[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]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P