468 



(6) A national program for the conservation 

 and management of the fishery resources of the 

 United States is necessary to prevent overfishing, 

 to rebuild overfished stocks, to insure conserva- 

 tion, and to realize the full potential of the Na- 

 tion's fishery resources. 



(7) A national program for the development of 

 fisheries which are underutilized or not utilized 

 by United States fishermen, including bottom 

 fish off Alaska, is necessary to assure that our 

 citizens benefit from the employment, food sup- 

 ply, and revenue which could be generated there- 

 by. 



(b) Purposes. — It is therefore declared to be the 

 purposes of the Congress in this Act — 



(1) to take immediate action to conserve and 

 manage the fishery resources found off the coasts 

 of the United States, and the anadromous species 

 and Continental Shelf fishery resources of the 

 United States, by establishing (A) a fishery con- 

 servation zone within which the United States 

 will assume exclusive fishery management au- 

 thority over all fish, except highly migratory 

 species, and <B) exclusive fishery management 

 authority beyond such zone over such anadro- 

 mous species and Continental Shelf fishery re- 

 sources ; 



(2) to support and encourage the implementa- 

 tion and enforcement of international fishery 

 agreements for the conservation and manage- 

 ment of highly migratory species, and to en- 

 courage the negotiation and implementation of 

 additional such agreements as necessary; 



(3) to promote domestic commercial and rec- 

 reational fishing under sound conservation and 

 management principles; 



(4) to provide for the preparation and imple- 

 mentation, in accordance with national stand- 

 ards, of fishery management plans which will 

 achieve and maintain, on a continuing basis, the 

 optimum yield from each fishery ; 



(5) to establish Regional Fishery Management 

 Councils to prepare, monitor, and revise such 

 plans under circumstances (A) which will enable 

 the States, the fishing industry, consumer and 

 environmental organizations, and other inter- 

 ested persons to participate in, and advise on, the 

 establishment and administration of such plans, 

 and CB) which take into account the social and 

 economic needs of the States; and 



<6) to encourge the development of fisheries 

 which are currently underutilized or not utilized 

 by United States fishermen, including bottom 

 fish off Alaska. 



(c) Policy. — It is further declared to be the 

 policy of the Congress in this Act — 



(1) to maintain without change the existing 

 territorial or other ocean jurisdiction of the 

 United States for all purposes other than the 

 conservation and management of fishery re- 

 sources, as provided for in this Act; 



(2) to authorize no impediment to, or inter- 

 ference with, recognized legitimate uses of the 

 high seas, except as necessary for the conserva- 



tion and management of fishery resources, as 

 provided for in this Act; 



(3) to assure that the national fishery conser- 

 vation and management program utilizes, and is 

 based upon, the best scientific information avail- 

 able; involves, and is responsive to the needs of, 

 interested and affected States and citizens; pro- 

 motes efficiency; draws upon Federal, State, and 

 academic capabilities in carrying out research, 

 administration, management, and enforcement; 

 and is workable and effective ; 



(4) to permit foreign fishing consistent with 

 the provisions of this Act; and 



(5) to support and encourage continued active 

 United States efforts to obtain an internationally 

 acceptable treaty, at the Third United Nations 

 Conference on the Law of the Sea, which pro- 

 vides for effective conservation and management 

 of fishery resources. 



SEC 3. DEFINITIONS 



As used in this Act, unless the context otherwise 

 requires — 



(1) The term "anadromous species" means 

 species of fish which spawn in fresh or estuarine 

 waters of the United States and which migrate 

 to ocean waters. 



(2) The term "conservation and management" 

 refers to all of the rules, regulations, conditions, 

 methods, and other measures (A) which are re- 

 quired to rebuild, restore, or maintain, and which 

 are useful in rebuilding, restoring, or maintain- 

 ing, any fishery resource and the marine envi- 

 ronment; and (B) which are designed to assure 

 that— 



(i) a supply of food and other products may 

 be taken, and that recreation benefits may be 

 obtained, on a continuing basis; 



(ii) irreversible or long-term adverse effects 

 on fishery resources and the marine environ- 

 ment are avoided; and 



(iii) there will be a multiplicity of options 

 available with respect to future uses of these 

 resources. 



(3) The term "Continental Shelf" means the 

 seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas ad- 

 jacent to the coast, but outside the area of the 

 territorial sea, of the United States, to a depth 

 of 200 meters or, beyond that limit, to where 

 the depth of the superjacent waters admits of 

 the exploitation of the natural resources of such 

 areas. 



(4) The term "Continental Shelf fishery re- 

 sources" means the following: 



Colenterata 



Bamboo Coral — Acanella spp. ; 

 Black Coral — Antlpathes spp.; 

 Gold Coral — Callogoria spp. ; 

 Precious Red Coral — Corallium spp.; 

 Bamboo Coral — Keratoisis spp. ; and 

 Gold Coral — Parazoanthus spp. 



Crustacea 

 Tanner Crab — Chionecetes tanneri; 



