PUBLIC LAW 97-176—MAY 17, 1982 (1) one shall be an official of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and (2) two shall be knowledgeable or experienced concerning the Northern Pacific halibut fishery; of these, one shall be a resident of Alaska and the other shall be a nonresident of Alaska. Of the three commissioners described in paragraphs (1) and (2), one shall be a voting member of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. (3) Commissioners shall not be considered Federal employees except for the purposes of injury compensation or tort claims liability as provided in section 8101 of title 5, United States Code, et seq. and section 2671 of title 28, United States Code, et seq. Section 3(a) shall take effect on the 90th day after the date of enactment of the Act. (b) The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary, may designate from time to time alternate United States Commissioners to the Commission. An Alternate United States Commissioner may exercise, at any meeting of the Commission, all powers and duties of a United States Commissioner in the absence of a duly designated Commissioner for whatever reason. The number of such alternate United States Commissioners that may be designated for any such meeting shall be limited to the number of authorized United States Commissioners that will not be present. SEC. 4. The Secretary of State, with the concurrence of the Secretary, may accept or reject, on behalf of the United States, recommendations made by the Commission in accordance with article III of the Convention and paragraphs 14 and 15 of the annex to the Convention. SEC. 5. (a) The Secretary shall have general responsibility to carry out the Convention and this Act. (b) In fulfilling this responsibility, the Secretary— (1) shall, in consultation with the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating, adopt such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the purposes and objectives of the Convention and this Act; and (2) may, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, cooperate with the duly authorized officials of the Government of Canada. (c) The Regional Fishery Management Council having authority for the geographic area concerned may develop regulations governing the United States portion of Convention waters, including limited access regulations, applicable to nationals or vessels of the United States, or both, which are in addition to, and not in conflict with regulations adopted by the Commission. Such regulations shall only be implemented with the approval of the Secretary, shall not discriminate between residents of different States, and shall be consistent with the limited entry criteria set forth in section 303 (b)(6) of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act. If it becomes necessary to allocate or assign halibut fishing privileges among various United States fishermen, such allocation shall be fair and equitable to all such fishermen, based upon the rights and obligations in existing Federal law, reasonably calculated to promote conservation, and carried out in such manner that no particular individual, corporation, or other entity acquires an excessive share of the halibut fishing privileges: Provided, That the Regional Council may provide for the rural coastal villages of Alaska the opportunity to establish a commercial halibut fishery in
96 STAT. 79
Effective date. Alternates.
16 USC 773b.
16 USC 773c. Duties.
Regulations.
16 USC 1853.
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