[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 50, Volume 4]
[Revised as of October 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 50CFR600.305]

[Page 26-28]
 
                    TITLE 50--WILDLIFE AND FISHERIES
 
                         DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
 
PART 600--MAGNUSON-STEVENS ACT PROVISIONS--Table of Contents
 
                      Subpart D--National Standards
 
Sec. 600.305  General.


    (a) Purpose. (1) This subpart establishes guidelines, based on the 
national standards, to assist in the development and review of FMPs, 
amendments, and

[[Page 27]]

regulations prepared by the Councils and the Secretary.
    (2) In developing FMPs, the Councils have the initial authority to 
ascertain factual circumstances, to establish management objectives, and 
to propose management measures that will achieve the objectives. The 
Secretary will determine whether the proposed management objectives and 
measures are consistent with the national standards, other provisions of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law. The Secretary has an 
obligation under section 301(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act to inform 
the Councils of the Secretary's interpretation of the national standards 
so that they will have an understanding of the basis on which FMPs will 
be reviewed.
    (3) The national standards are statutory principles that must be 
followed in any FMP. The guidelines summarize Secretarial 
interpretations that have been, and will be, applied under these 
principles. The guidelines are intended as aids to decisionmaking; FMPs 
formulated according to the guidelines will have a better chance for 
expeditious Secretarial review, approval, and implementation. FMPs that 
are in substantial compliance with the guidelines, the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act, and other applicable law must be approved.
    (b) Fishery management objectives. (1) Each FMP, whether prepared by 
a Council or by the Secretary, should identify what the FMP is designed 
to accomplish (i.e., the management objectives to be attained in 
regulating the fishery under consideration). In establishing objectives, 
Councils balance biological constraints with human needs, reconcile 
present and future costs and benefits, and integrate the diversity of 
public and private interests. If objectives are in conflict, priorities 
should be established among them.
    (2) How objectives are defined is important to the management 
process. Objectives should address the problems of a particular fishery. 
The objectives should be clearly stated, practicably attainable, framed 
in terms of definable events and measurable benefits, and based upon a 
comprehensive rather than a fragmentary approach to the problems 
addressed. An FMP should make a clear distinction between objectives and 
the management measures chosen to achieve them. The objectives of each 
FMP provide the context within which the Secretary will judge the 
consistency of an FMP's conservation and management measures with the 
national standards.
    (c) Word usage. The word usage refers to all regulations in this 
subpart.
    (1) Must is used, instead of ``shall'', to denote an obligation to 
act; it is used primarily when referring to requirements of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act, the logical extension thereof, or of other 
applicable law.
    (2) Shall is used only when quoting statutory language directly, to 
avoid confusion with the future tense.
    (3) Should is used to indicate that an action or consideration is 
strongly recommended to fulfill the Secretary's interpretation of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and is a factor reviewers will look for in 
evaluating a SOPP or FMP.
    (4) May is used in a permissive sense.
    (5) May not is proscriptive; it has the same force as ``must not.''
    (6) Will is used descriptively, as distinguished from denoting an 
obligation to act or the future tense.
    (7) Could is used when giving examples, in a hypothetical, 
permissive sense.
    (8) Can is used to mean ``is able to,'' as distinguished from 
``may.''
    (9) Examples are given by way of illustration and further 
explanation. They are not inclusive lists; they do not limit options.
    (10) Analysis, as a paragraph heading, signals more detailed 
guidance as to the type of discussion and examination an FMP should 
contain to demonstrate compliance with the standard in question.
    (11) Council includes the Secretary, as applicable, when preparing 
FMPs or amendments under section 304(c) and (g) of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act.
    (12) Stock or stock complex is used as a synonym for ``fishery'' in 
the sense of the Magnuson-Stevens Act's first definition of the term; 
that is, as ``one or more stocks of fish that can be treated as a unit 
for purposes of conservation

[[Page 28]]

and management and that are identified on the basis of geographic, 
scientific, technical, recreational, or economic characteristics,'' as 
distinguished from the Magnuson-Stevens Act's second definition of 
fishery as ``any fishing for such stocks.''

[61 FR 32540, June 24, 1996, as amended at 63 FR 7075, Feb. 12, 1998; 63 
FR 24229, May 1, 1998]