Description: This GIS polygon data delineates the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation & Management Act (MSA) for the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico marine waters. The MSA is the primary law governing marine fisheries management in the United States federal waters. The Act created regional fishery management councils to manage fisheries and promote conservation. The MSA geographic area extends from the state/federal water boundary to the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) outer boundary, and this data is a combination of this outer and inner boundary. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) uses these boundaries to create the geographic regulatory boundaries in federal waters. The limits of the EEZ are determined from the official U.S. baseline, recognized as the low-water line along the coast as marked on the official U.S. nautical charts in accordance with the articles of the Law of the Sea. The state/federal water boundary is based on the Submerged Lands Act (SLA) boundary line and protraction diagrams. Metadata for the EEZ and the SLA are available at the Multipurpose Marine Cadastre (MMC) website or the specific Agency websites listed in the credits. The Fishery Management Council Boundaries are included in this dataset, and bisect the MSA.Because GIS projection and topology functions can change or generalize coordinates, these GIS files are considered to be approximate, and are NOT an OFFICIAL record for the exact Submerged Lands Act Boundary. The Official Protraction Diagrams (OPDs) and Supplemental Official Block Diagrams (SOBDs) serve as the legal definition for offshore boundary coordinates and area descriptions. The EEZ is based on the low-water line along the coast, and is also updated periodically. These digital boundaries do NOT represent the legal definition of the maritime boundaries.
Service Item Id: 783be4c52a6f476e9775746fff62555b
Copyright Text: The federal MSA/FMC waters polygon dataset was compiled by NOAA/NMFS from official limits provided by NOAA/NMFS and NOAA/NOS and BOEM. The Fishery Management Council (FMC) boundaries are taken directly from 50 CFR 600.105. NOS depicts the 200nm EEZ on its nautical charts. The EEZ was downloaded from http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/csdl/mbount.htm. BOEM depicts the Submerged Lands Act federal/state boundary on its official protraction diagrams (OPDs). The SLA was downloaded from http://www.boem.gov/Oil-and-Gas-Energy-Program/Mapping-and-Data/Index.aspx. The SLA boundary defines the seaward limit of a state's submerged lands and the landward boundary of federally managed Outer Continental Shelf lands. In the BOEM Atlantic Region it is projected 3 nautical miles offshore from the baseline. Further information on the SLA and development of this line from baseline points can be found in OCS Report MMS 99-0006: Boundary Development on the Outer Continental Shelf www.boem.gov/BOEM-Newsroom/Library/Publications/1999/99-0006-pdf.aspx.
Both agencies provide access to digital boundaries at their respective websites. NOS' digital limits covering this area of interest were reviewed and approved by the interagency U.S. Baseline Committee over several meetings in 2004-2005. The EEZ was reviewed and approved on October 5, 2006. BOEM's protraction diagrams were approved in 1999. Although these datasets can be downloaded at the 3rd party Multipurpose Marine Cadastre (MMC) website: http://marinecadastre.gov/data/, this website is not maintained for currentness, and data taken directly from NOS/OCS and BOEM will be more up-to-date/authoritative.