[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 6 (Tuesday, January 10, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2961-2962]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-00201]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XF139


List of Foreign Fisheries

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; request for information.

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SUMMARY: NMFS is seeking information on foreign commercial fishing 
operations that export fish and fish products to the United States and 
the level of incidental and intentional mortality and serious injury of 
marine mammals in those fisheries. NMFS will use this information to 
identify harvesting nations with commercial fishing operations that 
export fish and fish products to the United States and classify those 
fisheries based on their frequency of marine mammal interactions as 
either ``exempt'' or ``export'' fisheries.

DATES: Information should be received on or before March 1, 2017.

ADDRESSES:  Information may be submitted by mail to: NMFS Office of 
International Affairs and Seafood Inspection, Attn: MMPA List of 
Foreign Fisheries Information, F/IS 1315 East-West Highway, Silver 
Spring, MD 20910, or electronically to: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nina Young, phone 301-427-8383, or 
email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS published a final rule (81 FR 54390, 
August 15, 2016) implementing the import provisions of the Marine 
Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). This rule establishes conditions for 
evaluating a harvesting nation's regulatory program to address 
incidental and intentional mortality and serious injury of marine 
mammals in fisheries that export fish and fish products to the United 
States.
    Under this rule, fish and fish products from fisheries identified 
by the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries in the List of Foreign 
Fisheries can only be imported into the United States if the harvesting 
nation has applied for and received a comparability finding from NMFS. 
The rule establishes procedures that a harvesting nation must follow 
and conditions to meet to receive a comparability finding for a 
fishery. The rule also establishes provisions for intermediary nations 
to ensure that intermediary nations do not import and re-export to the 
United States fish or fish products subject to an import prohibition.
    NMFS will identify harvesting nations with commercial fishing 
operations that export fish and fish products to the United States and 
classify those fisheries based on the frequency of marine mammal 
interactions. NMFS will classify foreign commercial fishing operations 
exporting fish and fish products to the United States as either an 
``exempt fishery'' or ``export fishery'' based on the reliable 
information provided by the harvesting nation or other readily 
available information.
    NMFS defines ``exempt fishery'' as a foreign commercial fishing 
operation determined by the Assistant Administrator to be the source of 
exports of commercial fish and fish products to the United States that 
have a remote likelihood of, or no known, incidental mortality and 
serious injury of marine mammals in the course of commercial fishing 
operations. A commercial fishing operation that has a remote likelihood 
of causing incidental mortality and serious injury of marine mammals is 
one that collectively with other foreign fisheries exporting fish and 
fish products to the United States causes the annual removal of:
    (1) Ten percent or less of any marine mammal stock's bycatch limit, 
or
    (2) More than 10 percent of any marine mammal stock's bycatch 
limit, yet that fishery by itself removes 1 percent or less of that 
stock's bycatch limit annually, or
    (3) Where reliable information has not been provided by the 
harvesting nation on the frequency of incidental mortality and serious 
injury of marine mammals caused by the commercial fishing operation, 
the Assistant Administrator may determine whether the likelihood of 
incidental mortality and serious injury is ``remote'' by evaluating 
information concerning factors such as fishing techniques, gear used, 
methods used to deter marine mammals, target species, seasons and areas 
fished, qualitative data from logbooks or fisher reports, stranding 
data, the species and distribution of marine mammals in the area, or 
other factors at the discretion of the Assistant Administrator.
    A foreign fishery will not be classified as an exempt fishery 
unless the Assistant Administrator has reliable information from the 
harvesting nation, or other information to support such a finding.
    Commercial fishing operations that NMFS determines meet the 
definition of an exempt fishery would still be required to obtain a 
comparability finding by having the harvesting nation demonstrate that 
it has either prohibited the intentional mortality or serious injury of 
marine mammals in the course of commercial fishing operations in these 
exempt fisheries, unless the intentional mortality or serious injury of 
a marine mammal is imminently necessary in self-defense or to save the 
life of a person in immediate danger; or that it has procedures to 
reliably certify that exports of fish and fish products to the United 
States are not the product of an intentional killing or serious injury 
of a marine mammal unless the intentional mortality or serious injury 
of a marine mammal is imminently necessary in self-defense or to save 
the life of a person in immediate danger.
    Exempt fisheries would not have to meet the comparability finding 
requirement to have a regulatory program for incidental mortality and 
serious injury comparable in effectiveness to the U.S. regulatory 
program.
    NMFS defines ``export fishery'' as a foreign commercial fishing 
operation determined by the Assistant Administrator to be the source of 
exports of commercial fish and fish products to the United States and 
to have more than a remote likelihood of incidental mortality and 
serious injury of marine mammals (as defined in the definition of an 
``exempt fishery'') in the course of its commercial fishing operations. 
Where reliable information has not been provided by the harvesting 
nation on the frequency of incidental mortality and serious injury of 
marine mammals caused by the commercial fishing operation, the 
Assistant Administrator may determine whether the likelihood of 
incidental mortality and serious injury is more than ``remote'' by 
evaluating information concerning factors such as fishing techniques, 
gear used, methods used to

