Opinion ID: 1308283
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Explicit Pre-emption

Text: Prior to passage of the FCMA, it is clear that states could regulate fishing beyond their three mile territorial sea in the absence of conflicting federal law or undue impediment to interstate commerce. See Skiriotes v. Florida, 313 U.S. 69, 61 S.Ct. 924, 85 L.Ed. 1193 (1941) (upholding direct state regulation of the fishing activity of its citizens beyond the territorial sea where state has legitimate interest in matter regulated). See also Bayside Fish Flour Co. v. Gentry, 297 U.S. 422, 56 S.Ct. 513, 80 L.Ed. 772 (1936) (upholding indirect state control of exploitation of fishery resources beyond territorial sea through law regulating possession, transportation, or disposition of fish landed within state where such landing law served state interest in preservation of resources in territorial sea); State v. Bundrant, 546 P.2d 530 (Alaska), appeal dismissed sub nom. Uri v. Alaska, 429 U.S. 806, 97 S.Ct. 40, 50 L.Ed.2d 66 (1976) ( Skiriotes extended to permit direct state regulation of fishing activity of noncitizens beyond the territorial sea where non-citizen has sufficiently close contacts with the state and activity has potentially detrimental effect upon resources in territorial sea). Congress, in passing the FCMA, narrowed state authority somewhat by providing that federal management was exclusive outside the three mile limit with one exception. 16 U.S.C. § 1812 provides that, [t]he United States shall exercise exclusive fishery management authority, in the manner provided for in this chapter, over ... (1) [a]ll fish within the fishery conservation zone. 16 U.S.C. § 1856(a) provides in relevant part that: No state may directly or indirectly regulate any fishing which is engaged in by any fishing vessel outside its boundaries, unless such vessel is registered under the laws of such State. (Emphasis added). These provisions evidence a specific congressional decision to assert federal jurisdiction in the FCZ without fully occupying the field. Preserved to the states is the authority to regulate state registered vessels in the FCZ. The FCMA thus alters prior law in regard to the legitimate exercise of extraterritorial state jurisdiction by replacing the citizenship and close contacts tests with a registration requirement. In summary, we cannot conclude that the FCMA on its face pre-empts all state extraterritorial regulation. Other courts which have considered this issue, at least when no federal regulations had been promulgated for the specific species of fish, have agreed. See Anderson Seafoods, Inc. v. Graham, 529 F. Supp. 512 (N.D.Fla. 1982) (upholding state statute prohibiting use of purse seine within or without the waters of the state as applied to fisherman with vessel registered in state operating beyond state territorial boundary); People v. Weeren, 26 Cal.3d 654, 163 Cal. Rptr. 255, 607 P.2d 1279, cert. denied, 449 U.S. 839, 101 S.Ct. 115, 66 L.Ed.2d 45 (1980) (upholding state assertion of penal jurisdiction in situation wherein defendant used state licensed vessel to take swordfish in FCZ in violation of state regulations and no federal regulatory plan for swordfish had been implemented); cf. State v. Sterling, 448 A.2d 785 (R.I. 1982) (FCMA pre-empts state regulation of commercial fishing for a particular species of fish where federal regulations governing such fishing have been promulgated). [6]