Pacific Marine Fisheries Compact

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Pacific Marine Fisheries Compact
Formation date:	1947
Member jurisdictions:	5
Issue(s):	Fisheries
Compact website

The Pacific Marine Fisheries Compact is an interstate compact among Alaska, California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. It also carries congressional consent.

The two purposes of the compact are "to promote the better utilization of fisheries – marine, shell, and anadromous, which are of mutual concern, and to develop a joint program of protection and prevention of physical waste of such fisheries in all of those areas of the Pacific Ocean over which the compacting states jointly or separately now have or may hereafter acquire jurisdiction."

Governance

The compact created the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC). The primary goal of the commission is to promote and support policies and actions to conserve, develop, and manage our fishery resources in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska. The commission coordinates research activities, monitors fishing activities, and facilitates a number of other projects.

Unlike many commissions created by interstate compacts, the PSMFC has neither regulatory nor management authority. The functions of the commission include:

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Providing for collective participation by the Pacific States to work on mutual concerns. Serving as a forum for discussion regarding our vital fisheries resources. Working for coast-wide consensus in cooperation with state and federal authorities. Addressing issues that fall outside state or regional management council jurisdiction. Acting as a primary contractor on grants and projects for states and other organizations. Dispersing monetary assets from the variety of federal, state, and other resources. Coordinating research and management projects related to interstate fisheries, and making these data available. Participating as a non-voting member of the Pacific Fishery Management Council and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

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Text of the compact

The legislature of each member state passes the laws with certain modifications, but the core of the legislation remains the same.

Contact information

Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission
205 SE Spokane Street, Suite 100
Portland, OR 97202

Phone: (503) 595-3100

See also

• Interstate compact

External links

Suggest a link

• Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission