Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 153 / Wednesday, August 8, 2018 / Notices 39077 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Proposed Information Collection; 

Comment Request; International 

Fisheries Trade To Include Shrimp and 

Abalone 

AGENCY: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Commerce, as part of its continuing 

effort to reduce paperwork and 

respondent burden, invites the general 

public and other Federal agencies to 

take this opportunity to comment on 

proposed and/or continuing information 

collections, as required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before October 9, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 

Paperwork Clearance Officer, 

Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 

14th and Constitution Avenue NW, 

Washington, DC 20230 (or via the 

internet at pracomments@doc.gov). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the information collection 

instrument and instructions should be 

directed to: Celeste Leroux at (301) 427– 

8372 or Celeste.Leroux@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

The Seafood Traceability Program (see 

50 CFR 300.320–300.325) is the first 

phase of a risk-based traceability 

program, which establishes permit, 

reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements needed to prevent illegally 

harvested and misrepresented seafood 

from entering into U.S. Commerce. In 

the development of the Seafood 

Traceability Program rule, 13 ‘‘priority’’ 

species were identified as being most at 

risk for Illegal, Unreported, and 

Unregulated (IUU) fishing and 

misrepresentation, and are the only 

species currently subject to this 

program. For two of those species 

(abalone and shrimp), NMFS stayed 

program requirements indefinitely (50 

CFR 300.324(a)(3)). See 81 FR 88975 

(December 9, 2016). A final rule was 

published on April 24, 2018 (83 FR 

17762) which lifted the stay and 

established a compliance date of 

December 31, 2018 for shrimp and 

abalone. 

NMFS had stayed requirements for 

abalone and shrimp because gaps 

existed in the collection of traceability 

information for domestic aquacultureraised shrimp and abalone, which is 

currently largely regulated at the state 

level. During development of the 

Seafood Traceability Program, NMFS 

explored the possibility of working with 

its state partners to establish reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements for 

aquaculture traceability information that 

could be shared with NMFS. However, 

this did not prove to be a viable 

approach. See 81 FR at 88977–78. In the 

Seafood Import Monitoring Program 

final rule, NMFS explained that ‘‘[A]t 

such time that the domestic reporting 

and recordkeeping gaps have been 

closed, NMFS will then publish an 

action in the Federal Register to lift the 

stay of the effective date for 

§ 300.324(a)(3) of the rule pertaining to 

shrimp and abalone. Adequate advance 

notice to the trade community would be 

provided’’ to ensure all affected parties 

have sufficient time to come into 

compliance. 

On March 23, 2018, the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 

115–141) was signed by the President 

and became law. Section 539 of Division 

B of the Act directed the Secretary of 

Commerce to, within 30 days, ‘‘lift the 

stay on the effective date of the final 

rule for the Seafood Traceability 

Program published by the Secretary on 

December 9, 2016, (81 FR 88975 et seq.) 

for the species described in 

§ 300.324(a)(3) of title 50, Code of 

Federal Regulations: Provided that the 

compliance date for the species 

described in § 300.324(a)(3) of title 50, 

Code of Federal Regulations, shall occur 

not later than December 31, 2018.’’ A 

final rule was issued to implement the 

Act (83 FR 17762, April 24, 2018) and 

provides that shrimp and abalone will 

be subject to the requirements of the 

Seafood Traceability Program under 50 

CFR 300.324(a)(3), with a compliance 

date December 31, 2018. 

The Program consists of two 

components: (1) Reporting of harvest 

events at the time of entry; and (2) 

permitting and recordkeeping 

requirements with respect to both 

harvest events and chain of custody 

information. See 50 CFR 300.324 and id. 

§§ 300.320–300.323 and 300.325. 

Application of the program’s reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements to 

shrimp and abalone will enable audits 

of imports to be conducted to determine 

the origin of the products and confirm 

that they were lawfully acquired. 

The final rule to lift the stay on 

shrimp and abalone contains a 

collection-of-information requirement 

subject to review and approval by OMB 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act 

(PRA). 

OMB had previously approved the 

information collection requirements for 

the Seafood Traceability Program under 

Control Number 0648–0739, but the 

burden estimates did not include the 

requirements for shrimp and abalone 

given the stay. The requirements for 

permitting, reporting and recordkeeping 

for imports of shrimp and abalone will 

be submitted to OMB for approval. 

II. Method of Collection 

As of the December 31, 2018 

compliance date established by the final 

rule to lift the stay, importers of shrimp 

and abalone species will be required to 

obtain an International Fisheries Trade 

Permit as specified at 50 CFR 300.322, 

submit harvest and landing information 

on those products into the U.S. Customs 

and Border Protection International 

Trade Data System (ITDS) through the 

Automated Commercial Environment 

(ACE) portal prior to entry into U.S. 

Commerce, and maintain supply chain 

records from the point of harvest to the 

point of entry into U.S Commerce for a 

period of two years after entry. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 0648–xxxx. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Review: Regular submission 

(request for a new information 

collection). 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

2,000. 

Estimated Time per Response: 

International Fisheries Trade Permit, 5 

minutes; data entry, 1 hour. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 215,167. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost to 

Public: $805,000 in recordkeeping/ 

reporting costs. 

IV. Request for Comments 

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether 

the proposed collection of information 

is necessary for the proper performance 

of the functions of the agency, including 

whether the information shall have 

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the burden 

(including hours and cost) of the 

proposed collection of information; (c) 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 

on respondents, including through the 

use of automated collection techniques 

or other forms of information 

technology. 

