PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

Defines the key words used for managing coastal fisheries so people know how the rules will be applied. Coastal fishery management plan: a plan the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission prepares that reports how a resource is doing and tells the States what conservation and management steps to take. Coastal fishery resource: a fishery, species, or stock that moves among or is widely found in waters of two or more States or in state waters and the U.S. exclusive economic zone. Commission: the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission created by interstate compact approved in Public Laws 77–539 and 81–721. Conservation: restoring, rebuilding, and keeping fish and their marine habitat healthy for the long term. Councils: the Regional Fishery Management Councils created under section 1852. Exclusive economic zone: the U.S. EEZ set by Proclamation No. 5030 (March 10, 1983), from each coastal State’s seaward boundary out to 200 nautical miles. Fish: finfish, mollusks, crustaceans, and other marine animals, but not marine mammals or birds. Fishery: one or more fish stocks managed together, or fishing for those stocks. Fishing: catching or trying to catch fish, activities likely to catch fish, and at-sea operations that support those activities; it does not include scientific research or aquaculture. Implement and enforce: pass and carry out laws or rules needed to follow a management plan and make people in the fishery comply. Person: any individual or business or government entity. Secretary: the Secretary of Commerce. State: Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, the District of Columbia, or the Potomac River Fisheries Commission.

Title 16, §5102

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

In this chapter, the following definitions apply:

(1)The term “coastal fishery management plan” means a plan for managing a coastal fishery resource, or an amendment to such plan, prepared and adopted by the Commission, that—

(A)contains information regarding the status of the resource and related fisheries; and

(B)specifies conservation and management actions to be taken by the States.

(2)The term “coastal fishery resource” means any fishery, any species of fish, or any stock of fish that moves among, or is broadly distributed across, waters under the jurisdiction of two or more States or waters under the jurisdiction of one or more States and the exclusive economic zone.

(3)The term “Commission” means the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission established under the interstate compact consented to and approved by the Congress in Public Laws 77–539 and 81–721.

(4)The term “conservation” means the restoring, rebuilding, and maintaining of any coastal fishery resource and the marine environment, in order to assure the availability of coastal fishery resources on a long-term basis.

(5)The term “Councils” means Regional Fishery Management Councils established under section 1852 of this title.

(6)The term “exclusive economic zone” means the exclusive economic zone of the United States established by Proclamation Number 5030, dated March 10, 1983. For the purposes of this chapter, the inner boundary of that zone is a line coterminous with the seaward boundary of each of the coastal States, and the outer boundary of that zone is a line drawn in such a manner that each point on it is 200 nautical miles from the baseline from which the territorial sea is measured.

(7)The term “fish” means finfish, mollusks, crustaceans, and all other forms of marine animal life other than marine mammals and birds.

(8)The term “fishery” means—

(A)one or more stocks of fish that can be treated as a unit for purposes of conservation and management and that are identified on the basis of geographical, scientific, technical, commercial, recreational, or economic characteristics; or

(B)any fishing for such stocks.

(9)The term “fishing” means—

(A)the catching, taking, or harvesting of fish;

(B)the attempted catching, taking, or harvesting of fish;

(C)any other activity that can be reasonably expected to result in the catching, taking, or harvesting of fish; or

(D)any operations at sea in support of, or in preparation for, any activity described in subparagraphs (A) through (C).

Such term does not include any scientific research activity or the catching, taking, or harvesting of fish in an aquaculture operation.

(10)The term “implement and enforce” means to enact and implement laws or regulations as required to conform with the provisions of a coastal fishery management plan and to assure compliance with such laws or regulations by persons participating in a fishery that is subject to such plan.

(11)The term “person” means any individual (whether or not a citizen or national of the United States), any corporation, partnership, association, or other entity (whether or not organized or existing under the laws of any State), and any Federal, State, local, or foreign government or any entity of any such government.

(12)The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Commerce.

(13)The term “State” means Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, the District of Columbia, or the Potomac River Fisheries Commission.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Public Law 77–539, referred to in par. (3), is act May 4, 1942, ch. 283, 56 Stat. 267, which is not classified to the Code. Public Law 81–721, referred to in par. (3), is act Aug. 19, 1950, ch. 763, 64 Stat. 467, which is not classified to the Code. Proclamation Number 5030, referred to in par. (6), is set out as a note under section 1453 of this title.

Amendments

2000—Par. (5). Pub. L. 106–555 made technical amendment to reference in original act which appears in text as reference to section 1852 of this title. 1996—Par. (1). Pub. L. 104–297 inserted “and” after semicolon in subpar. (A), substituted “States.” for “States; and” in subpar. (B), and struck out subpar. (C) which read as follows: “recommends actions to be taken by the Secretary in the exclusive economic zone to conserve and manage the fishery.”

Executive Documents

Territorial Sea of United States For extension of territorial sea of United States, see Proc. No. 5928, set out as a note under section 1331 of Title 43, Public Lands.

§5102 Definitions