[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 94 (Tuesday, May 17, 1994)] [Unknown Section] [Page 0] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 94-11932] [[Page Unknown]] [Federal Register: May 17, 1994] BILLING CODE 8025-01-M ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF STATE Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs [Public Notice 2009] Certifications Pursuant to Section 609 of Public Law 101-162 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: On April 27, 1994, the Department of State certified, pursuant to section 609 of Public Law 101-162, that 9 countries with commercial shrimp trawl fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean and Western Atlantic Ocean (Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and Venezuela) have adopted programs to reduce the incidental capture of sea turtles in such fisheries comparable to the program in effect in the United States. The Department certified that the fishing environment in two other countries (Costa Rica and Guatemala) does not pose a threat of the incidental taking of sea turtles protected under Public Law 101-162. The Department was unable to issue certifications on April 27 for Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and French Guiana and, as a result, shrimp imports from these countries were prohibited effective May 1, 1994, pursuant to Public Law 101-162. The Department of State subsequently issued a certification for Trinidad and Tobago on May 9, 1994 and, as a result, the ban on shrimp imports that has been in effect since May 1, 1994, was lifted. EFFECTIVE DATE: May 17, 1994. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Bill Gibbons-Fly, Office of Marine Conservation, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, Department of State, Washington, DC 20520-7818; telephone: (202) 647-3940. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 609 of Public Law 101-162 prohibits imports of shrimp from certain nations unless the President certifies to the Congress by May 1 of each year either: (1) That 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; or (2) that the fishing environment in the harvesting nations 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. Revised State Department guidelines for making the required certifications were published in the Federal Register on February 18, 1993 (58 FR 9015). The countries subject to the provisions of Public Law 101-162 include Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Coast Rica, French Guiana (EC), Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. On April 27, 1994, the Department of State certified that 11 of the 14 affected countries have met, for the current year, the requirements of the law. The countries that did not receive a certification at that time were Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, and French Guiana. As a result, shrimp imports from Trinidad and Tobago were prohibited pursuant to Public Law 101-162 effective May 1, 1994. The ban on shrimp imports from Suriname (in effect since May 1, 1993) and French Guiana (in effect since May 1, 1992) remain in place. However, the Department subsequently issued a certification for Trinidad and Tobago on May 9, thus lifting the ban on shrimp imports in effect since May 1, 1994. The countries that received a certification on April 27, 1994, were Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Venezuela; with Trinidad and Tobago certified on May 9, 1994. Of these, the Department certified that the fishing environment in Costa Rica and Guatemala does not pose a threat of the incidental taking of sea turtles protected by Public Law 101- 162. (In both these counties, the commercial shrimp trawl fleet operates exclusively in the Pacific Ocean with no activity on the Caribbean side.) The Department certified that the other ten countries have adopted a program to reduce the incidental capture of sea turtles in the commercial shrimp trawl fishery comparable to the U.S. program. May 1, 1994 marks the end of the three-year period provided in the Department's published guidelines for each of the affected countries to develop and implement their programs to require the use of TEDs. In reviewing information for the purpose of making the certifications this year, the Department looked at three principal elements of each country's program: (1) The legal and/or regulatory framework establishing the TED requirement for all commercial shrimp trawl vessels, except those specifically exempt under the Department's guidelines; (2) the implementation of that requirement and the extent to which TEDs are in use on all such vessels; and (3) the efforts of each country to monitor and enforce the TED requirement to ensure compliance. Because each country that received a certification this year has established and is implementing the legal requirement to use TEDs, the Department will place particular emphasis in making further certifications on the third element, monitoring and enforcement of the TED requirement. Finally, in implementing the ban on shrimp imports from Trinidad and Tobago which was in effect from May 1, 1994, to May 9, 1994, any shipment with a recorded date of export prior to May 1, 1994, was allowed entry into the United States even if it arrived on or after May 1, 1993. That is, shipments in transit prior to the effective date of the ban were not barred from entry. Dated: May 10, 1994. Ambassador David A. Colson, Deputy Assistant Secretary For Oceans. [FR Doc. 94-11932 Filed 5-16-94; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4710-09-M