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presumably be made. NMFS _has_also_prepared_the 
preliminary fishery management plans that permitted 
limited foreign fishing while awaiting completion and 
approval of the final managements plans by each 
Council. At the same time, NMFS performs a screen- 
ing function for the Secretary of Commerce in advis- 
ing whether the plans drawn are, in its view, in the 
national interest. According to the Congressional 
Office of Technology Assessment review of the 200- 
mile management program, this dual role is a present 
source of confusion.*® Table 3—7 shows the division 
of functions. 
Among the potential problem areas are budget 
support and research priorities. Council budgets must 
be approved by NMFS and NOAA. In the event o 
conflict between the COUNTS and The Federal repre- 
sentatives, this power could be a factor. Balancing 
this is the fact that the Council representatives come 
through the State political process; they were se- 
lected for nomination by State governors, and can be 
presumed to be in positions to bring some pressure 
to obtain funding needed. 
Research needs may be seen differently by the 
Councils and NMFS, which is charged with per- 
forming the work, and for which money is budgeted 
in support of implementing the Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act. Ag_itstands, the councils may 
make recommendations, but the Department of Com- 
merce has the final say. 
As it is, the concept of the Regional Council 
stands out as a pigneering effort at sharing—power. 
betw: inci the Federal and State govern- 
ments;—with—private—interests_ represented, in what 
is legally a-Federal_resource management.area, 
While the Regional Councils may represent a 
hopeful trend in State-Federal relations, when it 
397 U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. Establish- 
ing a 200-Mile Fisheries Zone. Washington, D.C., Government 
Printing Office, March 1977. 
comes to administering laws and regulations within 
the 3-mile territorial sea, the picture is different. 
Some fisheries are managed under comprehensive 
plans; others are managed under regulations without 
a strong scientific basis. Some fisheries are continually 
being researched and are without effective manage- 
ment, and others are not being managed at all.*° 
From a national standpoint, the problem of con- 
current jurisdiction by several States over a particular 
fishery may be a major barrier to sound management. 
As examples, bluefish occur in the waters of 14 States 
and menhaden in the waters of 16 States. Because 
each individual State creates laws for fishery man- 
agement within its jurisdiction, differing regula- 
tions sometimes exist among States. For example, 
size limits on striped bass vary from Maine and 
South Carolina where there are no limitations to 
New Jersey, which requires the fish to be 12 inches 
long to be retained. Some States have divided author- 
ity within the State, which adds further difficulties to 
fishery management in that State. 
The institutions dealing with territorial sea fisheries 
are: 
® The States—each State has the authority to man- 
age fisheries within its legal boundaries. 
e Interstate Marine Fisheries Commissions—the At- 
lantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the 
Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, and 
\t \ the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, were 
~established to develop a joint program for the 
promotion and protection of marine fisheries. 
Member states may grant regulatory management 
authority to the commissions. 
® Regional Fishery Management Councils—Under 
the 200-mile law, the Regional Fishery Manage- 
From ih ah Rothschild and C. E. Meleky, paper, ‘‘Coastal 
Belt, Uses and Needs: Fisheries,’ Conference on Management of 
Coastal and Ocean Resources, University of Rhode Island, June 
1977. 
Table 3-7—Duties of Regional Councils and National Marine Fisheries Service * 
Regional Councils 
: Department of Commerce (NMFS) 
Determine information, data, and analysis needed to prepare 
management plans. 
Test and evaluate techniques for determining optimum yield 
and other management factors. 
Secure needed information from NMFS or other regional 
sources as necessary to complete management plans. 
Prepare fishery management plans, oversee their implemen- 
tation. 
Prepare preliminary management plans for fisheries. 
Issue permits for foreign fishing. 
Establish general regulations and guidelines for preparation 
of all management plans. 
Provide the Councils with data and information necessary 
to prepare management plans. 
Work with Coast Guard on enforcement of regulations. 
-Work with State Department to determine national alloca- 
tions of the total allowable level of foreign fishing. 
‘Source: Adapted from Office of Technology Assessment, Establishing a 200-Mile Fisheries Zone, March 1977. 
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