[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 130 (Monday, July 8, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55922-55924]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-14823]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XE080]


Identification of Nations or Entities Engaged in Illegal, 
Unreported, or Unregulated Fishing, Bycatch of Protected Living Marine 
Resources, or Fishing Activities That Target or Incidentally Catch 
Sharks

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 from 2022, 2023, and/or 2024 
regarding nations or entities that have competency to enter into 
international fishery management agreements (entities) that are 
engaging in or endorsing illegal, unreported, or unregulated (IUU) 
fishing or have vessels that engaged or are engaging in IUU fishing, 
fishing activities or practices that result in the bycatch of protected 
living marine resources (PLMRs) on the high seas or within the 
exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of any nation or fishing activities on 
the high seas or within the EEZ of another nation that target or 
incidentally catch sharks. Such information will be reviewed and may be 
used for the purpose of identifying nations or entities pursuant to the 
High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act (Moratorium 
Protection Act).

DATES: NMFS encourages submission before the preferred deadline of 
October 1, 2024, with a final deadline of December 31, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Information may be submitted either electronically to: 
[email protected] or by mail to: NMFS Office of International 
Affairs, Trade, and Commerce, Attn.: Moratorium Protection Act 
Information, F/IATC 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellie Bors, (240) 429-4461, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Moratorium Protection Act requires the Secretary of Commerce 
(Secretary) to issue a biennial report to Congress that includes a list 
of nations and entities identified for engaging in or endorsing IUU 
fishing, as well as those nations and entities having fishing vessels 
that engaged in or are engaging in IUU fishing, fishing activities or 
practices that result in the bycatch of PLMRs on the high seas or 
within the EEZ of any nation without a regulatory program comparable in 
effectiveness to that of the United States; and/or fishing activities 
on the high seas or within the EEZ of another nation that target or 
incidentally catch sharks without a regulatory program comparable to 
that of the United States.
    NMFS submitted the eighth biennial report to Congress in August 
2023 and it is available online at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/s3/2023-08/2023RTC-ImprovingIFManagement.pdf. NMFS identified seven 
nations and entities for IUU fishing and two for shark catch where 
those nations do not have a comparable regulatory program to that of 
the United States. In fulfillment of its requirements under the 
Moratorium Protection Act, NMFS is

[[Page 55923]]

preparing the ninth biennial report to Congress, to be released in 
2025. NMFS is soliciting information from the public regarding 
activities by foreign fishing vessels, nations, and entities in 2022, 
2023, and/or 2024 that may support identification of nations and 
entities in the biennial report.

Recent Amendments to the Moratorium Protection Act

    On December 27, 2022, the James M. Inhofe National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (2023 NDAA) (Pub. L. 117-263) 
amended the Moratorium Protection Act by, in part:
    (1) adding new considerations when making IUU fishing 
identifications;
    (2) expanding the scope of information that can be used for the 
identification of nations for bycatch of a PLMR or shark catch to 
include fishing activities within the EEZ of another nation; and
    (3) authorizing the agency to make an identification at any time 
that the Secretary has sufficient information to make such 
identification.

IUU Fishing

    The Moratorium Protection Act requires the Secretary to list in a 
biennial report to Congress those nations and entities identified for 
engaging in or endorsing IUU fishing, or for having fishing vessels 
engaged in or are engaging in IUU fishing. In making these 
identifications, the Secretary is to consider any nation or entity that 
is violating, or has violated at any point during the preceding three 
years, conservation and management measures required under an 
international fishery management agreement to which the United States 
is a party; any nation or entity that is failing, or has failed at any 
point during the preceding three years to effectively address or 
regulate IUU fishing within its fleets in any areas where its vessels 
are fishing; and any nation that fails to discharge its flag, port, or 
coastal state responsibilities to prevent, deter, and eliminate IUU 
fishing; and any nation or entity producing for export to the United 
States seafood-related goods through forced labor or oppressive child 
labor that the U.S. Department of Labor has included in the most recent 
List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor.
    The definition of IUU fishing for the Moratorium Protection Act can 
be found at 50 CFR 300.201 and includes:
    (1) Fishing activities that violate conservation and management 
measures required under an international fishery management agreement 
to which the United States is a party, including catch limits or 
quotas, capacity restrictions, bycatch reduction requirements, shark 
conservation measures, and data reporting;
    (2) In the case of non-parties to an international fishery 
management agreement to which the United States is a party, fishing 
activities that would undermine the conservation of the resources 
managed under that agreement;
    (3) Overfishing of fish stocks shared by the United States, for 
which there are no applicable international conservation or management 
measures or in areas with no applicable international fishery 
management organization or agreement, that has adverse impacts on such 
stocks;
    (4) Fishing activity that has an adverse impact on vulnerable 
marine ecosystems such as seamounts, hydrothermal vents, cold water 
corals and other vulnerable marine ecosystems located beyond any 
national jurisdiction, for which there are no applicable conservation 
or management measures or in areas with no applicable international 
fishery management organization or agreement; and
    (5) Fishing activities by foreign-flagged vessels in U.S. waters 
without authorization of the United States.

