[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 241 (Monday, December 15, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 75988-75989]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-29653]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 216
RIN 0648-AX36
Notification of Receipt of a Petition for Rulemaking to Implement
the Provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act for Swordfish
Imports
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce
ACTION: Receipt of petition for rulemaking; request for information and
comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces receipt of a petition for rulemaking under the
Administrative Procedure Act. Center for Biological Diversity and
Turtle Island Restoration Network, non-governmental organizations, have
petitioned the U.S. Department of Commerce and other relevant
Departments to initiate rulemaking to ban importation of commercial
fish or products from fish that have been caught with commercial
fishing technology that results in incidental mortality or serious
injury of marine mammals in excess of United States standards.
DATES: Comments must be received by January 29, 2009.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov.
Mail: Director, Office of International Affairs, Attn:
Swordfish Petition, NMFS, F/IA, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring,
MD 20910
Fax: (301) 713-2313
All comments received are a part of the public record and will
generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without change. All
Personal Identifying Information (e.g., name, address) voluntarily
submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit
Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected
information.
NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter N/A in the required
fields, if you wish to remain anonymous). Attachments to electronic
comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or
Adobe portable document file (pdf) formats only.
The complete text of Center for Biological Diversity and Turtle
Island Restoration Network's petition is available via the internet at
the following web address: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ia/. In addition
copies of this petition may be obtained by contacting NMFS at the above
address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lekelia Jenkins at 301-713-9090 x131.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 101(a)(2) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), 16
U.S.C. 1371(a)(2),states that ``The Secretary of the Treasury shall ban
the importation of commercial fish or products from fish which have
been caught with commercial fishing technology which results in the
incidental kill or incidental serious injury of ocean mammals in excess
of United States standards. For purposes of applying the preceding
sentence, the Secretary [of Commerce] (A) shall insist on reasonable
proof from the government of any nation from which fish or fish
products will be exported to the United States of the effects on ocean
mammals of the commercial fishing technology in use for such fish or
fish products exported from such nation to the United States.''
Some information pertinent to the effects of commercial fishing
technology on marine mammals can be found in a report entitled
``Worldwide Bycatch of Cetaceans: An evaluation of the most significant
threats to cetaceans, the affected species and the geographic areas of
high risk, and the recommended actions from various independent
institutions.'' This report, published by NMFS Office of International
Affairs and prepared by outside experts, was commissioned by NMFS to
identify threats to cetaceans, ongoing efforts to address these
threats, and prioritize areas where the agency could focus future
initiatives to improve international cetacean conservation. The
complete text of this report is available via the internet at the
following web address: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ia/docs/OPR36.pdf.
Information in the Petition
NMFS received the petition on March 5, 2008. The petition asserts
that the Secretaries of Commerce and other relevant federal Departments
are required to obtain reasonable proof from countries exporting
swordfish and swordfish products to the U.S. regarding the effects of
their commercial swordfish fishing technology on marine
[[Page 75989]]
mammals. The petition requests that the Secretary of the Treasury ban
imports of swordfish from any and all countries that have not satisfied
the MMPA section 101(a)(2) requirement. As support for the need for
this action, the petition alleges potential deficiencies in the
fishing, exporting, and other related practices of some nations that
export swordfish to the United States without articulating any specific
``U.S. standards'' that have been exceeded by other nations.
The petition fails to define ``United States standards;'' rather,
it describes marine mammal protection programs that the United States
has implemented. NMFS will consider public comments received in
determining whether to proceed with the request by Center for
Biological Diversity and Turtle Island Restoration Network. In addition
to general comments on the petition, NMFS specifically requests
comments on how to define ``United States standards'' as referenced in
MMPA section 101(a)(2).
Dated: December 10, 2008.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E8-29653 Filed 12-12-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S