[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 102 (Thursday, May 26, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33575-33576]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-12544]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice: 9584]
Annual Certification of Shrimp-Harvesting Nations
AGENCY: Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific
Affairs, Department of State.
ACTION: Certification.
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SUMMARY: On May 3, 2016, the Department of State certified that 14
shrimp-harvesting nations have a regulatory program comparable to that
of the United States governing the incidental taking of the relevant
species of sea turtles in the course of commercial shrimp harvesting
and that the particular fishing environments of 26 shrimp-harvesting
nations and one economy do not pose a threat of the incidental taking
of covered sea turtles in the course of such harvesting.
DATES: This notice is effective on May 26, 2016.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Section 609 Program Manager, Office of
Marine Conservation, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental
and Scientific Affairs, Department of State, 2201 C Street NW.,
Washington, DC 20520-2758; telephone: (202) 647-3263; email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 609 of Public Law 101-162 (``Sec.
609'') prohibits imports of certain categories of shrimp unless the
President certifies to the Congress by May 1, 1991, and annually
thereafter, that either: (1) The harvesting nation has adopted a
program governing the incidental capture of sea turtles in its
commercial shrimp fishery comparable to the program in effect in the
United States and has an incidental take rate comparable to that of the
United States; or (2) the particular fishing environment in the
harvesting nation does not pose a threat of the incidental taking of
sea turtles. The President has delegated the authority to make this
certification to the Department of State (``the Department''). The
Department's Revised Guidelines for the Implementation of Section 609
were published in the Federal Register on July 8, 1999, at 64 FR 36946.
On May 3, 2016, the Department certified 14 nations on the basis
that their sea turtle protection programs are comparable to that of the
United States: Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Gabon,
Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan,
Panama, and Suriname. The Department also certified 26 shrimp-
harvesting nations and one economy as
[[Page 33576]]
having fishing environments that do not pose a danger to sea turtles.
Sixteen nations have shrimping grounds only in cold waters where the
risk of taking sea turtles is negligible: Argentina, Belgium, Canada,
Chile, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands,
New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay.
Ten nations and one economy only harvest shrimp using small boats with
crews of less than five that use manual rather than mechanical means to
retrieve nets or catch shrimp using other methods that do not threaten
sea turtles. Use of such small-scale technology does not adversely
affect sea turtles. The 10 nations and one economy are: The Bahamas,
Belize, China, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Oman,
Peru, Sri Lanka, and Venezuela.
A completed DS-2031 Shrimp Exporter's/Importer's Declaration must
accompany all shipments of shrimp or shrimp product into the United
States. Only shrimp or products from shrimp harvested in the 40
certified nations and one economy listed above may be accompanied by a
DS-2031 with Box 7(B) checked. All DS-2031 forms accompanying shrimp
imports from uncertified nations must be originals with Box 7(A)(1),
7(A)(2), or 7(A)(4) checked, consistent with the form's instructions
with regard to the method of production of the product and based on any
relevant prior determinations by the Department of State, and signed by
a responsible government official of the harvesting nation's competent
domestic fisheries authority. The Department has not determined that
any uncertified nation qualifies to export shrimp or products of shrimp
harvested in a manner as described in 7(A)(3).
Shrimp and products of shrimp harvested with turtle excluder
devices (TEDs) in an uncertified nation may, under specific
circumstances, be eligible for importation into the United States under
the DS-2031 Box 7(A)(2) provision for ``shrimp harvested by commercial
shrimp trawl vessels using TEDs comparable in effectiveness to those
required in the United States.'' Use of this provision requires that
the Department determine in advance that the government of the
harvesting nation has put in place adequate procedures to monitor the
use of TEDs in the specific fishery in question and to ensure the
accurate completion of the DS-2031 forms. At this time, the Department
has determined that only shrimp and products of shrimp harvested in the
Exmouth Gulf Prawn Fishery, the Northern Prawn Fishery, the Queensland
East Coast Trawl Fishery, and the Torres Strait Prawn Fishery in
Australia and shrimp or products of shrimp harvested in the French
Guiana domestic trawl fishery are eligible for entry under this
provision. Thus, the importation of TED-caught shrimp from any other
uncertified nation will not be allowed. A responsible government
official of Australia or France must sign in Block 8 of the DS-2031
form accompanying these imports into the United States.
In addition, the Department has determined that shrimp or products
of shrimp harvested in the Spencer Gulf region in Australia and
Mediterranean red shrimp (Aristeus antennatus) harvested in the
Mediterranean Sea by Spain may be exported to the United States under
the DS-2031 Box 7(A)(4) provision for ``shrimp harvested in a manner or
under circumstances determined by the Department of State not to pose a
threat of the incidental taking of sea turtles.'' A responsible
government official of Australia or Spain must sign in Block 8 of the
DS-2031 form accompanying these imports into the United States.
The Department has communicated these certifications and
determinations under Section 609 to the Office of International Trade
of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Dated: May 19, 2016.
David A. Balton,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and Fisheries, Bureau of
Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs,
Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2016-12544 Filed 5-25-16; 8:45 am]
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