Great Lakes Fishery Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 931)

GREAT LAKES FISHERY ACT OF 1956
[Chapter 358, Approved June 4, 1956, 70 Stat. 242]
[Amended through Public Law 107–228, Sept. 30, 2002]
AN ACT To give effect to the Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries signed at
Washington September 10, 1954, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, That ø16 U.S.C.
931 note¿ this Act may be cited as the ‘‘Great Lakes Fishery Act
of 1956.’’
SEC. 2. ø16 U.S.C. 931¿ As used in this Act, the term—
(a) ‘‘Convention’’ means the Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries between the United States of America and Canada signed at
Washington September 10, 1954;
(b) ‘‘Commission’’ means the Great Lakes Fishery Commission
provided for by article II of the convention;
(c) ‘‘United States Section’’ means the United States Commissioners on the Commission;
(d) ‘‘Great Lakes State’’ means any of the following States: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, or Wisconsin;
(e) ‘‘Great Lakes’’ means any of the following bodies of water:
Lake Ontario (including the Saint Lawrence River from Lake Ontario to the forty-fifth parallel of latitude), Lake Erie, Lake Huron
(including Lake Saint Clair), Lake Michigan, or Lake Superior.
SEC. 3. ø16 U.S.C. 932¿ (a)(1) The United States shall be represented on the Commission by 4 Commissioners who shall be appointed by the President and who may not receive compensation for
service as Commissioners. Of the Commissioners—
(A) 1 shall be an official of the United States Government;
and
(B) 3 shall be individuals who reside in different Great
Lakes States and who are knowledgeable regarding the fisheries of the Great Lakes, except that 1 of them must also be
an official of 1 Great Lakes State.
(2) The President shall appoint an alternate Commissioner
who shall perform the duties of a Commissioner—
(A) until a vacancy referred to in subsection (b)(3) is filled;
and
(B) in the event of the absence of a Commissioner from
any meeting of the United States Section or the Commission.
(3) Individuals serving as such Commissioners shall not be considered to be Federal employees while performing such service, ex1 So

in law. Probably should be followed by ‘‘a’’.

1
November 19, 2014

VerDate Nov 24 2008

10:06 Nov 19, 2014

Jkt 000000

PO 00000

Frm 00001

Fmt 9001

Sfmt 9001

F:\COMP\OCEAN\GREATL~1.BEL

HOLCPC

Sec. 4

GREAT LAKES FISHERY ACT OF 1956

2

cept for purposes of injury compensation or tort claims liability as
provided in chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code, and chapter
171 of title 28, United States Code.
(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the term of office
of Commissioners appointed under subsection (a)(1)(B) is 6 years.
(2) Of the Commissioners first appointed under subsection
(a)(1)(B) after the date of the enactment of this subsection, 1 shall
be appointed for a term of 2 years, 1 shall be appointed for a term
of 4 years, and 1 shall be appointed for a term of 6 years.
(3) Whenever a vacancy occurs among Commissioners appointed under subsection (a)(1)(B), the President shall appoint an
individual to fill that vacancy for the remainder of the applicable
term.
SEC. 4. ø16 U.S.C. 933¿ (a) The United States Section shall appoint an advisory committee for each of the Great Lakes, upon
which committee each State bordering on the lake may be represented by not more than four members. In making such appointments, the United States Section shall make its selection for each
State from a list proposed by the Governor of that State; and shall
give due consideration to the interests of—
(1) State agencies having jurisdiction over fisheries;
(2) the commercial fishing industry of the lake;
(3) the sports fishing of the lake; and
(4) the public at large.
(b) A member of the advisory committee for one lake may also
be a member of the advisory committee for one or more other lakes.
(c) The members of the advisory committees shall receive no
compensation from the Government of the United States for their
services as such members. Not more than ten members of all the
committees, designated by the committees and approved by the
United States Section, may be paid by the Government of the
United States for transportation expenses and per diem incident to
attendance at the annual meeting of the Commission or of the
United States Section.
(d) The members of the advisory committee for each lake shall
be invited to attend all nonexecutive meetings of the United States
Section relating to that lake and at such meetings shall be granted
opportunity to examine and be heard on all proposed recommendations, programs, and activities relating to that lake.
øSection 5 was repealed by section 203(a) of Public Law 92–
471, 86 Stat. 787¿
SEC. 6. ø16 U.S.C. 935¿ In order to carry out the obligations
of the United States under the Convention, the United States Section is authorized—
(a) to acquire any real property, or any interest therein, by
purchase, exchange, gift, dedication, condemnation, or otherwise;
(b) to construct, operate, and maintain any project or
works designed to facilitate compliance with the provisions of
the Convention relating to the sea lamprey control program;
and
(c) to enter into contract or agreement with any State or
other public agency or private agency or individual for the conNovember 19, 2014

