[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 79 (Tuesday, April 24, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 17762-17765]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-08553]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 300

[Docket No. 180417378-8379-01]
RIN 0648-BH89


Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; Lifting 
the Stay on Inclusion of Shrimp and Abalone in the Seafood Traceability 
Program

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

ACTION: Final rule; compliance date and lift of stay.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issued a final rule on December 9, 2016 to establish the 
Seafood Traceability Program, also known as the Seafood Import 
Monitoring Program or SIMP. Implementation of the Program for shrimp 
and abalone species was stayed indefinitely due to NMFS' determination 
that current data collection for shrimp and abalone aquacultured in the 
U.S. is not equivalent to the data that would have been required to be 
reported for imports of these products. The Consolidated Appropriations 
Act of 2018 directed the Secretary of Commerce, within 30 days of 
enactment of the Act, to lift the stay on the implementation of the 
Seafood Traceability Program with respect to shrimp and abalone. This 
rule informs the affected public of the effective and compliance dates 
for the reporting and recordkeeping requirements, applicable for 
imports of shrimp and abalone species originating from both wild 
capture fisheries and aquaculture operations.

DATES: Effective date: The stay on 50 CFR 300.324(a)(3) is lifted 
effective May 24, 2018.
    Compliance date: The compliance date for this rule for the species 
included at 50 CFR 300.324(a)(3) is December 31, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Celeste Leroux at (301) 427-8372 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Seafood Traceability Program (see 50 CFR 
300.320-300.325) is the first phase of a risk-based traceability 
program, which establishes permit, reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements needed to prevent illegally harvested and misrepresented 
seafood from entering into U.S. Commerce. In the development of the 
Seafood Traceability Program rule, 13 ``priority'' species were 
identified as being most at risk for Illegal, Unreported, and 
Unregulated (IUU) fishing and misrepresentation, and are the only 
species currently subject to this program. For two of those species 
(abalone and shrimp), NMFS stayed program requirements indefinitely (50 
CFR 300.324(a)(3)). See 81 FR 88975 (December 9, 2016). This rule lifts 
that stay, effective May 24, 2018, and establishes a compliance date of 
December 31, 2018 for shrimp and abalone.
    NMFS had stayed requirements for abalone and shrimp because gaps 
existed in the collection of traceability information for domestic 
aquaculture-raised shrimp and abalone, which is currently largely 
regulated at the state level. During development of the Seafood 
Traceability Program, NMFS explored the possibility of working with its 
state partners to establish reporting and recordkeeping requirements 
for aquaculture traceability information that could be shared with 
NMFS. However, this did not prove to be a viable approach. See 81 FR at 
88977-78. In the Seafood Import Monitoring Program final rule, NMFS 
explained that ``[A]t such time that the domestic reporting and 
recordkeeping gaps have been closed, NMFS will then publish an action 
in the Federal Register to lift the stay of the effective date for 
Sec.  300.324(a)(3) of the rule pertaining to shrimp and abalone. 
Adequate advance notice to the trade community would be provided'' to 
ensure all affected parties have sufficient time to come into 
compliance.
    On March 23, 2018, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 
(Pub. L. 115-141) was signed by the President and became law. Section 
539 of Division B of the Act directed the Secretary of Commerce to, 
within 30 days, lift the stay on the effective date of the final rule 
for the Seafood Traceability Program published by the Secretary on 
December 9, 2016, (81 FR 88975) for the species described in 50 CFR 
300.324(a)(3), provided that the compliance date for the species 
described in 50 CFR 300.324(a)(3) shall occur not later than December 
31, 2018. This rule implements the Act and provides that shrimp and 
abalone will be subject to the requirements of the Seafood Traceability 
Program under 50 CFR 300.324(a)(3) effective May 24, 2018 with a 
compliance date December 31, 2018.
    The Program consists of two components: (1) Reporting of harvest 
events at the time of entry; and (2)