[[Page 2962]]

deter marine mammals, target species, seasons and areas fished, 
qualitative data from logbooks or fisher reports, stranding data, and 
the species and distribution of marine mammals in the area, or other 
factors at the discretion of the Assistant Administrator that may 
inform whether the likelihood of incidental mortality and serious 
injury of marine mammals caused by the commercial fishing operation is 
more than ``remote.''
    Commercial fishing operations not specifically identified in the 
current List of Foreign Fisheries as either exempt or export fisheries 
are deemed to be export fisheries until the next List of Foreign 
Fisheries is published unless the Assistant Administrator has reliable 
information from the harvesting nation to classify the foreign 
commercial fishing operation. Additionally, the Assistant Administrator 
may request additional information from the harvesting nation and may 
consider other relevant information about such commercial fishing 
operations and the frequency of incidental mortality and serious injury 
of marine mammals, to properly classify the foreign commercial fishing 
operation.
    NMFS will publish in the Federal Register a List of Foreign 
Fisheries by harvesting nation, their fisheries, and their 
classifications. NMFS will publish a proposed List of Foreign Fisheries 
for public comment and a subsequent final List. To develop this list, 
NMFS has notified each harvesting nation with fisheries that export to 
the United States and requested that within 90 days of notification the 
harvesting nation submit reliable information about the commercial 
fishing operations identified, including the number of participants, 
number of vessels, gear type, target species, area of operation, 
fishing season, and any information regarding the frequency of marine 
mammal incidental mortality and serious injury, including programs to 
assess marine mammal populations.
    Harvesting nations will also be requested to submit copies of any 
laws, decrees, regulations, or measures to reduce incidental mortality 
and serious injury of marine mammals in those fisheries or prohibit the 
intentional killing or injury of marine mammals.
    NMFS will evaluate each harvesting nation's submission, any readily 
available information, request additional information from the 
harvesting nations, as necessary, and use this information to classify 
the fisheries. In the absence of quantifiable information or reliable 
information from the harvesting nation, NMFS will classify fisheries by 
analogy with similar U.S. fisheries and gear types interacting with 
similar marine mammal stocks using readily available information or 
available observer or logbook information per the procedures outlined 
in 50 CFR 229.2. Where no information or analogous fishery or fishery 
information exists, NMFS will classify the commercial fishing operation 
as an export fishery until such time as the harvesting nation provides 
reliable information to classify the fishery or such information is 
readily available to the Assistant Administrator in the course of 
preparing the List of Foreign Fisheries.
    In revising the list, NMFS may reclassify a fishery if new 
substantive information indicates the need to re-examine and possibly 
reclassify a fishery. The List of Foreign Fisheries will be organized 
by harvesting nation and other defining factors including geographic 
location of harvest, gear-type, target species or a combination 
thereof. Based upon the List of Foreign Fisheries, the Assistant 
Administrator will consult with harvesting nations, informing them of 
the regulatory requirements for exempt and export fisheries to import 
fish and fish products into the United States. More information 
regarding this process can be found in the regulations codified at 50 
CFR 216.24.
    NMFS is soliciting information from harvesting nations; other 
foreign, regional, and local governments; regional fishery management 
organizations; nongovernmental organizations; industry organizations; 
academic institutions; and citizens and citizen groups to identify 
commercial fishing operations with intentional or incidental mortality 
and serious injury of marine mammals. For each item we are requesting 
you identify the exporting nation as the harvesting nation, the 
processing or intermediary nation, or both. For fisheries exporting 
fish and fish products to the United States NMFS is requesting the 
following information:
     Number of participants,
     Number of vessels,
     Gear type,
     Target species,
     Area of operation,
     Fishing season, and
     Information regarding the frequency of marine mammal 
incidental and intentional mortality and serious injury.
    Such information may include fishing vessel records; reports of on-
board fishery observers; information from off-loading facilities, port-
side government officials, enforcement agents, transshipment vessel 
workers and fish importers; government vessel registries; RFMO or 
intergovernmental agreement documents, reports, and statistical 
document programs; appropriate catch certification programs; and 
published literature and reports on commercial fishing operations with 
intentional or incidental mortality and serious injury of marine 
mammals.
    NMFS will consider all available information, as appropriate, when 
making a classification. Information should be as specific as possible 
as this will assist NMFS in its review. NMFS will consider several 
criteria when determining whether information is appropriate for use in 
making identifications, including:
     Corroboration of information;
     Whether multiple sources have been able to provide 
information in support of an identification;
     The methodology used to collect the information;
     Specificity of the information provided;
     Susceptibility of the information to falsification and 
alteration; and
     Credibility of the individuals or organization providing 
the information.

    Dated: January 4, 2017.
John Henderschedt,
Director, Office for International Affairs and Seafood Inspection, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-00201 Filed 1-9-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P