[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 97 (Thursday, May 19, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28954-28955]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-12339]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XA324
International Conservation and Management Measures Recognized by
the United States
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The High Sea Fishing Compliance Act (HSFCA) requires the
Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to
publish from time to time in the Federal Register a list of
international conservation and management measures recognized by the
United States. To fulfill this requirement, a list of agreements
resulting in international conservation and management measures was
first published in the Federal Register in 1996. This notice provides
an updated list of such agreements. The HSFCA and its implementing
regulations prohibit the use of a fishing vessel on the high seas in
contravention of international conservation and management measures, as
well as specify the permitting and vessel identification requirements
for fishing vessels of the United States operating on the high seas.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: MiAe Kim, Trade and Marine Stewardship
Division, Office of International Affairs, NMFS (phone 301-713-9090,
fax 301-713-2313, or e-mail mi.ae.kim@noaa.gov).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The HSFCA is the United States' domestic legislation implementing
the Agreement to Promote Compliance with International Conservation and
Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas (Compliance
Agreement), adopted by the Conference of the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations on November 24, 1993 and ratified by
the United States in 1995. One of the purposes of the Compliance
Agreement is to impose on nations whose fishing vessels operate on the
high seas obligations to ensure the activities of those vessels do not
undermine the effectiveness of international conservation and
management measures for living marine resources.
As a party to the Compliance Agreement, the United States must
ensure that its fishing vessels operating on the high seas do not
undermine international measures to conserve and manage species of
living marine resources that are adopted by global, regional, or
subregional fisheries organizations, by treaties, or by other
international agreements.
The term ``international conservation and management measures'' is
defined in HSFCA, consistent with the Compliance Agreement, as
``measures to conserve or manage one or more species of living marine
resources that are adopted and applied in accordance with the relevant
rules of international law, as reflected in the 1982 United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea, and that are recognized by the United
States. Such measures may be adopted by global, regional, or
subregional fisheries organizations, subject to the rights and
obligations of their members, or by treaties or other international
agreements.''
International conservation and management measures fulfill a range
of purposes, such as:
Ensuring long-term sustainability and optimum utilization
of fish stocks;
Maintaining or restoring populations of species belonging
to the same ecosystem or associated with or dependent upon target
stocks;
Minimizing catch by lost or abandoned gear and catch of
non-target species; and
Minimizing impacts on associated or dependent species
through, to the extent practicable, the use of selective,
environmentally safe and cost-effective fishing gear and techniques.
In the case of international conservation and management measures
adopted by regional fisheries management organizations, the full text
of such measures can be found on the Web sites of the respective
organizations. These measures are subject to change. Measures may be
adopted or modified based on information on stocks, bycatch, illegal
fishing activities, and other issues. Sometimes the adoption of
measures by regional fisheries management organizations is driven by
study results or activities undertaken through other international
bodies, such as resolutions adopted by the United Nations General
Assembly and guidelines and plans of action developed under the
auspices of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations. Certain international instruments can also influence the
development of conservation and management measures by regional
fisheries management organizations, such as the Agreement for the
Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on
the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 Relating to the Conservation and
Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks;
the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate
Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing; the Inter-American
Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles; the
Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels; and
instruments concluded under the framework of the Convention on the
Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals.
The international conservation and management measures adopted by
regional fisheries management organizations of which the United States
is a member are implemented in the United States, if applicable and as
appropriate, through domestic legislation and corresponding
regulations.
To undertake fishing operations on the high seas, the owner or
operator of a United States fishing vessel must apply for a permit and
follow regulations implementing HSFCA, found at 50 CFR part 300,
subpart B. The Secretary has statutory and regulatory authority to
include appropriate conditions and restrictions in individual permits.
Taken together, the requirements of the HSFCA, as implemented by the
regulations and permit conditions and restrictions, fulfill certain
U.S. obligations and responsibilities under the Compliance Agreement
with respect to its fishing vessels that operate on the high seas.
