[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 242 (Wednesday, December 16, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81453-81454]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-27695]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XA689]


Interagency Working Group on Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated 
Fishing; Request for Comments

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

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS is seeking public comments on the Work Plan of the 
Interagency Working Group on Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated 
Fishing. This Interagency Working Group was established under the 
Maritime Security and Fisheries Enforcement Act.

DATES: Information should be received on or before January 15, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Information may be submitted electronically to 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mi Ae Kim, phone 301-427-8365 or email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Maritime Security and Fisheries 
Enforcement Act (Maritime SAFE Act) became law on December 20, 2019. 
The overarching purpose of the Maritime SAFE Act is to support a whole-
of-government approach across the Federal government to counter 
illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and related threats 
to maritime security. It seeks to achieve this through a number of 
means, including: Improve data sharing that enhances surveillance, 
enforcement, and prosecution against IUU fishing and related 
activities; support coordination and collaboration to counter IUU 
fishing within priority regions; and increase and improve global 
transparency and traceability across the seafood supply chain to deter 
IUU fishing and strengthen fisheries management and food security; 
improve global enforcement operations against IUU fishing; and prevent 
the use of IUU fishing as a financing source for transnational 
organized crime groups.
    Part II of the Maritime SAFE Act calls for the establishment of the 
Interagency Working Group on IUU Fishing (Working Group), specifying 
the chair and agency membership in the Working Group, as well as the 
Working Group's responsibilities. This Working Group met for the first 
time in June 2020. NOAA is chair of this Working Group for its first 
three years, joined by the

[[Page 81454]]

U.S. Department of State and U.S. Coast Guard as deputy chairs.
    The Working Group has developed its Work Plan, a living document 
that will serve as the basis for a 5-year strategic plan that is due to 
Congress by the end of calendar year 2021. In this Work Plan, the 
Working Group identified ongoing existing activities, as well as new 
lines of effort, that comprise the initial focus of Federal government 
actions under the purview of the Working Group. Many of the new 
activities proposed in the Work Plan emphasize the use of maritime 
intelligence and the involvement of military departments to support 
efforts to combat IUU fishing. The Work Plan can be found here: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/maritime-safe-act-interagency-working-group-iuu-fishing.
    The Working Group is exploring potential ways in which the 
government and private sector stakeholders can work together to combat 
IUU fishing and enhance maritime security. We are interested to hear 
from the seafood industry, non-governmental organizations, and other 
stakeholders that are engaged in efforts to combat IUU fishing. We 
welcome comments in relation to the Work Plan, particularly any 
responses to the following questions:
     Which activities in the Work Plan are connected to the 
expertise or interests of your organization related to combating IUU 
fishing?
     What kinds of distinctive capabilities or capacities could 
your organization bring to the activities in the Work Plan?
     Which specific activities could serve as the basis for a 
partnership between your organization and particular Federal agencies?
     Are there specific geographic regions or seafood industry 
sectors (e.g., harvesting, processing, or trade) where your 
organization focuses efforts to build capacity in combating IUU fishing 
that could be tied to activities in the Work Plan?
     Which elements in the Work Plan do you see as priorities 
to include in the 5-year Strategic Plan of the Working Group?

    Dated: December 11, 2020.
Alexa Cole,
Director, Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-27695 Filed 12-15-20; 8:45 am]
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