[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]
 BILLING CODE 4710-09-P