Notice2024-14823
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
Primary source
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Published
July 8, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
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).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 130 (Monday, July 8, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 130 (Monday, July 8, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55922-55924]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[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:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a1e8f4f48ff1edecf38ff2c9c0d3cad2e1cfcec0c08fc6ced7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5c150909720c10110e720f343d2e372f1c32333d3d723b332a">[email protected]</span></a> 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,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#46232a23272829346824293435062829272768212930"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="21444d44404f4e530f434e5352614f4e40400f464e57">[email protected]</span></a>.
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: <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/s3/2023-08/2023RTC-ImprovingIFManagement.pdf">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/s3/2023-08/2023RTC-ImprovingIFManagement.pdf</a>. 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: <a href="https://media.fisheries.noaa.gov/dam-migration/plmr_list_2019.pdf">https://media.fisheries.noaa.gov/dam-migration/plmr_list_2019.pdf</a>.
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:
<bullet> Documentation of IUU fishing activity;
<bullet> Documentation of fishing vessels engaged in bycatch of
PLMRs on the high seas or within the EEZ of any nation;
<bullet> 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.);
<bullet> 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);
<bullet> 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;
<bullet> Reports from off-loading facilities, port-side government
officials, enforcement agents, military personnel, port inspectors,
transshipment vessel workers and fish importers;
<bullet> Sightings of vessels included on RFMO IUU vessel lists;
<bullet> RFMO catch documents and statistical document programs;
<bullet> 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;
<bullet> Relevant reports from governments, international
organizations, or nongovernmental organizations; and
<bullet> 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:
<bullet> Corroboration of information;
<bullet> Whether multiple sources have been able to provide
information in support of an identification;
<bullet> The methodology used to collect the information;
<bullet> Specificity of the information provided (i.e., location,
date, time of occurrence);
<bullet> Susceptibility of the information to falsification and
alteration;
<bullet> Credibility of the individuals or organization providing
the information; and
<bullet> 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]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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