[[Page 17763]]

permitting and recordkeeping requirements with respect to both harvest 
events and chain of custody information. See 50 CFR 300.324 and id. 
Sec. Sec.  300.320-300.323 and 300.325. Application of the program's 
reporting and recordkeeping requirements to shrimp and abalone will 
enable audits of imports to be conducted to determine the origin of the 
products and confirm that they were lawfully acquired.
    As of the December 31, 2018 compliance date established by this 
rule, importers of shrimp and abalone species will be required to 
obtain an International Fisheries Trade Permit as specified at 50 CFR 
300.322, submit harvest and landing information on those products into 
the U.S. Customs and Border Protection International Trade Data System 
(ITDS) through the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) portal prior 
to entry into U.S. Commerce, and maintain supply chain records from the 
point of harvest to the point of entry into U.S. Commerce for a period 
of two years after entry. International Fishery Trade Permits are 
currently available for issuance and it is anticipated that ACE 
reporting will be available for testing prior to the compliance date. 
Prior to December 31, 2018, NMFS will publish a notice in the Federal 
Register to inform interested parties that ACE programming has been 
completed to allow U.S. importers to test software for ACE entry 
reporting for shrimp and abalone. For products harvested prior to the 
compliance date, U.S. importers should work with their foreign 
suppliers to ensure that the harvest event and supply chain records are 
available for any entries made on or after December 31, 2018.

Domestic Aquaculture Rulemaking

    Section 539 of Title V of Division B of the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-141) also directed the 
Secretary of Commerce to ``. . . establish a traceability program for 
United States inland, coastal, and marine aquaculture of shrimp and 
abalone . . .'' and by December 31, 2018 to ``. . . promulgate such 
regulations as are necessary and appropriate to establish and implement 
the program.'' Concurrent with the work to develop import reporting 
mechanisms, NMFS will develop reporting and recordkeeping requirements 
for domestic aquaculture-raised shrimp and abalone.

