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The Caribbean Fishery
Management Council (CFMC) is one of eight regional fishery management
councils, established under PL 94-265, known as the Magnuson-Stevens
Act (the Act) or Sustainable Fisheries Act as amended in 1996, for
the conservation and orderly utilization of the fishery resources of
the United States of America.
The CFMC includes the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (PR) and the United States Virgin Islands
(USVI). It
has ten members, seven with vote and three with voice but no vote.
Four of the voting members are appointed by the US Secretary of
Commerce upon recommendations of the Governors of PR and the USVI.
The other voting members are directly designated by the Act: the
principal officials from PR and USVI with marine fishery management
responsibility, and the Regional Administrator for the National
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Southeast Regional Office (SERO) .
The three non-voting members are: the Director of the Southeast
(Atlanta) Region of the Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Commander
of the Seventh (Miami) District of the US Coast Guard (USCG), and a
representative from the US Department of State (USDS).
The CFMC has its
headquarters in San Juan,
Puerto Rico. It is unique in being the only council that does not
include one of the fifty states of the Union and in sharing fish
stocks with many Caribbean nations.
The Caribbean Fishery
Management Council is responsible for the creation of management
plans for fishery resources (FMPs) in waters off PR and the USVI.
FMPs are submitted to the US Secretary of Commerce for approval and
implementation in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
upon approval of the Federal Regulation (CFR).
Local Governments adopt compatible legislation for the conservation
of the fishery resources within local waters around Puerto Rico and
the United States Virgin Islands.

This information is provided for the use and
convenience of interested persons. The information available
through this site may change over time. The language in the
Federal Register control, in the event of any discrepancy, the
information appearing on this site. Other disclaimers apply throughout this web site
as appropriate.
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