NOAA Office of the General Counsel
Home  |  About us  |   The General Counsel   Offices  |   Links   |   Documents  |  Contacts

GC Quick Links:

NOAA logo with whale tail

THE OFFICE OF THE
SOUTHWEST REGIONAL COUNSEL

The Office of the Southwest Regional Counsel (GCSW) is co-located with the Southwest Region of the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in Long Beach, California. GCSW gives legal support to the Southwest Region and the Pacific Fishery Management Council. In addition, the NOAA office of General Counsel for Enforcement and Litigation, Southwest Region, prosecutes violations of the living marine resources statutes under the authority of the Secretary of Commerce. The substantive legal work of GCSW mostly relates to the Endangered Species Act, Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act ("Magnuson Act"), Marine Mammal Protection Act, Tuna Conventions Act, Dolphin Protection Consumer Information Act, the High Seas Fishing Compliance Act, and the Federal Power Act. In recent years GCSW has increasingly focused on recovery of salmon protected under the Endangered Species Act and management of tuna and other pelagic species in the eastern and central pacific. The fishery management councils operate primarily under the Magnuson Act.

Like the other offices of NOAA General Counsel, GCSW plays an inter-agency and intra-agency coordination role, working to ensure regional and council programs remain consistent with other parts of NOAA and other agencies. In addition to the programmatic statutes listed above, GCSW also supports both the NMFS Southwest Region and the councils in complying with related administrative laws such as the Administrative Procedure Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Executive Order 12866, etc. In providing advice under these statutes, GCSW coordinates closely with the Department of Commerce's Office of General Counsel.

GCSW has five attorneys and one support staff. The Southwest Regional Counsel is Judson Feder.

Contact Information:

The Office of the Southwest Regional Counsel
Glenn Anderson Federal Building
501 W. Ocean Blvd., Suite 4470
Long Beach, CA 90802
Telephone: 562/980-4080
Fax: 562/980-4084

Email contact list:

  • Judson J. Feder, Southwest Regional Counsel
  • Deanna Harwood, Attorney
  • Dan Hytrek, Attorney
  • Chris Keifer, Attorney
  • Kathryn Kempton, Attorney
  • Paul A. Ortiz, Senior Enforcement Attorney
  • Julia Caracoza, Secretary