The regulations in this part implement certain portions of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq, (Magnuson Act), which, among other things, establishes eight Regional Fishery Management Councils (Councils). The principal responsibilities of these councils are to provide the nucleus of a national fishery conservation and management program through the systematic development of fishery management plans and amendments to such plans, to submit periodic and other reports to the Secretary, to continually review and revise assessments as to optimum yield and the total allowable level of foreign fishing, and to conduct other necessary and appropriate activities with respect to the conservation and management of the fisheries within their geographical area of concern. The Councils act as independent bodies, whose actions must conform to the uniform standards established by Part 601. Part 601 describes matters pertaining to the establishment, organization, practices, and procedures of the Councils. The terms used in these regulations shall have the meanings that are prescribed in section 3 of the Act. In addition, the following definitions apply: (a) Administrative and technical support services. The administrative, technical, legal, and scientific services needed by the Councils, authorized by the Secretary, and provided by the government to assist the Councils in the fulfillment of their various functions required by the Act. (b) Administrator. The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (c) Advisory group. The Scientific and Statistical Committees or advisory panels established under the Act. (d) Associate Administrator. The Associate Administrator for Marine Resources, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (e) Confidential. Confidential means containing information, the unauthorized disclosure of which could be prejudicial or harmful. Depending on the context within which it is used, the word: (1) Identifies information having an official security classification of Confidential or higher relating to the protection of national security, or (2) describes information/data that is identifiable with an individual, business, or some other entity and that is accepted from any person by the Secretary under a stipulation that limits disclo sure. (f) Council. Regional Fishery Management Council. (g) Director. The Director of the National Marine Fisheries Service. (h) Federal budget cycle. The 33month process of formulating and executing the Federal budget. (i) Fishery management plan. A document that contains a systematic description of a given fishery and that sets forth the objectives and strategies for the management of the fishery. (j) Highly migratory species. The following, among others, are considered highly migratory species for the purposes of the Act: TUNA Albacore, Thunnus alalunga; (k) Regional Director. The Regional representatives of the Director. There are five regional offices of the National Marine Fisheries Service whose Regional Directors serve on the various Councils as specified by the Act. [42 FR 34452, July 5, 1977, as amended at 42 FR 36980, July 18, 1977; 48 FR 56591, Dec. 22, 1983] Subpart B-Geographical Boundaries § 601.11 General. (a) Fishery conservation zone. The Act creates a zone contiguous to the territorial sea, which is called the fishery conservation zone. The outer boundary of the zone is 200 nautical miles from the baseline from which the territorial sea is measured and the inner boundary is a line coterminous with the seaward boundary of each of the coastal States. (See 43 U.S.C. 1301(b) and 1312 for definition of "seaward boundary".) (b) Scope. (1) The boundaries described in § 601.12 delineate the geographical area of authority of adjacent Council within this fishery conservation zone. (2) Within the geographical area of authority, each Council shall develop fishery management plans for each fishery involving the following categories of fishery resources: (i) All fish within this zone, except "highly migratory species"; (ii) All anadromous species throughout their migratory range, except within a conservation zone recognized by the United States; and (iii) Continental Shelf fishery re sources. (c) Jurisdiction—(1) State. Generally the Act does not diminish the fishery jurisdiction of any State within its own boundaries, nor does it extend State fishery jurisdiction beyond a State's seaward boundary. (2) Intercouncil. In any case in which the range of stock or a fishery extends beyond the geographical area of authority of any one Council, as defined in § 601.12, the Secretary is authorized to designate the Council that shall prepare the fishery management plan for such a fishery, after consultation with the Councils concerned. When such a plan includes waters adjacent to the States represented on more than one Council, the Council thus designated should consult with the other affected Council(s). The Secretary may require that a plan be prepared jointly by the Councils concerned. In this case, any plan or amendment must, before being submitted to the Secretary, shall be approved by a majority of the voting members, present and voting, of each participating Council. [42 FR 34452, July 5, 1977] § 601.12 Intercouncil boundaries. (a) New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils—(1) Description. The boundary commences at the intersection point of Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York at 41°18'16.249"latitude and 71°54′28.477" longitude and proceeds S 37°22'32.75" E to the points of intersection with the outward boundary of the fishery conservation zone as specified in Title I, section 101 and Title II, section 202(d) of the Act. (2) Method of determination. The boundary between the New England and Mid-Atlantic Councils continues the agreed state boundary between New York and Rhode Island (to which Congress granted consent on July 1, 1944, Pub. L. 78-399) seaward to the 200 mile boundary of the fishery conservation zone. (b) Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils—(1) Description. The