| The NOAA Office of the Southwest Regional
Counsel ("GCSW") reports to the General Counsel of NOAA, a presidential
appointee who reports directly to the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere.
GCSW gives legal support to the Southwest Region of the National Marine Fisheries Service
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 the Southwest Regional Counsel 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 the Southwest Regional Counsel
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, General Counsel Southwest 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, General Counsel
Southwest coordinates closely with the Department of
Commerce's Office of General Counsel. |
