Branch of Environmental Assessment (BEA)
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act
The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (FCMA), as amended (16
U.S.C. 1801 et seq.)
established:
A fishery conservation zone between the territorial seas of the United
States and 200 nautical miles offshore;
An
exclusive U.S. fishery management authority over fish within the fishery
conservation zone (excluding highly migratory species);
Regulations for foreign fishing within the fishery conservation zone
through international fishery agreements, permits, and import
prohibitions; and
National standards for fishery conservation and management and eight
regional fishery management councils
to apply those national standards in fishery management plans.
Congress enacted the 1996 amendments to the
Act, known as the Sustainable
Fisheries Act (SFA) (P.L. 104-297), to
address the substantially reduced fish stocks that declined as a result
of direct and indirect habitat loss. The SFA requires that the MMS and
other agencies consult with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service concerning actions
that may adversely impact
Essential Fish Habitat (EFH).
In 2007, President
Bush signed the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization
Act of 2006. It mandates the use of annual catch limits and
accountability measures to end overfishing, provides for fishery
management by a limited access program, and calls for increased
international cooperation.
Last Updated: 03/06/2009,
02:13 PM