For purposes of the HSFCA, the Secretary, in consultation with the
Secretary of State, has determined that all conservation and management
measures for living marine resources set forth in, or adopted pursuant
to, the following international agreements are included within the term
``international conservation and management measures recognized by the
United States.'' For those agreements to which the United States is
party, the term excludes
[[Page 28955]]
measures to which the United States has lodged an objection or
reservation, consistent with the terms of such agreement. At the time
this notice was prepared, the United States had not objected to, or
taken a reservation against, any such measures.
A list of agreements resulting in international conservation and
management measures was first published in the Federal Register in 1996
(61 FR 11751, March 22, 1996). Where applicable, the updated list of
agreements is organized by ocean areas and includes the organization
created by the agreement.
Agreements to Which the United States Is Party
Atlantic Ocean
Convention for the Conservation of Salmon in the North Atlantic
Ocean (Basic Instrument for the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation
Organization--NASCO);
Convention on Future Multilateral Cooperation in the Northwest
Atlantic Fisheries (Basic Instrument for the Northwest Atlantic
Fisheries Organization--NAFO);
International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas
(Basic Instrument for the International Commission for the Conservation
of Atlantic Tunas--ICCAT);
Pacific Ocean
Agreement on the International Dolphin Conservation Program
(AIDCP);
Convention for the Conservation of Anadromous Stocks in the North
Pacific Ocean (Basic Instrument for the North Pacific Anadromous Fish
Commission--NPAFC);
1949 Convention for the Establishment of an Inter-American Tropical
Tuna Commission (Basic Instrument for the Inter-American Tropical Tuna
Commission--IATTC); \1\
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\1\ On August 27, 2010, the Convention for the Strengthening of
the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission Established by the 1949
Convention Between the United States of America and the Republic of
Costa Rica (``Antigua Convention'') entered into force for countries
that have deposited their instrument of ratification. Pursuant to
Article XXXI of the Antigua Convention, the 1949 Convention for the
Establishment of an Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission will be
considered terminated upon the entry into force of the Antigua
Convention for all Parties to the 1949 Convention. The United States
is a party to the 1949 Convention and signatory to the Antigua
Convention. As of the date of this Federal Register notice, the
United States has not ratified the Antigua Convention. Therefore the
1949 Convention remains the basis of the United States' membership
in the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission.
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Convention on the Conservation and Management of Pollock Resources
in the Central Bering Sea;
Treaty on Fisheries between the Governments of Certain Pacific
Island States and the Government of the United States of America (South
Pacific Tuna Treaty--SPTT);
Convention for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory
Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (Basic Instrument
for the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission--WCPFC);
Southern Ocean
Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
(Basic Instrument for the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic
Marine Living Resources--CCAMLR);
Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (CCAS);
Other
Convention for the Prohibition of Fishing with Long Driftnets in
the South Pacific Ocean; and
International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (Basic
Instrument for the International Whaling Commission--IWC).
Agreements To Which the United States Is Not Party
Agreement for the Establishment of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission
(Basic instrument of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission--IOTC);
Convention on the Conservation and Management of Fisheries
Resources in the Southeast Atlantic Ocean (Basic instrument for the
South East Atlantic Fisheries Organization--SEAFO);
Convention for the Strengthening of the Inter-American Tropical
Tuna Commission Established by the 1949 Convention Between the United
States of America and the Republic of Costa Rica (``Antigua
Convention''; Basic instrument for the Inter-American Tropical Tuna
Commission--IATTC);
Convention for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (Basic
instrument for the Commission on the Conservation of Southern Bluefin
Tuna--CCSBT);
Convention on Future Multilateral Cooperation in North-East
Atlantic Fisheries (Basic instrument for the North-East Atlantic
Fisheries Commission--NEAFC); and
Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Norway and the
Government of the USSR Concerning Cooperation in the Field of
Fisheries.
This listing of ``international conservation and management
measures recognized by the United States'' will be revised and updated
from time to time by publication in the Federal Register. The inclusion
or exclusion of items from this listing is without prejudice to any
positions or views the United States Government may take or express
with regard to such items in the future. This notice is not intended to
and does not otherwise operate to amend, supplement, revise or
supersede the regulations implementing the HSFCA at 50 CFR 300.15.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 5501-5509.
Dated: May 12, 2011.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-12339 Filed 5-18-11; 8:45 am]
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