Reading Room Document

Discretion of Secretary of Commerce in Establishing Boundaries Between Adjoining Regional Fishery Management Councils Under the Fishery Conservation and Management Act

This document addresses the issue of establishing boundaries between adjoining regional fishery management councils under the Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976. The conclusion reached in the document is that the Act requires boundaries between adjoining regional fishery management councils to be based solely on geographical factors. The questions presented for review include whether the Secretary of Commerce is required to establish boundaries between adjoining regional fishery management councils on a geographical basis and whether the litigation authority of regional fishery councils is delegated or barred by the Act. The document also discusses the controversy between the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council regarding the jurisdiction over fisheries in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, respectively.

December 14, 1979