Notice2024-12763
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
June 11, 2024
Effective
June 11, 2024
Issuing agencies
State Department
Abstract
On May 23, 2024, 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 89 Issue 113 (Tuesday, June 11, 2024)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 11, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49254-49255]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-12763]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice: 12414]
Annual Determination and Certification of Shrimp-Harvesting
Nations
AGENCY: Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific
Affairs, State Department.
ACTION: Notice of annual determination and certification.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: On May 23, 2024, 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 June
11, 2024.
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#8fcbdcbdbfbcbecffcfbeefbeaa1e8e0f9"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0642553436353746757267726328616970">[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 23, 2024, 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 only 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
[[Page 49255]]
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 Pubic 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 using TEDs
comparable in effectiveness to those in the United States, as
determined by the U.S. Department of State.'' 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.
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 not to pose a threat of the incidental taking of
sea turtles, as determined by the U.S. Department of State.'' 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 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 must
accompany all imports of shrimp and products from shrimp into the
United States. The DS-2031 form was recently revised, and the current
version is accessible at the following link: <a href="https://eforms.state.gov/Forms/ds2031.PDF">https://eforms.state.gov/Forms/ds2031.PDF</a>. 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 P.L. 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 or
products from that 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.
David F. Hogan,
Director, Office of Marine Conservation, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2024-12763 Filed 6-10-24; 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 June 11, 2024.
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.