Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 90 Part 1.djvu/383

 PUBLIC LAW 94-265—APR. 13, 1976

90 STAT. 333

which will achieve and maintain, on a continuing basis, the optimum yield from each fishery; (5) to establish Eegional Fishery Management Councils to prepare, monitor, and revise such plans under circumstances (A) which will enable the States, the fishing industry, consumer and environmental organizations, and other interested persons to participate in, and advise on, the establishment and administration of such plans, and (B) which take into account the social and economic needs of the States; and (6) to encourage the development of fisheries which are currently underutilized or not utilized by United States fishermen, including bottom fish off Alaska. (c) POLICY.—It is further declared to be the policy of the Congress in this Act—• (1) to maintain without change the existing territorial or other ocean jurisdiction of the United States for all purposes other than the conservation and management of fishery resources, as provided for in this Act; (2) to authorize no impediment to, or interference with, recog^ nized legitimate uses of the high seas, except as necessary for the conservation and management of fishery resources, as provided for in this Act; (3) to assure that the national fishery conservation and management program utilizes, and is based upon, the best scientific information available; involves, and is responsive to the needs of, interested and affected States and citizens; promotes efficiency; draws upon Federal, State, and academic capabilities in carrying oiit research, administration, management, and enforcement; and is workable and effective; (4) to permit foreign fishing consistent with the provisions of this Act; and (5) to support and encourage continued active United States efforts to obtain an internationaly acceptable treaty, at the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, which provides for effective conservation and management of fishery resources. SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. As used in this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— 1^ USC 1802. (1) The term "anadromous species" means species of fish which spawn in fresh or estuarine waters of the United States and which migrate to ocean waters. (2) The term "conservation and management" refers to all of the rules, regulations, conditions, methods, and other measures (A) which are required to rebuild, restore, or maintain, and which are useful in rebuilding, restoring, or maintaining, any fishery resource and the marine environment; and (B) which are designed to assure that— (i) a supply of food and other products may be taken, and that recreational benefits may be obtained, on a continuing basis; (ii) irreversible or long-term adverse effects on fishery resources and the marine environment are avoided; and (iii) there will be a multiplicity of options available with respect to future uses of these resources. (3) The term "Continental Shelf" means the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas adjacent to the coast, but outside the area of the territorial sea, of the United States, to a depth of 200 meters or, beyond that limit, to where the depth of the super-

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