The U.S. Senators of MA, ME, NH, RI, and NY —along with 13 Congressmen— have written to the Secretary of Commerce asking that he implement emergency regulations and increase annual catch limits for 19 fish stocks.
The letter was sent directly to the White House and the Secretary [view PDF of letter].
The letter asks the Secretary to "exercise the authority granted to your office under section 305(c)(1) of the MSA and promulgate an emergency regulation increasing the ACLs of groundfish—especially the five choke stocks—sufficiently to minimize the risk of the failure of the sector management system while still preventing overfishing from occurring. We further request that you seek ways to reduce the scientific uncertainty that has led directly to the reductions for 2010. As NOAA has stated many times, the increased monitoring that already will be required as part of the sector management system will greatly enhance the agency’s stock assessment capabilities, and bring desperately needed clarification to the scientific picture of the groundfishery. Taking these steps to ensure sector management has a better chance to succeed will pay dividends to future fishery management efforts, provide a sense of security to our coastal economies, and improve the relationship between the agency and the community."
According to the Members of Congress and the Senate, the following section of the Magnuson Act grants the secretary the authority to take the actions requested:
TITLE III — NATIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
SEC. 305. OTHER REQUIREMENTS AND AUTHORITY 16 U.S.C. 1855
97-453, 101-627, 104-297
(c) EMERGENCY ACTIONS AND INTERIM MEASURES.—
(1) If the Secretary finds that an emergency or overfishing exists or that interim measures are needed to reduce overfishing for any fishery, he may promulgate emergency [4] regulations or interim measures necessary to address the emergency or overfishing, without regard to whether a fishery management plan exists for such fishery.
(2) If a Council finds that an emergency or overfishing exists or that interim measures are needed to reduce overfishing for any fishery within its jurisdiction, whether or not a fishery management plan exists for such fishery–
(A) the Secretary shall promulgate emergency4 regulations or interim measures under paragraph (1) to address the emergency or overfishing if the Council, by unanimous vote of the members who are voting members, requests the taking of such actions; and
(B) the Secretary may promulgate emergency4 regulations or interim measures under paragraph (1) to address the emergency or overfishing if the Council, by less than a unanimous vote, requests the taking of such action.
(3) Any emergency regulation or interim measure which changes any existing fishery management plan or amendment shall be treated as an amendment to such plan for the period in which such regulation is in effect. Any emergency regulation or interim measure promulgated under this subsection–
(A) shall be published in the Federal Register together with the reasons therefor;
(B) shall, except as provided in subparagraph (C), remain in effect for not more than 180 days after the date of publication, and may be extended by publication in the Federal Register for one additional period of not more than 180 days, provided the public has had an opportunity to comment on the emergency regulation or interim measure, and, in the case of a Council recommendation for emergency regulations or interim measures, the Council is actively preparing a fishery management plan, plan amendment, or proposed regulations to address the emergency or overfishing on a permanent basis;
(C) that responds to a public health emergency or an oil spill may remain in effect until the circumstances that created the emergency no longer exist, Provided, That the public has an opportunity to comment after the regulation is published, and, in the case of a public health emergency, the Secretary of Health and Human Services concurs with the Secretary's action; and
(D) may be terminated by the Secretary at an earlier date by publication in the Federal Register of a notice of termination, except for emergency regulations or interim measures [5] promulgated under paragraph (2) in which case such early termination may be made only upon the agreement of the Secretary and the Council concerned.