[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 153 (Wednesday, August 8, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39077-39078]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-16987]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; International 
Fisheries Trade To Include Shrimp and Abalone

AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on 
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before October 9, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th 
and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230 (or via the internet 
at [email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should 
be directed to: Celeste Leroux at (301) 427-8372 or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    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). A final rule was published on April 24, 2018 
(83 FR 17762) which lifted the stay and established 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 et seq.) for the species described in 
Sec.  300.324(a)(3) of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations: Provided 
that the compliance date for the species described in Sec.  
300.324(a)(3) of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, shall occur not 
later than December 31, 2018.'' A final rule was issued to implement 
the Act (83 FR 17762, April 24, 2018) and provides that shrimp and 
abalone will be subject to the requirements of the Seafood Traceability 
Program under 50 CFR 300.324(a)(3), 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) 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.
    The final rule to lift the stay on shrimp and abalone 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.

II. Method of Collection

    As of the December 31, 2018 compliance date established by the 
final rule to lift the stay, 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.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0648-xxxx.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission (request for a new information 
collection).
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 2,000.
    Estimated Time per Response: International Fisheries Trade Permit, 
5 minutes; data entry, 1 hour.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 215,167.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $805,000 in recordkeeping/
reporting costs.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) 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; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or

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included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

    Dated: August 3, 2018.
Sarah Brabson,
NOAA PRA Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2018-16987 Filed 8-7-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P