Comments submitted in response to 

this notice will be summarized and/or 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
39078 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 153 / Wednesday, August 8, 2018 / Notices 

included in the request for OMB 

approval of this information collection; 

they also will become a matter of public 

record. 

Dated: August 3, 2018. 

Sarah Brabson, 

NOAA PRA Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2018–16987 Filed 8–7–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XG348 

Nominations for Advisory Committee 

and Species Working Group Technical 

Advisor Appointments to the U.S. 

Section to the International 

Commission for the Conservation of 

Atlantic Tunas 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of request for 

nominations. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is soliciting 

nominations to the Advisory Committee 

to the U.S. Section to the International 

Commission for the Conservation of 

Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) as established 

by the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act 

(ATCA). NMFS is also soliciting 

nominations for Technical Advisors to 

the Advisory Committee’s species 

working groups. 

DATES: Nominations must be received 

by October 1, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: Nominations, including a 

letter of interest and a resume or 

curriculum vitae, should be sent via 

email to Terra Lederhouse at 

terra.lederhouse@noaa.gov with a copy 

to Grace Ferrara at grace.ferrara@

noaa.gov. Include in the subject line 

whether the nomination is for the 

Advisory Committee or for a Technical 

Advisor to a species working group. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Grace Ferrara, Office of International 

Affairs and Seafood Inspection; 

telephone: (301) 427–8371; email: 

grace.ferrara@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

The Convention and the Commission 

ICCAT was established to provide an 

effective program of international 

cooperation in research and 

conservation in recognition of the 

unique problems related to the highly 

migratory nature of tunas and tuna-like 

species. The International Convention 

for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas 

(Convention) entered into force in 1969 

after receiving the required number of 

ratifications. The Commission holds its 

Annual Meeting, usually in November 

of each year, and convenes meetings of 

working groups and other ICCAT bodies 

between annual meetings as needed. 

Under Section 971a of ATCA (16 U.S.C. 

971 et seq.), the United States is 

represented on the Commission by not 

more than three U.S. Commissioners. 

Additional information is available at 

www.iccat.int. 

Advisory Committee and Species 

Working Groups to the U.S. Section to 

the ICCAT 

Section 971b of ATCA (16 U.S.C. 971 

et seq.) requires that an advisory 

committee be established that shall be 

comprised of: (1) Not less than 5 nor 

more than 20 individuals appointed by 

the U.S. Commissioners to ICCAT who 

shall select such individuals from the 

various groups concerned with the 

fisheries covered by the ICCAT 

Convention; and (2) the chairs (or their 

designees) of the New England, MidAtlantic, South Atlantic, Caribbean, and 

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 

Councils. Each member of the Advisory 

Committee appointed under paragraph 

(1) shall serve for a term of 2 years and 

be eligible for reappointment. The 

Committee meets at least twice a year 

when members receive information and 

provide advice on ICCAT-related 

matters. All members of the Advisory 

Committee are appointed in their 

individual professional capacity and 

undergo a background screening. Any 

individual appointed to the Committee 

who is unable to attend all or part of an 

Advisory Committee meeting may not 

appoint another person to attend such 

meetings as his or her proxy. Members 

of the Advisory Committee shall receive 

no compensation for their services. The 

Secretary of Commerce and the 

Secretary of State may pay the necessary 

travel expenses of members of the 

Advisory Committee. The terms of all 

currently appointed Advisory 

Committee members expire on 

December 31, 2018. NMFS is soliciting 

nominees to serve as members of the 

Advisory Committee for a term of 2 

years that will expire December 31, 

2020. 

Section 971b–1 of ATCA specifies 

that the U.S. Commissioners may 

establish species working groups for the 

purpose of providing advice and 

recommendations to the U.S. 

Commissioners and to the Advisory 

Committee on matters relating to the 

conservation and management of any 

highly migratory species covered by the 

ICCAT Convention. Any species 

working group shall consist of no more 

than seven members of the Advisory 

Committee and no more than four 

Technical Advisors, as considered 

necessary by the Commissioners. 

Currently, there are four species 

working groups advising the Committee 

and the U.S. Commissioners: A Bluefin 

Tuna Working Group, a Swordfish/ 

Sharks Working Group, a Billfish 

Working Group, and a Bigeye, Albacore, 

Yellowfin, and Skipjack (BAYS) Tunas 

Working Group. Technical Advisors to 

the species working groups serve at the 

pleasure of the Commissioners; 

therefore, the Commissioners can 

choose to alter these appointments at 

any time. As with Committee Members, 

Technical Advisors may not be 

represented by a proxy during meetings 

of the Advisory Committee. 

Procedure for Submitting Nominations 

Nominations to the Advisory 

Committee or to a species working 

group should include a letter of interest 

and a resume or curriculum vitae. Selfnominations are acceptable. Letters of 

recommendation are useful but not 

required. When making a nomination, 

please specify which appointment 

(Advisory Committee member or 

Technical Advisor to a species working 

group) is being sought. Nominees may 

also indicate which of the species 

working groups is preferred, although 

placement on the requested group is not 

guaranteed. 

Dated: August 3, 2018. 

John Henderschedt, 

Director, Office of International Affairs and 

Seafood Inspection, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–16956 Filed 8–7–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

The Department of Commerce will 

submit to the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) for clearance the 

following proposal for collection of 

information under the provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

Chapter 35). 

Agency: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 

Title: Report of Whaling Operations. 

OMB Control Number: 0648–0311. 

Form Number(s): None. 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES