[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 160 (Wednesday, August 19, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 50270]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-20434]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RIN 0648-XE078
Presidential Task Force on Combating Illegal Unreported and
Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and Seafood Fraud Action Plan; Extension of
Comment Period
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments; extension of comment period.
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SUMMARY: The National Ocean Council Committee on IUU Fishing and
Seafood Fraud (NOC Committee) extends the comment period from September
2, 2015, to September 11, 2015, on the notice, which published August
3, 2015, seeking public input on draft principles for determining
seafood species at risk of IUU fishing and seafood fraud (``at risk'')
and a draft list of ``at risk'' species developed using the draft
principles. The comment period is being extended in order to provide
further opportunity for the public to review and provide thoughtful
comment.
DATES: The deadline for written comments on the notice published on
August 3, 2015 (80 FR 45955) is extended from September 2, 2015, to
September 11, 2015.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2014-0090, by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2014-0090, click the
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or
attach your comments.
Mail: Submit written comments to Danielle Rioux, 1315
East-West Highway; Silver Spring, Maryland 20910.
Webinar: A webinar will be held on August 25th, 3:30-5
p.m. Eastern time. Please go to http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ia/iuu/taskforce.html for information on how to join.
Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period,
may not be considered by the Working Group. All comments received are a
part of the public record and will generally be posted for public
viewing on www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily
by the sender will be publicly accessible. The Working Group will
accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you
wish to remain anonymous).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Danielle Rioux, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service (phone 301-427-8516, or
email [email protected]).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
According to NOAA, in 2013, U.S. fishers landed 9.9 billion pounds
of fish and shellfish worth $5.5 billion. Illegal, unreported, and
unregulated (IUU) fishing and seafood fraud undermine the
sustainability of U.S. and global seafood stocks and negatively impact
general ecosystem health. At the same time, IUU fishing and fraudulent
seafood products distort legal markets and unfairly compete with the
products of law-abiding fishers and seafood industries. On March 15,
2015, the Presidential Task Force on Combating IUU Fishing and Seafood
Fraud (Task Force), co-chaired by the Departments of Commerce and
State, took an historic step to address these issues and published its
Action Plan for Implementing Task Force Recommendations (Action Plan).
The Action Plan (http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ia/iuu/noaa_taskforce_report_final.pdf) articulates the proactive steps that
Federal agencies will take to implement the recommendations the Task
Force made to the President in December 2014 on a comprehensive
framework of integrated programs to combat IUU fishing and seafood
fraud. The Action Plan identifies actions that will strengthen
enforcement, create and expand partnerships with state and local
governments, industry, and non-governmental organizations, and create a
risk-based traceability program to track seafood from harvest to entry
into U.S. commerce, including through the use of existing traceability
mechanisms. The work the Task Force began continues under the oversight
of the National Ocean Council's Committee on IUU Fishing and Seafood
Fraud (NOC Committee), established this past April, 2015.
The notice published on August 3, 2015, (80 FR 45955) is one of
several steps in the plan to implement Task Force Recommendations 14
and 15, identifying ``species of fish or seafood that are presently of
particular concern because they are currently subject to significant
seafood fraud or because they are at significant risk of being caught
by IUU fishing.'' To begin implementing these recommendations, the NOC
Committee created a Working Group (Working Group), led by NOAA and
composed of members from partner agencies: Department of State, Food
and Drug Administration, Department of Homeland Security, Customs and
Border Protection, and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
Extension of Comment Period
We initially requested comments by September 2, 2015. In order to
provide further opportunity for the public to review and provide
thoughtful comment, NMFS is extending the comment period on the
notice--that published August 3, 2015 (80 FR 45955)--until September
11, 2015.
Dated: August 13, 2015.
Eileen Sobeck,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-20434 Filed 8-18-15; 8:45 am]
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