

 and including Florida Bay. NMFS primarily investigates and processes civil/ 

 criminal violations of the laws within NOAA jurisdiction. The Florida Marine 

 Patrol and the U.S. Coast Guard patrol the waters under Cooperative Agreements 

 entered into by the Regional Director of the NOAA/NMFS Law Enforcement Office 

 in the Southeastern region. This arrangement alleviates the problem of the 

 lack of ceiling points necessary to hire additional Agents for patrol work. 



B. Survey of Authorities Relevant to the Protection of Looe Key 

 Resources 



1. Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 (FCMA) 16 USC 

 1801 et seq. 



Authority includes: 



Managing the 200 mile fishery conservation zone with 

 exclusive U.S. fishery management authority over all 

 fish except highly migratory species. 



Promoting domestic, commercial and recreational fishing 

 under sound conservation and management principles. 



Review, approval and implementation of fishery management 

 plans (FMP's) to achieve and maintain optimum yield from 

 each fishery. 



The GMFMC (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida) and the 

 SAFMC (Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina) will prepare and submit 

 to the Secretary of Commerce, FMP's for each fishery within their geographical 

 area of authority. The Council's FMP's will be implemented by Commerce, 

 after a determination that the Plans are consistent with the FCMA's National 

 Standards, other provisions of the FCMA and other applicable laws. 



FMP's being prepared by the GMFMC either unilaterally or jointly 

 with the SAFMC will affect species found and harvested commercially in the 

 Looe Key reef area. These FMP's are: 



a. Spiny Lobster Resources Plan : 



The latest available draft was circulated August 1979. Key Points: 

 While the spiny lobster management zone "encompasses the offshore areas 



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