VerDate Nov 24 2008

10:06 Nov 19, 2014

Jkt 000000

PO 00000

Frm 00002

Fmt 9001

Sfmt 9001

F:\COMP\OCEAN\GREATL~1.BEL

HOLCPC

3

GREAT LAKES FISHERY ACT OF 1956

Sec. 14

struction, operation, or maintenance of any such project or
works.
SEC. 7. ø16 U.S.C. 936¿ The Secretary of the Interior is authorized, upon the request of the United States Section—
(a) to transfer to the United States Section any lamprey
control project or works under his jurisdiction now existing or
now under construction; and
(b) to act for or on behalf of the United States Section in
the exercise of the powers granted by this Act.
SEC. 8. ø16 U.S.C. 937¿ The United States Section shall, for
the purposes of these 1 provisions of title 28, U.S.C., Judiciary and
Judicial Procedure, relating to claims against the United States
and tort claims procedure, be deemed to be an agency of the United
States.
SEC. 9. ø16 U.S.C. 938¿ At least thirty days before approving
a proposal to utilize a lamprey control measure or install a device
in any stream, the United States Section shall cause notice of such
proposal to be sent to the official agency having jurisdiction over
fisheries in each of the States through which the stream flows.
SEC. 10. ø16 U.S.C. 939¿ The Secretary of State shall upon the
receipt from the Commission of any recommendation of a conservation measure made in accordance with article IV of the Convention
transmit a copy of the recommendation with his comments thereon
to the Governor of each Great Lakes State for consideration and
such action as may be found to be appropriate. The Secretary of
State shall also inform such other public agencies as he may deem
appropriate.
SEC. 11. ø16 U.S.C. 939a¿ Any agency of the United States
Government is authorized to cooperate with the United States Section in the conduct of research programs and related activities and,
on a reimbursable or other basis, to enter into agreements with the
United States Section for the purpose of assisting it in carrying out
the program for the control of lamprey populations.
SEC. 12. ø16 U.S.C. 939b¿ Nothing in this Act shall be construed as preventing any of the Great Lakes States from making
or enforcing laws or regulations within their respective jurisdictions so far as such laws or regulations do not conflict with the
Convention or this Act.
SEC. 13. ø16 U.S.C. 939c¿ There is hereby authorized to be appropriated from time to time such sums as may be necessary for
carrying out the purposes and provisions of the Convention and
this Act.
SEC. 14. ø16 U.S.C. 931 note¿ If any provision of this Act or
the application of such provision to any circumstances or persons
shall be held invalid, the validity of the remainder of the Act and
the applicability of such provision to other circumstances or persons shall not be affected thereby.

1 So

in law. Probably should be ‘‘those’’.

November 19, 2014

VerDate Nov 24 2008

10:06 Nov 19, 2014

Jkt 000000

PO 00000

Frm 00003

Fmt 9001

Sfmt 9001

F:\COMP\OCEAN\GREATL~1.BEL

HOLCPC