Harmonized Tariff Schedule Codes

    The Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes applicable to the 
products subject to the requirements of this rule may be revised from 
time to time by the International Trade Commission. Any such changes 
will be reflected in the NMFS Implementation Guides for ACE that are 
posted to the internet by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). 
Application of this rule to entries of fish and fish products filed 
under the following HTS codes will be mandatory as of December 31, 
2018, when these shrimp and abalone HTS codes will be designated in ACE 
as requiring a complete Seafood Traceability Program data set in order 
to obtain release of the inbound shipment:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
         HTS code                      Commodity description
------------------------------------------------------------------------
306160003................  SHRIMP COLD-WATER SHELL-ON FROZEN <15.
306160006................  SHRIMP COLD-WATER SHELL-ON FROZEN 15/20.
306160009................  SHRIMP COLD-WATER SHELL-ON FROZEN 21/25.
306160012................  SHRIMP COLD-WATER SHELL-ON FROZEN 26/30.
306160015................  SHRIMP COLD-WATER SHELL-ON FROZEN 31/40.
306160018................  SHRIMP COLD-WATER SHELL-ON FROZEN 41/50.
306160021................  SHRIMP COLD-WATER SHELL-ON FROZEN 51/60.
306160024................  SHRIMP COLD-WATER SHELL-ON FROZEN 61/70.
306160027................  SHRIMP COLD-WATER SHELL-ON FROZEN >70.
306160040................  SHRIMP COLD-WATER PEELED FROZEN.
306170003................  SHRIMP WARM-WATER SHELL-ON FROZEN <15.
306170006................  SHRIMP WARM-WATER SHELL-ON FROZEN 15/20.
306170009................  SHRIMP WARM-WATER SHELL-ON FROZEN 21/25.
306170012................  SHRIMP WARM-WATER SHELL-ON FROZEN 26/30.
306170015................  SHRIMP WARM-WATER SHELL-ON FROZEN 31/40.
306170018................  SHRIMP WARM-WATER SHELL-ON FROZEN 41/50.
306170021................  SHRIMP WARM-WATER SHELL-ON FROZEN 51/60.
306170024................  SHRIMP WARM-WATER SHELL-ON FROZEN 61/70.
306170027................  SHRIMP WARM-WATER SHELL-ON FROZEN >70.
306170040................  SHRIMP WARM-WATER PEELED FROZEN.
1605211000...............  SHRIMPS AND PRAWNS, NOT IN AIRTIGHT
                            CONTAINERS.
1605291010...............  SHRIMPS AND PRAWNS, FROZEN, IN AIRTIGHT
                            CONTAINERS.
1605291040...............  SHRIMPS AND PRAWNS, PREPARED OR PRESERVED, IN
                            AIRTIGHT CONTAINERS, OTHERS.
1605211020...............  SHRIMPS AND PRAWNS, BREADED, FROZEN.
1605211030...............  SHRIMPS AND PRAWNS, PREPARED OTHERS, FROZEN.
1605211050...............  SHRIMPS AND PRAWNS, PREPARED OR PRESERVED,
                            NOT IN AIRTIGHT CONTAINERS, OTHERS.
306350020................  COLD-WATER SHRIMPS AND PRAWNS (PANDALUS SPP.,
                            CRANGON CRANGON), LIVE, FRESH OR CHILLED,
                            SHELL-ON.
306350040................  COLD-WATER SHRIMPS AND PRAWNS (PANDALUS SPP.,
                            CRANGON CRANGON), FRESH OR CHILLED, PEELED.
306360020................  SHRIMPS AND PRAWNS, LIVE, FRESH OR CHILLED,
                            SHELL-ON, OTHER THAN COLD-WATER.
306360040................  SHRIMPS AND PRAWNS, FRESH OR CHILLED, PEELED,
                            OTHER THAN COLD-WATER.
306950020................  SHRIMPS AND PRAWNS, SHELL-ON, OTHERS.
306950040................  SHRIMPS AND PRAWNS, PEELED, OTHERS.
1604200510...............  PREPARED MEALS CONTAINING MEAT OF
                            CRUSTACEANS, MOLLUSCS OR OTHER AQUATIC
                            INVERTEBRATES, OTHERS.
1604200590...............  PRODUCTS CONTAINING MEAT OF CRUSTACEANS,
                            MOLLUSCS OR OTHER AQUATIC INVERTEBRATES,
                            OTHERS.
1605210500...............  SHRIMP AND PRAWN PRODUCTS CONTAINING FISH
                            MEAT; PREPARED MEALS NOT IN AIRTIGHT
                            CONTAINERS.
1605570500...............  ABALONE PRODUCTS PREPARED DINNERS.
1605576000...............  ABALONE PREPARED/PRESERVED.
307810000................  LIVE, FRESH OR CHILLED ABALONE (HALIOTIS
                            SPP.).
307830000................  FROZEN ABALONE (HALIOTIS SPP.).
307870000................  OTHER ABALONE (HALIOTIS SPP.).

[[Page 17764]]

 
307890000................  ABALONE, NESOI.
160557000................  ABALONE (HALIOTIS SPP.), PREPARED OR
                            PRESERVED.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Highly processed fish products (fish oil, slurry, sauces, sticks, 
balls, cakes, puddings, and other similar highly processed fish 
products) for which the species of fish comprising the product or the 
harvesting event(s) or aquaculture operation(s) of the product cannot 
be feasibly identified are not subject to the requirements of this 
rule. See 50 CFR 300.324(a)(1). Therefore, HTS codes for such fish and 
fish products have not been included in the lists above. However, 
importers are advised to determine if other NMFS program requirements 
or other agency requirements (e.g., State Department, Food and Drug 
Administration) have ACE data reporting requirements applicable to HTS 
codes used for entry filing, whether or not those codes have been 
identified for the Seafood Traceability Program.

Stakeholder Engagement

    As part of NOAA's ongoing efforts to provide industry awareness of 
and support for compliance with the Seafood Traceability Program's 
traceability data reporting and recordkeeping requirements, NMFS will 
hold in-person and virtual public meetings to discuss the 
implementation of the U.S. Seafood Traceability Program and address 
questions from participants regarding all species covered by the 
Program, including shrimp and abalone. Meetings will address issues 
relevant to both foreign exporters and U.S. domestic importers of 
seafood species whose products are covered by the Seafood Traceability 
Program. Information on future Program implementation meetings and 
transcripts of prior meetings and webinars can be found at http://www.iuufishing.noaa.gov/RecommendationsandActions/RECOMMENDATION1415/FinalRuleTraceability.aspx.

