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

Page 1533

§ 932

TITLE 16—CONSERVATION

tors may be having on the eastern gray whale population.
‘‘(b) CONSIDERATION OF WESTERN POPULATION INFORMATION.—The Secretary should ensure that, to the
greatest extent practicable, information from current
and future studies of the western gray whale population is considered in the study under this section, so
as to better understand the dynamics of each population and to test different hypotheses that may lead to
an increased understanding of the mechanism driving
their respective population dynamics.
‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addition
to other amounts authorized under this title [this
note], there are authorized to be appropriated to the
Secretary to carry out this section—
‘‘(1) $290,000 for fiscal year 2001; and
‘‘(2) $500,000 for each of fiscal years 2002 through
2004.’’
Substantially identical provisions were contained in
Pub. L. 106–555, title II, § 203, Dec. 21, 2000, 114 Stat. 2768.

Sec.

934.
935.

936.
937.
938.
939.
939a.
939b.
939c.

Repealed.
Acquisition of real property; construction and
operation of lamprey control works; entry
into agreements for construction and operation of works.
Secretary of the Interior; authority to transfer lamprey control projects and act on behalf of United States Section.
United States Section as agency of United
States.
Notice of proposals.
Transmission of recommendations.
Cooperation with other agencies.
State laws and regulations.
Authorization of appropriations.

§ 931. Definitions

The Secretary of Commerce, through the Secretary of State, shall immediately initiate negotiations for the purpose of developing appropriate bilateral agreements with Mexico and
Canada for the protection and conservation of
whales.

As used in this chapter, 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.

(Pub. L. 94–532, § 5, Oct. 17, 1976, 90 Stat. 2492.)

(June 4, 1956, ch. 358, § 2, 70 Stat. 242.)

§ 917b. Cooperation of other Federal agencies
All Federal agencies shall cooperate, to the
fullest extent possible, with the Secretary of
Commerce in preparing the study and recommendations required by section 917a of this
title.
(Pub. L. 94–532, § 4, Oct. 17, 1976, 90 Stat. 2492.)
§ 917c. Negotiations with Mexico and Canada

§ 917d. Authorization of appropriations
For the purpose of carrying out the provisions
of this chapter, there is hereby authorized to be
appropriated a sum not to exceed $1,000,000 for
fiscal years 1978 and 1979.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
SHORT TITLE
Act June 4, 1956, ch. 358, § 1, 70 Stat. 242, provided:
‘‘That this Act [enacting this chapter] may be cited as
the ‘Great Lakes Fishery Act of 1956’.’’
SEPARABILITY

(Pub. L. 94–532, § 6, Oct. 17, 1976, 90 Stat. 2492.)
CHAPTER 15—PREDATORY SEA LAMPREYS
IN THE GREAT LAKES
§§ 921 to 923. Omitted
Editorial Notes
CODIFICATION
Section 921, acts Aug. 8, 1946, ch. 879, § 1, 60 Stat. 930;
Aug. 18, 1949, ch. 478, § 3, 63 Stat. 616; July 30, 1951, ch.
256, 65 Stat. 131; July 1, 1952, ch. 537, 66 Stat. 314, directed the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service to
investigate the abundance and distribution of sea
lampreys, required a report to the Congress not later
than Dec. 31, 1950, and authorized appropriations
through the fiscal year ending June 30, 1953.
Sections 922, 923, act Aug. 8, 1946, ch. 879, §§ 2, 3, 60
Stat. 930, 931, which related to cooperation between
Federal, State, and local agencies and the annual cost
of the program, were omitted by act Aug. 18, 1949, ch.
478, § 3, 63 Stat. 616, which amended act Aug. 8, 1946.

CHAPTER 15A—GREAT LAKES FISHERIES
Sec.

931.
932.
933.

Definitions.
Commissioners; appointment, number, and
compensation; term of office; vacancy.
Advisory Committee.

Act June 4, 1956, ch. 358, § 14, 70 Stat. 244, provided
that: ‘‘If any provision of this Act [this chapter] 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’’.

§ 932. Commissioners; appointment, number, and
compensation; term of office; vacancy
(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—
1 So

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

§ 933

TITLE 16—CONSERVATION

(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, except for purposes of injury compensation or tort claims liability as provided in chapter 81 of title 5 and
chapter 171 of title 28.
(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 November 14, 1986, 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.
(June 4, 1956, ch. 358, § 3, 70 Stat. 242; Pub. L.
99–659, title IV, § 405(a), Nov. 14, 1986, 100 Stat.
3737; Pub. L. 106–562, title III, § 301, Dec. 23, 2000,
114 Stat. 2806.)
Editorial Notes
AMENDMENTS
2000—Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 106–562 added par. (3).
1986—Pub. L. 99–659 amended section generally. Prior
to amendment, section read as follows: ‘‘The United
States shall be represented on the Commission by three
Commissioners to be appointed by the President, to
serve as such during his pleasure, and to receive no
compensation for their services as such Commissioners.
Of such Commissioners—
‘‘(a) one shall be an official of the United States
Government; and
‘‘(b) two shall be persons residing in Great Lakes
States, duly qualified by reason of knowledge of the
fisheries of the Great Lakes, of whom one shall be an
official of a Great Lakes State: Provided, however,
That the Commissioners appointed under this subsection shall not be residents of the same State.’’

