Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 8 / Wednesday, January 12, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 2027 

nation and validated by a responsible 

official(s) designated by NMFS. The 

documentation must be executed and 

submitted in a format (electronic 

facsimile (fax), the Internet, etc.) 

specified by NMFS. 

(3) Effective date of import 

restrictions. Effective upon the date of 

publication of such finding, shipments 

of fish or fish products found to be 

ineligible will be denied entry to the 

United States. Entry will not be denied 

for any such shipment that, on the date 

of publication, was in transit to the 

United States. 

(4) Removal of negative certifications 

and import restrictions. Upon a 

determination by the Secretary of 

Commerce that an identified nation that 

was not certified positively has 

satisfactorily met the conditions in this 

subpart and that nation has been 

positively certified, the provisions of 

§ 300.205 shall no longer apply. The 

Secretary of Commerce, with the 

concurrence of the Secretary of State 

and in cooperation with the Secretary of 

Treasury, will notify such nations and 

will file with the Office of the Federal 

Register for publication notification of 

the removal of the import restrictions 

effective on the date of publication. 

§ 300.206 Alternative procedures for IUU 

fishing activities. 

(a) These certification procedures may 

be applied to fish or fish products from 

a vessel of a harvesting nation that has 

been identified under § 300.202 in the 

event that the Secretary cannot reach a 

certification determination for that 

nation by the time of the next biennial 

report. These procedures shall not apply 

to fish or fish products from identified 

nations that have received either a 

negative or a positive certification under 

this subpart. 

(b) Consistent with paragraph (a) of 

this section, the Secretary of Commerce 

may allow entry of fish or fish products 

on a shipment-by-shipment, shipper-byshipper, or other basis if the Secretary 

determines that: 

(1) The vessel has not engaged in IUU 

fishing under an international fishery 

management agreement to which the 

U.S. is a party; or 

(2) The vessel is not identified by an 

international fishery management 

organization as participating in IUU 

fishing activities. 

(c) Fish or fish products offered for 

entry under this paragraph (c) must be 

accompanied by a completed 

documentation of admissibility 

available from NMFS. The 

documentation of admissibility must be 

executed by a duly authorized official of 

the identified nation and must be 

validated by a responsible official(s) 

designated by NMFS. The 

documentation must be executed and 

submitted in a format (electronic 

facsimile (fax), the Internet, etc.) 

specified by NMFS. 

§ 300.207 Alternative procedures for 

bycatch of PLMRs. 

(a) These certification procedures may 

be applied to fish or fish products from 

a vessel of a harvesting nation that has 

been identified under § 300.203 in the 

event that the Secretary cannot reach a 

certification determination for that 

nation by the time of the next biennial 

report. These procedures shall not apply 

to fish or fish products from identified 

nations that have received either a 

negative or a positive certification under 

this subpart. 

(b) Consistent with paragraph (a) of 

this section, the Secretary of Commerce 

may allow entry of fish or fish products 

on a shipment-by-shipment, shipper-byshipper, or other basis if the Secretary 

determines that imports were harvested 

by practices that do not result in 

bycatch of a protected marine species, 

or were harvested by practices that— 

(1) Are comparable to those of the 

United States, taking into account 

different conditions, and which, in the 

case of pelagic longline fisheries, the 

regulatory program of an identified 

nation includes mandatory use of circle 

hooks, careful handling and release 

equipment, and training and observer 

programs; and 

(2) Include the gathering of species 

specific data that can be used to support 

international and regional assessments 

and conservation efforts for protected 

living marine resources. 

(c) Fish or fish products offered for 

entry under this section must be 

accompanied by a completed 

documentation of admissibility 

available from NMFS. The 

documentation of admissibility must be 

executed by a duly authorized official of 

the identified nation and validated by a 

responsible official(s) designated by 

NMFS. The documentation must be 

executed and submitted in a format 

(electronic facsimile (fax), the Internet, 

etc.) specified by NMFS. 

[FR Doc. 2011–507 Filed 1–11–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 101006495–0498–01] 

RIN 0648–BA31 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Steller Sea Lion 

Protection Measures for the Bering 

Sea and Aleutian Islands Groundfish 

Fisheries Off Alaska 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Interim final rule, extension of 

comment period. 

SUMMARY: NMFS published an interim 

final rule on December 13, 2010, to 

implement Steller sea lion protection 

measures to ensure that the Bering Sea 

and Aleutian Islands management area 

groundfish fisheries off Alaska are not 

likely to jeopardize the continued 

existence of the western distinct 

population segment of Steller sea lions 

or adversely modify its designated 

critical habitat. A notice correcting 

errors identified in the preamble to the 

interim final rule and in the regulatory 

text was published on December 29, 

2010. The public comment period for 

the interim final rule ends on January 

12, 2011. NMFS has decided to extend 

the public comment period for an 

additional 45 days, to February 28, 

2011, to provide adequate time for 

various stakeholders and other members 

of the public to submit comments. 

DATES: The public comment period for 

this action has been extended for an 

additional 45 days, to February 28, 

2011. Comments must be received no 

later than February 28, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Dr. 

James W. Balsiger, Administrator, 

Alaska Region, NMFS, Attn: Ellen 

Sebastian. You may submit comments, 

identified by RIN 0648–BA31, by any 

one of the following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

• Mail: P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 

99802. 

• Fax: (907) 586–7557. 

• Hand delivery to the Federal 

Building: 709 West 9th Street, Room 

420A, Juneau, AK. 

All comments received are a part of 

the public record. No comments will be 

posted to http://www.regulations.gov for 

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2028 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 8 / Wednesday, January 12, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 

public viewing until after the comment 

period has closed. Comments will 

generally be posted without change. All 

Personal Identifying Information (for 

example, 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). You may submit 

attachments to electronic comments in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 

Adobe PDF file formats only. 

Written comments regarding the 

burden-hour estimates or other aspects 

of the collection-of-information 

requirements contained in this action 

rule may be submitted to NMFS, emailed to 

OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov, or 

faxed to 202–395–7285. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Melanie Brown, (907) 586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An 

interim final rule was published in the 

Federal Register on December 13, 2010 

(75 FR 77535), to implement Steller sea 

lion protection measures to ensure that 

the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

management area groundfish fisheries 

off Alaska are not likely to jeopardize 

the continued existence of the western 

distinct population segment of Steller 

sea lions or adversely modify its 

designated critical habitat. A notice 

correcting one error in the preamble and 

one typographical error and content 

within the regulatory tables was 

published in the Federal Register on 

December 29, 2010 (75 FR 53272). 

The public comment period for the 

interim final rule ends on January 12, 

2011. The comment period occurred 

over the Christmas and New Year 

holidays, limiting the number of work 

days available to the public for 

developing a response to this action. 

Due to the public concern regarding this 

action, NMFS extends the public 

comment period for an additional 45 

days, to end on February 28, 2011. The 

extension of the comment period 

ensures that NMFS provides adequate 

time for various stakeholders and other 

members of the public to comment on 

the interim final rule for the revised 

Steller sea lion protection measures. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773 et seq.; 1801 et 

seq.; 3631 et seq.; Pub. L. 108–447. 

Dated: January 7, 2011. 

Eric C. Schwaab, 

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–531 Filed 1–11–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

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