Classification

    The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA (AA) has determined 
that this final action is consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act and other applicable laws.
    The AA finds good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive prior 
notice and an opportunity for public comment on this final action as 
they are unnecessary because the public already had such opportunity 
during the proposed rule stage of the Seafood Traceability Program 
rulemaking. At that time, the public had an opportunity to comment both 
on the Program's requirements and on delayed implementation of the 
Program for shrimp and abalone. In the preamble to the proposed rule, 
NMFS stated, ``While it remains NMFS' full intention to include shrimp 
and abalone in the final rule, implementation of measures to address 
those gaps [in domestic reporting and recordkeeping requirements for 
aquaculture-raised shrimp and abalone] may affect the timing of 
implementation of the reporting and recordkeeping requirements for 
imports of shrimp and abalone. In particular, if gaps remain 
unaddressed by the time of publication of a final rule, NMFS intends to 
delay implementation of the rule for shrimp and abalone until such time 
as, working with its state and federal partners, it is able to 
determine that the gaps have been addressed and publishes a notice in 
the Federal Register specifying implementation of this rule for those 
species.'' See 81 FR at 6212.
    In addition, this final rule does not change substantive 
requirements of the Seafood Traceability Program. Rather, as directed 
by statute (Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018, Pub. L. 115-141), 
it lifts the stay for species (shrimp and abalone) described in 50 CFR 
300.324(a)(3) and provides a compliance date of December 31, 2018.
    Later this year, NMFS will publish a proposed rule establishing 
reporting and recordkeeping requirements for domestic producers of 
aquaculture-raised shrimp and abalone, as directed by Congress in 
Section 539 of Title V of Division B of the Consolidated Appropriations 
Act of 2018. At that time, NMFS will provide the public with an 
opportunity to comment on that proposed rule.

Executive Orders 12866 and 13771 and the Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866. This rule is not an Executive Order 
13771 regulatory action because this rule is not significant under 
Executive Order 12866.
    NMFS prepared a Regulatory Impact Review and Final Regulatory 
Flexibility Analysis (RIR/FRFA) for the Seafood Traceability Program 
which described the Program, its economic impact on small entities, and 
the legal basis for the action. The RIR/FRFA included an analysis of 
the economic impact of adding shrimp and abalone to the Program. Copies 
of the final RIR/FRFA are available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This final rule contains a collection-of-information requirement 
subject to review and approval by OMB under the Paperwork Reduction Act 
(PRA). OMB had previously approved the information collection 
requirements for the Seafood Traceability Program under Control Number 
0648-0739, but the burden estimates did not include the requirements 
for shrimp and abalone given the stay. The requirements for permitting, 
reporting and recordkeeping for imports of shrimp and abalone will be 
submitted to OMB for approval. In a separate Federal Register notice, 
NMFS will solicit public comment on the information collection burden 
for the shrimp and abalone requirements under this rule.
    Public comment will be sought regarding: Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall 
have practical utility; the accuracy of the burden estimate; ways to 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is 
required to respond to, and no person shall be subject to penalty for 
failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the 
requirements of the PRA, unless that collection of information displays 
a currently valid OMB control number.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 300

    Exports, Fisheries, Fishing, Fishing vessels, Illegal, Unreported 
or unregulated fishing, Foreign relations, Imports, International trade 
permits, Treaties.
    Accordingly, 50 CFR part 300 is amended as follows:

[[Page 17765]]

PART 300--INTERNATIONAL FISHERIES REGULATIONS

0
1. The authority citation for part 300 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 951 et seq., 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq., 16 
U.S.C. 5501 et seq., 16 U.S.C. 2431 et seq., 31 U.S.C. 9701 et seq.


Sec.  300.324  [Amended]

0
2. In Sec.  300.324, the stay on paragraph (a)(3) is lifted.

    Dated: April 19, 2018.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-08553 Filed 4-23-18; 8:45 am]
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