Page 1534

§ 933. Advisory Committee
(a) Appointment and number of members; factors
in selection
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) Membership on other committees
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) Compensation
The members of the advisory committee 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) Meetings
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.
(June 4, 1956, ch. 358, § 4, 70 Stat. 242; Pub. L.
107–228, div. A, title II, § 208, Sept. 30, 2002, 116
Stat. 1364.)
Editorial Notes

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

AMENDMENTS

TERMINATION AND TRANSITIONAL SERVICE OF
INCUMBENT COMMISSIONERS

2002—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 107–228, which directed the
substitution of ‘‘ten’’ for ‘‘five’’ and ‘‘the annual’’ for
‘‘each’’ in subsec. (c) of section 4 of the Great Lakes
Fisheries Act of 1956, was executed by making the substitutions in subsec. (c) of this section, which is section
4 of the Great Lakes Fishery Act of 1956, to reflect the
probable intent of Congress.

Pub. L. 99–659, title IV, § 405(b), Nov. 14, 1986, 100 Stat.
3738, provided that: ‘‘The term of office of each United
States Commissioner on the Great Lakes Fishery Commission who is serving on the date of enactment of this
Act [Nov. 14, 1986] is terminated (except the United
States Government official appointed under section
3(a) of the Great Lakes Fishery Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C.
932(a), as in effect before the date of enactment). However, the individuals appointed to those terms shall
continue to serve as Commissioners until the President
makes appointments under section 3(b)(2) of the Act of
1956 (as added by subsection (a)), which appointments
shall be made within 60 days after the date of enactment.’’
ALTERNATE UNITED STATES COMMISSIONERS
Secretary of State authorized to designate Alternate
United States Commissioners, see sections 2672a and
2672b of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
TERMINATION OF ADVISORY COMMITTEES
Advisory committees in existence on Jan. 5, 1973, to
terminate not later than the expiration of the 2-year
period following Jan. 5, 1973, unless, in the case of a
committee established by the President or an officer of
the Federal Government, such committee is renewed by
appropriate action prior to the expiration of such 2year period, or in the case of a committee established
by the Congress, its duration is otherwise provided by
law. See section 14 of Pub. L. 92–463, Oct. 6, 1972, 86
Stat. 776, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

Page 1535

§ 939c

TITLE 16—CONSERVATION
Editorial Notes

§ 934. Repealed. Pub. L. 92–471, title II, § 203(a),
Oct. 9, 1972, 86 Stat. 787

REFERENCES IN TEXT

Section, act June 4, 1956, ch. 358, § 5, 70 Stat. 243, provided that service of individuals appointed as United
States Commissioners shall not be treated as service
for the purposes of certain sections of Title 18, Crimes
and Criminal Procedure, and Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

Provisions of title 28, relating to claims against the
United States, referred to in text, include sections
1346(b), 2501 et seq., and 2671 et seq., of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.

§ 935. Acquisition of real property; construction
and operation of lamprey control works;
entry into agreements for construction and
operation of works

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.

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 construction, operation, or maintenance of any such project or
works.
(June 4, 1956, ch. 358, § 6, 70 Stat. 243.)
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE; WORK ON
SEA LAMPREY PROGRAM; REIMBURSEMENTS
Pub. L. 101–512, title I, Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1918, provided in part that: ‘‘beginning October 1, 1990, and
thereafter, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
can perform work for the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, authorized by 16 U.S.C. 931–939c, Great Lakes
Fisheries [Fishery] Act of 1956, on the sea lamprey program on a reimbursable basis: Provided further, That
such
reimbursements
are
to
be
treated
as
Intragovernmental funds as defined in the publication
titled ‘A Glossary of Terms Used in the Federal Budget
Process’.’’

§ 936. Secretary of the Interior; authority to
transfer lamprey control projects and act on
behalf of United States Section
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 chapter.
(June 4, 1956, ch. 358, § 7, 70 Stat. 243.)
§ 937. United States Section as agency of United
States
The United States Section shall, for the purposes of these 1 provisions of title 28, relating to
claims against the United States and tort
claims procedure, be deemed to be an agency of
the United States.
(June 4, 1956, ch. 358, § 8, 70 Stat. 243.)
1 So

in original. Probably should be ‘‘those’’.

§ 938. Notice of proposals

(June 4, 1956, ch. 358, § 9, 70 Stat. 243.)
§ 939. Transmission of recommendations
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.
(June 4, 1956, ch. 358, § 10, 70 Stat. 244.)
§ 939a. Cooperation with other agencies
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.
(June 4, 1956, ch. 358, § 11, 70 Stat. 244.)
§ 939b. State laws and regulations
Nothing in this chapter 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 chapter.
(June 4, 1956, ch. 358, § 12, 70 Stat. 244.)
§ 939c. Authorization of appropriations
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 chapter.
(June 4, 1956, ch. 358, § 13, 70 Stat. 244.)
CHAPTER 15B—GREAT LAKES FISH AND
WILDLIFE RESTORATION
Sec.

941.
941a.
941b.
941c.
941d.

Findings.
Purpose.
Definitions.
Identification, review, and implementation of
proposals and regional projects.
Goals of United States Fish and Wildlife
Service programs related to Great Lakes
fish and wildlife resources.