PLMR Bycatch

    The Moratorium Protection Act requires the Secretary to list in the 
biennial report to Congress those nations and entities identified for 
having fishing vessels that are engaged, or have been engaged at any 
point during the preceding three years in fishing activities or 
practices on the high seas or within the EEZ of any nation that have 
resulted in bycatch of a PLMR, and the vessel's flag state has not 
adopted, implemented, and enforced a regulatory program governing such 
fishing designed to end or reduce such bycatch that is comparable in 
effectiveness to the regulatory program of the United States, taking 
into account differing conditions. PLMRs are defined as non-target fish 
(including sharks), sea turtles, or marine mammals that are protected 
under U.S. law or international agreement, including the Marine Mammal 
Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Shark Finning 
Prohibition Act, and the Convention on International Trade in 
Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna. PLMRs do not include 
species, except sharks, managed under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act, the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act, or 
any international fishery management agreement. A list of species 
considered as PLMRs for the purposes of identification under the 
Moratorium Protection Act is available online at: https://media.fisheries.noaa.gov/dam-migration/plmr_list_2019.pdf.

Shark Catch

    The Moratorium Protection Act requires that the Secretary list in 
the biennial report to Congress those nations and entities whose 
fishing vessels are engaged, or have been engaged at any point during 
the preceding three years, in fishing activities on the high seas or 
within the EEZ of another nation that target or incidentally catch 
sharks; and the vessel's flag state has not adopted, implemented, and 
enforced a regulatory program to provide for the conservation of 
sharks, including measures to prohibit removal of any of the fins of a 
shark, including the tail, before landing the shark in port, that is 
comparable to that of the United States.

Information Solicited

    NMFS is soliciting information from 2022, 2023, and/or 2024 from 
the public that could be relevant to the identification of nations and 
entities that meet the criteria described above for IUU fishing, PLMR 
bycatch, or shark catch. Such information might include documentation 
of activities, such as photographs, videos, witness testimony, 
publically available data, verifiable catch data, or other proof of 
activity. Useful details include the location, time, and date of 
activity; and, where applicable, flag, name, or other identifier of the 
vessel. Some types of information that may prove relevant to the 
process include:
     Documentation of IUU fishing activity;
     Documentation of fishing vessels engaged in bycatch of 
PLMRs on the high seas or within the EEZ of any nation;
     Documentation of illegal shark fishing in contravention of 
shark conservation and management measures adopted by Regional 
Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) (shark finning without full 
utilization of the carcass, retention of prohibited shark species, 
etc.);
     Documentation of instances where a nation has failed to 
meet reporting, compliance, scientific, or any other binding 
requirements as outlined by international fora, including, for example, 
RFMOs or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of 
Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES);
     Documentation of nations' regulatory programs to provide 
for the conservation of sharks that do not

[[Page 55924]]

prohibit removal of any of the fins of a shark, including the tail, 
before landing the shark in port;
     Reports from off-loading facilities, port-side government 
officials, enforcement agents, military personnel, port inspectors, 
transshipment vessel workers and fish importers;
     Sightings of vessels included on RFMO IUU vessel lists;
     RFMO catch documents and statistical document programs;
     Reports of vessels fishing in the EEZ of another nation 
without authorization, or fishing with authorization in the EEZ of 
another nation but violating the conditions of that authorization;
     Relevant reports from governments, international 
organizations, or nongovernmental organizations; and
     Evidence of large-scale (over 2.5 km in length) drift-net 
use.
    NMFS will consider all available information, as appropriate, when 
making a determination whether to identify a particular nation or 
entity in the biennial report to Congress. 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 but not 
limited to:
     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 (i.e., location, 
date, time of occurrence);
     Susceptibility of the information to falsification and 
alteration;
     Credibility of the individuals or organization providing 
the information; and
     Ability to share the provided information with a nation or 
entity in the event that it is identified, so that the nation can take 
specific corrective actions.
    More information regarding the identification process and how the 
information received will be used in that process can be found at 16 
U.S.C. 1826h-1826k and in the regulations codified at 50 CFR 300.200 et 
seq.

    Dated: July 1, 2024.
Alexa Cole,
Director, Office of International Affairs, Trade, and Commerce, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-14823 Filed 7-5-24; 8:45 am]
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