[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 162 (Tuesday, August 22, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43640-43641]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-20792]



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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice 2240]


Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific 
Affairs; Certifications Pursuant to Section 609 of Public Law 101-162

SUMMARY: On April 28, 1995, the Department of State certified, pursuant 
to Section 609 of Public Law 101-162, that 9 countries with commercial 

[[Page 43641]]
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 28 for Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, 
and French Guiana and, as a result, shrimp imports from these countries 
were prohibited effective May 1, 1995, pursuant to Public Law 101-162. 
The Department of State subsequently issued a certification for 
Trinidad and Tobago on August 15, 1995 and, as a result, the ban on 
shrimp imports that had been in effect since May 1, 1995, was lifted.

EFFECTIVE DATE: August 22, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Hollis Summers, 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, Costa Rica, French Guiana (EU), 
Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname, 
Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. On April 28, 1995, 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, 1995. The ban on shrimp imports from Suriname (in effect since May 
1, 1993) and French Guiana (in effect since May 1, 1992) remained in 
place.
    The countries that received a certification on April 28, 1995, were 
Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Mexico, 
Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Venezuela; with Trinidad and Tobago 
certified on August 15, 1995. 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 countries, 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.
    In reviewing information for the purpose of making the 
certifications, the Department looked at three principal elements of 
each country's program: (1) The legal and 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 certification this year 
has established and is implementing the legal requirement to use TEDS, 
the Department will place particular emphasis in making future 
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, 1995, to August 15, 1995, 
any shipment with a recorded date of export prior to May 1, 1995, was 
allowed entry into the United States even if it arrived on or after May 
1, 1995. That is, shipments in transit prior to the effective date of 
the ban were not barred from entry.

    Dated: August 16, 1995.
R. Tucker Scully,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary For Oceans.
[FR Doc. 95-20792 Filed 8-21-95; 8:45 am]
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