[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 153 (Thursday, August 8, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39047-39048]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-16590]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice: 10780]


Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific 
Affairs

ACTION: Notice of annual certification of shrimp-harvesting nations.

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SUMMARY: On April 23, 2019, the acting Under Secretary of State for 
Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment declared that wild-caught 
shrimp harvested in the following nations, particular fisheries of 
certain nations, and Hong Kong are eligible to enter the United States: 
Argentina, Australia (Northern Prawn Fishery, the Queensland East Coast 
Trawl Fishery, the Spencer Gulf, and the Torres Strait Prawn Fishery), 
the Bahamas, Belgium, Belize, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa 
Rica, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, 
Finland, France (French Guiana), Gabon, Germany, Guatemala, Guyana, 
Honduras, Iceland, Ireland, Jamaica, Japan (shrimp baskets in 
Hokkaido), Republic of Korea (mosquito nets), Malaysia (East Coast of 
the peninsula), Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, 
Norway, Oman, Panama, Peru, Russia, Spain (Mediterranean red shrimp), 
Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, and 
Venezuela. For nations, economies, and fisheries not listed above, only 
shrimp harvested from aquaculture is eligible to enter the United 
States. All shrimp imports into the United States must be accompanied 
by the DS-2031 Shrimp Exporter's/Importer's Declaration.

DATES: This notice is applicable on August 8, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph Fette, 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) 
647-2335; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 609 of Public Law 101-162 (``Sec. 
609'') prohibits imports of wild-caught shrimp or products from shrimp 
harvested with commercial fishing technology unless the President 
certifies to the Congress by May 1, 1991, and annually thereafter, that 
either: (1) The harvesting nation has adopted a regulatory program 
governing the incidental taking of relevant species of sea turtles in 
the course of commercial shrimp harvesting that is comparable to that 
of the United States and that the average rate of that incidental 
taking by the vessels of the harvesting nation is comparable to the 
average rate of incidental taking of sea turtles by United States 
vessels in the course of such harvesting; or (2) the particular fishing 
environment of the harvesting nation does not pose a threat of the 
incidental taking of sea turtles in the course of shrimp harvesting. 
The President has delegated the authority to make this certification to 
the Secretary of State (``Secretary'') who further delegated the 
authority to the Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, 
and the Environment (``Under Secretary''). The Department of State's 
Revised Guidelines for the Implementation of Section 609 were published 
in the Federal Register on July 8, 1999, at 64 FR 36946.
    On April 23, 2019, the acting Under Secretary certified 13 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, Panama, and Suriname. The acting Under Secretary also 
certified 26 shrimp-harvesting nations and one economy as 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 Hong Kong 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 are the Bahamas, Belize, China, the 
Dominican Republic, Fiji, Jamaica, Oman, Peru, Sri Lanka, and 
Venezuela.
    A completed DS-2031 Shrimp Exporter's/Importer's Declaration (``DS-
2031'') must accompany all imports of shrimp and products from shrimp 
into the United States. Importers of shrimp and products from shrimp 
harvested in the 39 certified nations and one economy listed above must 
either provide the DS-2031 form to Customs and Border Protection at the 
port of entry or provide the information required by the DS-2031 
through the Automated Commercial Environment. DS-2031 forms 
accompanying all imports of shrimp and products from shrimp harvested 
in uncertified nations and economies 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 harvest of the shrimp and 
based on any relevant prior determinations by the acting Under 
Secretary, and signed by a responsible government official of the 
harvesting nation. The acting Under Secretary did not determine that 
shrimp or products from shrimp harvested in a manner as described in 
7(A)(3) in any uncertified nation or economy is eligible to enter the 
United States.
    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 Secretary or his or her delegate 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 acting Under Secretary has determined that only shrimp 
and products from shrimp harvested in the Northern Prawn Fishery, the 
Queensland East Coast Trawl Fishery, and the Torres Strait Prawn 
Fishery in Australia, in the French Guiana domestic trawl fishery, and 
in the East Coast fishery of peninsular Malaysia are eligible for entry 
under this provision. The importation of TED-caught shrimp from any 
other uncertified nation will not be allowed. A responsible government 
official of Australia, France, or Malaysia must sign in Block 8 of the 
DS-2031 form accompanying these imports into the United States.
    In addition, the acting Under Secretary has determined that shrimp 
and products from shrimp harvested in the Spencer Gulf region in 
Australia, with shrimp baskets in Hokkaido, Japan, with ``mosquito'' 
nets in the Republic of Korea, and Mediterranean red shrimp (Aristeus 
antennatus) and products from that shrimp harvested in the

[[Page 39048]]

Mediterranean Sea by Spain may be imported into 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, Japan, the Republic of Korea, or 
Spain must sign in Block 8 of the DS-2031 form accompanying these 
imports into the United States.
    The Department of State has communicated these certifications and 
determinations under Sec. 609 to the Office of International Trade of 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

William H. Gibbons-Fly,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and Fisheries, 
Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific 
Affairs, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2019-16590 Filed 8-7-19; 8:45 am]
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