Title 50

SECTION 660.518

660.518 Pacific Coast Treaty Indian Rights.

§ 660.518 Pacific Coast Treaty Indian Rights.

(a) Pacific Coast treaty Indian tribes have treaty rights to harvest CPS in their usual and accustomed fishing areas in the EEZ.

(b) For the purposes of this section, Pacific Coast treaty Indian tribes means the Hoh, Makah, and Quileute Indian Tribes and the Quinault Indian Nation, and their “usual and accustomed fishing areas” are described at § 660.4, subpart A.

(c) Boundaries of a tribe's fishing area may be revised as ordered by a Federal court.

(d) Procedures. The rights referred to in paragraph (a) of this section will be implemented in accordance with the procedures and requirements of the framework contained in Amendment 9 to the FMP and in this Subpart.

(1) The Secretary, after consideration of the tribal request, the recommendation of the Council, and the comments of the public, will implement Indian fishing rights.

(2) The rights will be implemented either through an allocation of fish that will be managed by the tribes or through regulations that will apply specifically to the tribal fisheries.

(3) An allocation or a regulation specific to the tribes shall be initiated by a written request from a Pacific Coast treaty Indian tribe to the NMFS Southwest Regional Administrator at least 120 days prior to the start of the fishing season as specified at § 660.510 and will be subject to public review according to the procedures in § 660.508(d).

(4) The Regional Administrator will announce the annual tribal allocation at the same time as the annual specifications.

(e) The Secretary recognizes the sovereign status and co-manager role of Indian tribes over shared Federal and tribal fishery resources. Accordingly, the Secretary will develop tribal allocations and regulations in consultation with the affected tribe(s) and, insofar as possible, with tribal consensus.

[66 FR 44987, Aug. 27, 2001, as amended at 81 FR 36808, June 8, 2016]

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