boundary commences at the seaward boundary between the States of Virginia and North Carolina, and proceeds due East to the point of intersection with the outward boundary of the fishery conservation zone as specified in Title I, section 101 and Title II, section 202(d) of the Act. (2) Methods of determinations. The boundary between the Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic Councils continues the agreed State boundary between Virginia and North Carolina seaward to the 200-mile boundary of the fishery conservation zone and, when drawn, would be a line of constant latitude described as 36°33′00.8′′N. (c) South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Councils-(1) Description. The boundary between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean begins at the intersection of the outer boundary of the FCZ and the eighty-third meridian west of Greenwich (83° W. longitude), proceeds northward along that meridian to 24°35' N. latitude (near the Dry Tortugas Islands), thence eastward along that parallel of latitude, through Rebecca Shoal and the Quicksand Shoal, to the Marquesas Keys, and then through the Florida Keys to the mainland at the eastern end of Florida Bay, the line so running that the narrow waters within the Dry Tortugas Islands, the Marquesas Keys and the Florida Keys, and between the Florida Keys and the mainland, are within the Gulf of Mexico. (2) Method of determination. The boundary between the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Councils reflects the determination in United States v. Florida, 425 U.S. 791 (1976), regarding the line of demarcation between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. [42 FR 36980, July 18, 1977, as amended at 49 FR 30203, July 27, 1984] (a) Purpose. Section 302(f)(6) of the Act requires each Council to determine its own organization, practices and procedures for carrying out its functions in accordance with such Uniform Standards as are prescribed by the Secretary. The regulations contained in this subpart provide the Uniform Standards in accordance with which the Councils shall operate. (b) Applicability of other laws-(1) National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321). The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) sets forth the strategy of the Congress to achieve coordination of Federal activities and environmental considerations. NEPA's basic purpose is to insure that, in addition to technical and economic considerations, Federal officials weigh and give appropriate consideration to unquantified environmental values in policy formulation, decisionmaking and administrative actions. Section 102(2)(C) of NEPA requires preparation of a detailed environmental impact statement in the case of major Federal actions that significantly affect the quality of the human environment. Procedures for compliance with NEPA in the preparation and submission of fishery management plans and amendments to such plans are set forth in § 602.6 [Reserved]. (2) Provisions of two interrelated laws affect Council practices and procedures concerning public access to government records. These laws are (i) The Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552(b)). The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides for public access to records of the executive branch of the Federal Government, and to records generated at the request of the Federal Government. Nine groups of exceptions are provided that allow the withholding of information. Application of FOIA is covered more specifically in Part 603. (ii) The Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552 (a)). This Act provides to individuals certain rights of access to records kept about them, and at the same time requires that the confidentiality and use of the information be strictly regulated, placing restrictions on the collection, retention, and use of personal information. Specific application of this Act is found in Part 603. (3) Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.). The principal objective of this Act is to encourage and assist States in developing coastal zone management programs, to coordinate State activities, and to safeguard the regional and national interests in the coastal zone. While the coastal zone does not extend beyond the territorial sea, activities taking place beyond the territorial sea may impact on the coastal zone and thus come within the influence of coastal zone planning. In the preparation of fishery management plans, Councils should be particularly cognizant of the provisions of section 307(c) of this Act that require that any Federal activity directly affecting the coastal zone of a State be consistent with that State's approved coastal zone management program. Thus, Councils will need to coordinate their planning actions with the appropriate State agencies involved in coastal zone program development. [42 FR 34452, July 5, 1977, as amended at 48 FR 56589, Dec. 22, 1983] § 601.22 Organization. (a) General. This part addresses such questions as organization of the Council members, administrative staff and advisory panels. (b) Council members. The Councils consist of voting and nonvoting members or their designees, as specified in the Act. (1) Terms. Members appointed following initial constitution of the Councils serve for a term of three years. An individual appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of any term of office shall be appointed for the remainder of that term. The anniversary date for measuring terms of membership is August 11. (2) Designees. (i) The Act authorizes the principal State officials, the NMFS Regional Directors, and the nonvoting members to designate individuals to attend Council meetings in their absence. Only one designee per Council may be so specified by each of the above officials. (ii) A designee may serve for all or part of a Council meeting in the absence of the individual he or she is replacing and has the same voting power as his or her designator. (iii) If circumstances require, the Council member may change his or