Opinion ID: 3037886
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: “Managed as a Unit”

Text: [11] National Standard No. 3 provides that, “[t]o the extent practicable, an individual stock of fish shall be managed as a unit throughout its range, and interrelated stocks of fish shall be managed as a unit or in close coordination.” 16 U.S.C. § 1851(a)(3). “The purpose of this standard is to induce a comprehensive approach to fishery management” that is not jeopardized when fish live in the waters of more than one jurisdiction. 50 C.F.R. § 600.320(b). As a Senate Committee Report on the Magnuson Act explained, “unity of management, or at least close cooper[at]ion, is vital to prevent jurisdictional differences from adversely affecting conservation practices.” S. Commerce Comm. Rep. No. 94-416 (1975), OREGON TROLLERS v. GUTIERREZ 7413 reprinted in A Legislative History of the Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976, at 685 (1976) (“A Legislative History”). To further this goal, “[t]he geographic scope of the fishery, for planning purposes, should cover the entire range of the stocks(s) of fish, and not be overly constrained by political boundaries.” 50 C.F.R. § 600.320(b). [12] The Senate Report used the Klamath salmon to illustrate the problem addressed by National Standard No. 3: [A] State-to-State separation of power is not reflective of the migratory habits of fish stocks, but is due to historic and political factors. As a result, inconsistent regulations have often developed. For example, the State of Oregon maintains a salmon hatchery program. Salmon reared in the Oregon program de[s]cend Oregon rivers and later may be found in California waters. These same salmon may then be caught legally under the California fishing regulations, but earlier in the season and at a smaller size than it would be legal to catch these fish under Oregon’s fishing code. Consequently, management of fishery resources from the national or regional perspective is important to sound conservation practices. A Legislative History at 684. When a stock of fish is managed in the same manner throughout its geographical range, National Standard No. 3 is satisfied. See Stinson Canning Co. v. Mosbacher, 731 F. Supp. 32, 37 (D. Me. 1990) (no violation of National Standard No. 3 when regulation at issue applies to fish “wherever caught”). [13] By defining the Klamath Management Zone to reach from Humbug Mountain, Oregon, to Horse Mountain, California, the Pacific Plan takes into account the migration pattern of the Klamath chinook from the Klamath River to the ocean, and their growth to maturity off the coasts of Oregon 7414 OREGON TROLLERS v. GUTIERREZ and California. Pacific Plan at 6-2. Salmon fisheries throughout this range, off the coasts of both states, are managed in the same manner to ensure that 35,000 natural spawning Klamath chinook escape. See Pacific Plan at 3-9 (stating that the Klamath chinook are a “[m]ajor contributor to ocean fisheries from Humbug Mt., OR to Horse Mt., CA” and should be managed accordingly). The 2005 management measures are thus entirely consistent with National Standard No. 3.