Notice2023-11115
Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs; Annual Determination and Certification of Shrimp-Harvesting Nations
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
May 25, 2023
Effective
May 25, 2023
Issuing agencies
State Department
Abstract
On May 12th, 2023, the Department of State determined and certified to Congress 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, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, France (French Guiana), Gabon, Germany, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Iceland, Ireland, Italy (giant red shrimp), Jamaica, Japan (shrimp baskets in Hokkaido), Republic of Korea (mosquito nets), Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Panama, Peru, Russia, Spain (Mediterranean red shrimp), Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay. 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.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 101 (Thursday, May 25, 2023)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 101 (Thursday, May 25, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33953-33954]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-11115]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice: 12086]
Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific
Affairs; Annual Determination and Certification of Shrimp-Harvesting
Nations
ACTION: Notice of annual determination and certification.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: On May 12th, 2023, the Department of State determined and
certified to Congress 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, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, the
Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, France (French
Guiana), Gabon, Germany, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Iceland, Ireland,
Italy (giant red shrimp), Jamaica, Japan (shrimp baskets in Hokkaido),
Republic of Korea (mosquito nets), Mexico, the Netherlands, New
Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Panama, Peru, Russia, Spain
(Mediterranean red shrimp), Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, the United
Kingdom, and Uruguay. 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 determination and certification notice is effective on May
25, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jared Milton, 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)
647-3263; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#db9f88e9ebe8ea9ba8afbaafbef5bcb4ad"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3c786f0e0c0f0d7c4f485d4859125b534a">[email protected]</span></a>.
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 within the Department of State (``Department''). The Revised
Guidelines for the Implementation of Sec. 609 were published in the
Federal Register on July 8, 1999, at 64 FR 36946.
On May 12th, 2023, the Department certified to Congress the
following nations pursuant to section 609(b)(2)(A) and (B) on the basis
that they have 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 such sea turtles by United States vessels in the course of
such harvesting: Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Gabon, Guatemala,
Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Panama, and Suriname. The
Department also certified pursuant to section 609(b)(2)(C) several
shrimp-harvesting nations and one economy as having fishing
environments that do not pose a threat to sea turtles, including the
following nations with shrimping grounds only in cold waters where the
risk of taking sea turtles is negligible: Argentina, Belgium, Canada,
Chile, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands,
New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay.
Additionally, the Department certified pursuant to section 609(b)(2)(C)
that the following 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 pose a threat of incidental taking of sea turtles: the
Bahamas, Belize, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Jamaica,
Oman, Peru, and Sri Lanka.
The Department has certified the above listed nations and Hong Kong
pursuant to sec. 609, and shrimp and products from shrimp are eligible
for importation into the United States utilizing the Shrimp Exporter's/
Importer's Declaration (``DS-2031'') Box 7(B) provision for shrimp
``harvested in the waters of a nation currently certified pursuant to
section 609 of Public Law 101-162.''
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 Department 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, and in the French Guiana domestic trawl fishery of France
are eligible for entry under this provision. A responsible government
official of Australia or France must sign in Block 8 of the DS-2031
form accompanying these imports into the United States. The Department
suspended the determinations for the Malaysian states of Kelantan,
Terengganu, Pahang, and Johor (effective for Malaysia with Dates of
Export June 1st and after).
In addition, shrimp and products of 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 may, under specific
circumstances, be eligible for importation 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.'' The Department 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
[[Page 33954]]
Korea, Mediterranean red shrimp (Aristeus antennatus) and products from
that shrimp harvested in the Mediterranean Sea in Spain, and giant red
shrimp (Aristaeomorpha foliacea) and products from that shrimp
harvested in Italy may be imported into the United States under the DS-
2031 Box 7(A)(4) provision. A responsible government official of
Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Spain, or Italy must sign in
Block 8 of the DS-2031 form accompanying these imports into the United
States.
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 certified
nations and Hong Kong 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.
Importers of shrimp and products from shrimp from certified nations and
Hong Kong should mark the box 7(B) provision for shrimp ``harvested in
the waters of a nation currently certified pursuant to section 609 of
Public Law 101-162'' regardless of whether the shrimp is wild-caught or
the product of aquaculture. DS-2031 forms accompanying all imports of
shrimp and products from shrimp harvested in uncertified nations and
economies, to include all fisheries with determinations, 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
Department, and signed by a responsible government official of the
harvesting nation. The Department 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. The importation of wild-caught shrimp from any nation or
fishery without a certification or determination will not be allowed.
The Department has communicated these certifications and
determinations under Sec. 609 to the Offices of Field Operations and of
Trade at U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Maxine A. Burkett,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oceans, Fisheries, and Polar Affairs,
Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2023-11115 Filed 5-24-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-09-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on May 25, 2023.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.