her designee. In such case, the Chairman of the Council must be notified and given in writing, in advance of the meeting at which the designee will represent the Council member, the name, address, and position of the individual designated. A designee may not name a designee for himself or herself. (iv) Designees without appropriate security clearance may not attend meetings closed for security reasons, nor handle classified material. (See § 601.23(e)(3).) (v) Reimbursement of actual expenses and compensation, as described in § 601.23(f), associated with travel to any meeting shall be limited to the member, or, in the case of the absence of the member, one designee. A designee who serves for part of a Council meeting may receive reimbursement of actual expenses and compensation associated with necessary travel and attendance at that part of a Council meeting wherein the member is absent. (3) Designation of regional directors. The Regional Directors, NMFS shall, in accordance with the Act, serve as voting members on the Councils as follows: (4) Appointments. (i) Inasmuch as each year approximately one-third of a Council's appointed membership will lapse, new members will be appointed by the Secretary or the Secretary's delegate from lists of nominees submitted by the Governors of each applicable constituent state by March 15 of each year. The Governors are responsible for determining that their nominees meet the qualification requirements of the Magnuson Act and for providing appropriate documentation for the Secretary or the Secretary's delegate to make a reasoned choice. If the Secretary or the Secretary's delegate determines that an individual is not qualified, the Secretary or the Secretary's delegate will notify the appropriate Governor of that determination. The Governor will then submit a revised list or resubmit the original list with an additional explanation of the qualifications of the nominee in ques tion. (ii) There are two categories of seats for which appointed voting members may be eligible: "obligatory" and "atlarge." Each Council constituent State has one obligatory seat. When the term of an obligatory State member expires, the Governor of that State is required to submit at least three nominations from which the selection of a replacement will be made by the Secretary or the Secretary's delegate. When the term of an at-large State member expires, the Governor of each member State of a Council shall submit at least three nominations for each vacancy, and the selection will be made by the Secretary or the Secretary's delegate from among the collective nominations by the Governors of all member States. Any individual whose term is expiring may be renominated for consideration. (iii) The number of individuals who must be nominated by a Governor shall be equal to at least three times the number of vacancies available, and each such nominee shall be considered as available for any such vacancy. However, in a case where the terms of both an obligatory member and an atlarge member expires the same year, the Governor of the State holding the expiring obligatory seat may indicate that remaining nominees for an obligatory seat may be considered for an atlarge seat. (iv) The procedures in § 601.22 (b)(4)(i) through (iii) also apply when a vacancy occurs prior to the normal expiration of a term of membership of a voting member appointed by the Secretary or the Secretary's delegate. (v) If a Governor fails to submit a list of at-large nominees within the time allotted, then the new at-large member(s) may be appointed from the list of names submitted by the Governors of the other applicable constituent States. (vi) The Secretary may remove for cause any Secretarially-appointed member of a Council if the Council concerned first recommends removal by an affirmative vote of not less than two-thirds of the Council members who are voting members. The recommendation must be in writing and include a statement of the reasons upon which the recommendation is based. (5) Council organization. The Chairman shall be elected from among the voting members by a majority vote of the voting members present and voting. The term of office for the Chairman may not exceed one year; however, the Chairman is eligible for re-election. The Council may establish other officers as deemed necessary and set their terms of office. The Council may appoint standing and ad hoc committees from among the voting and nonvoting members as it deems necessary for the conduct of Council business. Such committees shall conform to the procedures for assuring open meetings specified for the Council. (c) Administrative staff. Each Council shall appoint an Executive Director and such other full and part time administrative employees as the Secretary determines are necessary to the performance of its functions, and which are consistent with budgetary limitations. However, the number of such employees may not exceed seven except as approved by the Director, NMFS. The Executive Director and staff are responsible to the Chairman of the Council. (1) Executive director-(i) Duties. Each Council, through its Chairman, shall assign such duties to the Executive Director as it deems appropriate, consistent with these uniform standards. (ii) Compensation. The administrative responsibilities, coupled with the complexity of the workload of the Council, will influence the pay level appropriate to a given Executive Director position, provided that compensation shall not exceed the yearly rate for the highest step of a GS-15 in the General Schedule. (2) Other administrative staff-(i) Minimum. As a minimum, each Council shall have an administrative staff consisting of an executive director, an administrative officer, and a secretary. (ii) Additional staff. Additional administrative staff above the minimum prescribed above will vary by Council because of differences in workload and availability of resources. The number and types of additional positions will also vary over time as the work of the Council is defined during its initial phase of operation. |