32010 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 106 / Thursday, June 2, 2011 / Notices 

Dated: May 20, 2011. 

Larry Schwartz, 

Director, Policy, Planning and Resources (R/ 

PPR), U.S. Department of State. 

[FR Doc. 2011–13705 Filed 6–1–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–10–P 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

[Public Notice: 7490] 

Certifications Pursuant to Public Law 

That 12 Nations Have Adopted 

Programs To Reduce the Incidental 

Capture of Sea Turtles in Their Shrimp 

Fisheries 

SUMMARY: On April 22, 2011, the 

Department of State certified, pursuant 

to Section 609 of Public Law 101–162, 

that 12 nations have adopted programs 

to reduce the incidental capture of sea 

turtles in their shrimp fisheries 

comparable to the program in effect in 

the United States. The Department also 

certified that the fishing environments 

in 26 other countries and one economy, 

Hong Kong, do not pose a threat of the 

incidental taking of sea turtles protected 

under Section 609. 

DATES: Effective Date: On Publication. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Marlene M. Menard, Office of Marine 

Conservation, Bureau of Oceans and 

International Environmental and 

Scientific Affairs, Department of State, 

Washington, DC 20520–7818; telephone: 

(202) 647–5827. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

609 of Public Law 101–162 (‘‘Section 

609’’) prohibits imports of certain 

categories of shrimp unless the 

President certifies to the Congress not 

later than May 1 of each year either: (1) 

that the harvesting nation has adopted 

a program governing the incidental 

capture of sea turtles in its commercial 

shrimp fishery comparable to the 

program in effect in the United States 

and has an incidental take rate 

comparable to that of the United States; 

or (2) that the fishing environment in 

the harvesting nation does not pose a 

threat of the incidental taking of sea 

turtles. The President has delegated the 

authority to make this certification to 

the Department of State (‘‘the 

Department’’). Revised State Department 

guidelines for making the required 

certifications were published in the 

Federal Register on July 2, 1999 (Vol. 

64, No. 130, Public Notice 3086). 

On April 22, 2011, the Department 

certified 12 nations on the basis that 

their sea turtle protection programs are 

comparable to that of the United States: 

Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, 

Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, 

Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, 

and Suriname. 

The Department also certified 26 

shrimp harvesting nations and one 

economy as having fishing 

environments that do not pose a danger 

to sea turtles. Sixteen nations have 

shrimping grounds only in cold waters 

where the risk of taking sea turtles is 

negligible. They are: Argentina, 

Belgium, Canada, Chile, Denmark, 

Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, the 

Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, 

Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, 

and Uruguay. Ten nations and one 

economy only harvest shrimp using 

small boats with crews of less than five 

that use manual rather than mechanical 

means to retrieve nets, or catch shrimp 

using other methods that do not 

threaten sea turtles. Use of such smallscale technology does not adversely 

affect sea turtles. The 10 nations and 

one economy are: the Bahamas, Belize, 

China, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, 

Hong Kong, Jamaica, Oman, Peru, Sri 

Lanka, and Venezuela. 

The Department certified Belize this 

year on a different basis than last year. 

Effective December 31, 2010, the 

Government of Belize passed a law 

banning all forms of trawling in its 

waters, including its exclusive 

economic zone. The ban remains in 

effect. As a result, the Department has 

certified Belize as a nation whose 

fishing environment does not pose a 

threat of the incidental taking of sea 

turtles. 

On April 22, 2011, the Department 

decertified Madagascar. In the absence 

of a legitimate constitutional 

government in Madagascar since the 

2009 coup d’e ́tat, relations between the 

United States and the de-facto Malagasy 

authorities have been extremely limited. 

The Department of State and NOAA 

have been unable to conduct a 

Government of Madagascar sea turtle 

protection program verification visit 

since September 2008. Without the 

ability to independently verify whether 

Madagascar has a sea turtle protection 

program comparable to that of the 

United States, the Department is unable 

to certify Madagascar this year. 

The Department of State has 

communicated the certifications under 

Section 609 to the Office of Field 

Operations of U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection. 

In addition, this Federal Register 

Notice confirms that the requirement for 

all DS–2031 forms from uncertified 

nations must be originals and signed by 

the competent domestic fisheries 

authority. This policy change was first 

announced in a Department of State 

media note released on December 21, 

2004. In order for shrimp harvested with 

Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) in an 

uncertified nation to be eligible for 

importation into the United States 

under the exemption: ‘‘Shrimp 

harvested by commercial shrimp trawl 

vessels using TEDs comparable in 

effectiveness to those required in the 

United States’’, the Department of State 

must determine in advance that the 

government of the harvesting nation has 

put in place adequate procedures to 

ensure the accurate completion of the 

DS–2031 forms. At this time, the 

Department has made such a 

determination only with respect to 

Australia, Brazil and France. Thus, the 

importation of TED-caught shrimp from 

any other uncertified nation will not be 

allowed. For Brazil, only shrimp 

harvested in the northern shrimp fishery 

are eligible for entry under this 

exemption. For Australia, shrimp 

harvested in the Exmouth Gulf Prawn 

Fishery, the Northern Prawn Fishery, 

the Queensland East Coast Trawl 

Fishery, and the Torres Strait Prawn 

Fishery are eligible for entry under this 

exemption. For France, shrimp 

harvested in the French Guiana 

domestic trawl fishery are eligible for 

entry under this exemption. 

In addition, the Department has 

already made a determination with 

regard to wild-harvest shrimp harvested 

in the Spencer Gulf region in Australia. 

This product may be exported to the 

U.S. using a DS–2031 under the 

exemption for ‘‘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.’’ An official of the 

Government of Australia still also must 

certify the DS–2031. 

Dated: May 27, 2011. 

David A. Balton, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for 

Oceans and Fisheries. 

[FR Doc. 2011–13702 Filed 6–1–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–09–P 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

[Public Notice 7468] 

Notice of Closed Meeting (With Open 

Session) of the Cultural Property 

Advisory Committee 

There will be a meeting of the 

Cultural Property Advisory Committee 

on Monday, June 27, 2011, from 

approximately 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on 

Tuesday, June 28, 2011, from 

approximately 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the 

U.S. Department of State, Annex 5, 2200 

C Street, NW., Washington, DC. 


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