Opinion ID: 3395195
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Bass Act and the Commission

Text: Congress has found that Atlantic striped bass are commercially, economically, and recreationally important. 16 U.S.C. § 5151(a)(1). Due to their migratory nature, “[n]o single government entity has full management authority” over bass. Id. § 5151(a)(2). Congress enacted the Bass Act “to support and encourage the development, implementation, and enforcement of effective interstate action regarding the conservation and management of the Atlantic striped bass.” Id. § 5151(b). To accomplish this goal, the Bass Act divides regulatory authority over Atlantic striped bass into two distinct, but interrelated, schemes: (1) federal waters and (2) state coastal waters. First, Congress outlined the regulation of bass in federal waters. 16 U.S.C. § 5158; see id. §§ 5152(6), 1802(11); supra footnote 2. Section 5158(a) commands the Secretary of Commerce to “promulgate regulations governing fishing for Atlantic 7 striped bass in the exclusive economic zone . . . .” The Secretary of Commerce must “consult” with, among others, the Commission when preparing her rules. Id. § 5158(b). In addition to other standards, her regulations must be “compatible with the Plan and each Federal moratorium in effect on fishing for Atlantic striped bass within the coastal waters of a coastal State.” Id. § 5158(a)(2) (emphasis added). A state coastal waters “plan” under the Bass Act is a plan (or amendment to such plan) for managing bass “that is prepared and adopted by the Commission.” 16 U.S.C. §§ 5152(5), 5152(10). The Bass Act instructs the Commission to annually determine whether its member-States have adopted measures for their “coastal waters” (i.e., zero to three miles offshore) that fully implement and satisfactorily enforce the Commission’s plan. Id. § 5153(a); see id. § 5152(3). The Commission then notifies both the Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of Interior (“Secretaries”) of each such “negative determination.” Id. § 5153(c); see id. § 5152(3). At that point, the Secretaries jointly determine whether the particular State is, in fact, in compliance with the Commission’s plan. If not, the Secretaries “declare jointly a moratorium on fishing for Atlantic striped bass within the coastal waters of that coastal State,” violation of which is punishable civilly. Id. §§ 5154(a), (c). The prospect of this federally-imposed moratorium therefore acts as 8 an enforcement mechanism against recalcitrant States that refuse to abide by the Commission’s plan governing state coastal waters. 5 A brief comment on the Commission’s history further illuminates the genesis and structure of the Bass Act. States cannot enter into any agreement or compact without the consent of Congress. U.S. Const. art. I, § 10, cl. 3. In 1941, Congress approved the interstate compact that created the Commission and endeavored to better manage fish populations on the Atlantic seaboard. Pub. L. No. 77-539, 56 Stat. 267 (May 4, 1942); see also Pub. L. No. 81-721, 64 Stat. 467 (Aug. 19, 1950) (approving addition of new States and repealing limitation on the life of the compact); New York v. Atl. States Marine Fisheries Comm’n, 609 F.3d 524, 528 (2d Cir. 2010); Rhode Island Fishermen’s All., Inc. v. Rhode Island Dep’t of Envtl. Mgmt., 585 F.3d 42, 46 (1st Cir. 2009). Under the compact, each State appoints members to the Commission, which is charged with investigating conservation measures, offering suggestions for coordination of the States’ police powers, and presenting 5 See Note, Joseph A. Farside, Jr., Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission: Getting A Grip on Slippery Fisheries Management, 11 Roger Williams U. L. Rev. 231, 242 (2005) (explaining that “threat of a moratorium” and corresponding “millions of dollars of lost business” encourages States to comply with Commission’s plan). 9 recommended legislation to the member-States. 56 Stat. 267-68; New York, 609 F.3d at 528. Exercising these powers, the Commission in 1981 issued its first plan for Atlantic striped bass fishing in state coastal waters. Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, Fisheries Mgmt. Rep. No. 1: Interstate Fisheries Mgmt. Plan of the Striped Bass (Oct. 1981) (“1981 Plan”). Faced with declining bass populations, the 1981 Plan put forth several “recommended management measures.” Id. at 1-1 & 1-4. But “attempts at implementing the plan failed due to [the Commission’s] lack of direct regulatory authority over the individual Atlantic states.” Note, Thomas Rapone, The EEZ Solution to Striper Management: Why the Federal Government Should Ban the Commercial Harvest of Striped Bass Once and for All, 44 Suffolk U. L. Rev. 567, 569 (2011); see id. at 577 (observing that as the product of “a mere interstate compact, the [Commission] still lacked the regulatory authority to force individual states to comply”); New York, 609 F.3d at 528; see also Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, Fishery Mgmt. Rep. No. 41, Amend. 6 to the Interstate Fishery Mgmt. Plan for Atl. Striped Bass, at p.39 § 5.0 (Feb. 2003) (“Amendment 6”) (observing that “Commission does not have the authority to directly compel state/jurisdictional implementation of the measures” proposed). 10 Against the backdrop of this collective action problem, Congress passed the Bass Act in 1984, Pub. L. No. 98-613, 98 Stat. 3187 (Oct. 31, 1984), which functions as the cooperative federalism scheme explained above and summarized in the chart below. State coastal waters Federal waters (EEZ) (0-3 miles offshore) (3-200 miles offshore) States’ regulatory Primary. Secondary. role Commission designs Commission provides (via Commission) plan for state input to Secretary coastal waters and of Commerce as she annually notifies formulates the Commerce and regulations for the Interior Secretaries EEZ. of non-compliance. § 5158(b). § 5153. Federal regulatory Secondary. Primary. role Secretaries of Secretary of Commerce and Commerce issues Interior make final regulations for the determinations of EEZ, which must be non-compliance with “compatible with” plan and declare Commission’s plan moratorium in for coastal waters. offending State’s §5158(a)(2). coastal waters. § 5154(a).