29184 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 117 / Friday, June 19, 2009 / Notices 

tbrewer@nist.gov, and Annie Sokol’s is 

annie.sokol@nist.gov. 

Dated: June 15, 2009. 

Patrick Gallagher, 

Deputy Director. 

[FR Doc. E9–14459 Filed 6–18–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XP45 

2009 European Union Export 

Certification for Fishery Products 

AGENCY: Seafood Inspection Program 

(SIP), National Marine Fisheries Service 

(NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of procedural change. 

SUMMARY: The National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration Seafood 

Inspection Program (NOAA SIP) will 

become the sole certifying agency for all 

fish and fishery products for export to 

European Union (EU) or European Free 

Trade Association (EFTA) member 

countries. Due to the large volume of 

demand for these certificates and the 

need for expedient service, SIP, through 

this notice, is announcing a change from 

current practices, including fee 

structure, for providing Health 

Certificates for the EU and EFTA. 

DATES: Effective June 16, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Timothy Hansen, 

Timothy.hansen@noaa.gov, Program 

Director SIP NMFS/NOAA (301) 713– 

2355 EXT. 214 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On January 15, 2009 (74 FR 2600), the 

U.S. Food and Drug Administration 

(FDA) published a Federal Register 

Notice announcing that after February 

17, 2009, FDA will no longer issue 

health certificates required by the EU for 

export of fish or fishery products to the 

EU or the EFTA. By subsequent notice 

in the Federal Register on February 11, 

2009 (74 FR 6902), FDA announced a 

120-day delay in the effective date of the 

January 15, 2009 notice. FDA now 

intends to cease issuing EU Health 

Certificates on June 17, 2009. The U. S. 

Department of Commerce Seafood 

Inspection Program will continue to 

issue these certificates upon request on 

a fee-for-service basis. 

The Seafood Inspection Program of 

the National Marine Fisheries Service 

(NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Department of Commerce, operating 

under authority of the Agricultural 

Marketing Act (7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.) 

and the Fish and Wildlife Act (16 U.S.C. 

742a et seq.), is responsible for the 

development and advancement of 

commercial grade standards for fishery 

products and better health and 

sanitation standards in the industry and 

for furnishing inspection, evaluation, 

analytical, grading, and certification 

services to interested parties. Its major 

purpose is to encourage and assist the 

industry in improving the quality, 

wholesomeness, safety, proper labeling, 

and marketability of its products. 

In 1993, the EU began requiring 

health certificates for fish and fishery 

products that entered the EU. Both the 

FDA and SIP were recognized by the EU 

as competent U.S. Government 

authorities and acceptable sources for 

EU health certificates. The EU also 

required that shippers to the EU be on 

a list of firms that demonstrated 

compliance with the U.S. food safety 

laws and regulations. Since 1993, FDA 

has issued health certificates for seafood 

processing firms appearing on the EU 

Export Certificate List free of charge. By 

contrast, SIP examined the product and 

labeling, confirmed all the shipping 

information and issued health 

certificates on a fee for service basis. 

FDA initially issued approximately 

3000 certificates per year, but as 

European demand for U.S. fishery 

products increased over the years, the 

number of certificates issued annually 

by FDA has grown ten-fold to over 

30,000. FDA currently issues about 80 

percent of all EU health certificates. The 

increased volume of certificates issued 

and concomitant decrease in agency 

resources has made FDA reassess its 

involvement in the issuance of EU 

health certificates. 

New Procedures for Receiving EU 

Certificates From SIP 

Effective immediately, SIP policy is as 

follows: SIP, upon request, will issue 

EU Health Certificates to SIP program 

participants and rely on inspection 

results or an approved control system, 

e.g. the Hazard Analysis and Critical 

Control Points Quality Management 

Program (HACCP QMP) or the 

Integrated Quality Assurance (IQA) 

Program, to issue the certificate. Seafood 

processors and other entities that are not 

SIP program participants may receive 

EU Health Certificates from SIP based 

on a periodic verification of the 

information provided, compliance of the 

product labeling to EU requirements 

and the condition of the product. 

Instructions for requesting an EU Health 

Certificate can be found on the SIP Web 

site at:http:// 

www.seafood.nmfs.noaa.gov. 

All applicants for EU Health 

Certificates must be in regulatory good 

standing with the FDA and must be on 

the FDA’s EU Export Certificate List. In 

addition, prior to the issuance of EU 

Health Certificates, all applicants will 

be required to sign an agreement 

including, but not limited to, the 

following provisions: 

• The applicant agrees to allow SIP 

auditors or EC Food and Veterinary 

auditors entrance to the processing 

facility at reasonable times when 

periodic audits occur. 

• The applicant agrees to keep 

information about the origin of foreign 

raw material to ensure that it was 

produced in a firm and country that are 

approved by the EC, make this 

information available to SIP auditors 

upon request and provide this 

information for each certificate request 

when foreign product is to be certified 

by SIP. 

• The applicant acknowledges that s/ 

he has read the terms and conditions of 

the agreement and understands that 

making false statements in connection 

with issuance of an EU Health 

Certificate would be a violation of 7 

U.S.C.1622(h), punishable by a fine of 

not more than $1,000 or imprisonment 

for not more than one year, or both. 

Fee Structure 

Program Participants 

For participants in SIP’s continuous 

on-site inspection service program, 

certificates will be provided at no extra 

cost assuming that the work demands 

can be adequately addressed in the 

agreed upon contract hours. If 

additional time is needed for EU Health 

Certificate completion, it will be 

charged at the appropriate hourly rate, 

published on the SIP Web site. EU 

Health Certificates for facilities 

operating under the HACCP QMP or the 

IQA Program will be charged $50 for 

each EU Health Certificate request. 

Participants may choose to contract 

specifically for EU Health Certificate 

services if there is a significant volume. 

Non-Program Participants 

Seafood processors and other entities 

that are not SIP program participants 

will be charged $69 for each EU Health 

Certificate request. Fees and charges 

may be adjusted as necessary to recover 

costs. Changes in this fee structure will 

be announced via notice in the Federal 

Register. 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 117 / Friday, June 19, 2009 / Notices 29185 

Dated: June 16, 2009. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–14475 Filed 6–16–09; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Bureau of the Census 

Request for Nominations of Members 

To Serve on the Census Advisory 

Committee on the African American 

Population 

AGENCY: Bureau of the Census, 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of request for 

nominations. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of the Census 

(Census Bureau) is requesting 

nominations of individuals to the 

Census Advisory Committee on the 

African American Population. The 

Census Bureau will consider 

nominations received in response to this 

notice, as well as from other sources. 

The SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section of this notice provides 

Committee and membership criteria. 

DATES: Please submit nominations by 

July 20, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Please submit nominations 

to Jeri Green, Chief, Census Advisory 

Committee Office, U.S. Census Bureau, 

Room 8H182, 4600 Silver Hill Road, 

Washington, DC 20233. Nominations 

also may be submitted via fax at 301– 

763–8609, or by e-mail to 

jeri.green@census.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeri 

Green, Chief, Census Advisory 

Committee Office, U.S. Census Bureau, 

Room 8H182, 4600 Silver Hill Road, 

Washington, DC 20233, telephone (301) 

763–2070. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Committee was established in 

accordance with the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act (Title 5, United States 

Code (U.S.C.), Appendix 2) in 1995. The 

following provides information about 

the Committee, membership, and the 

nomination process. 

Objectives and Duties 

1. The Committee provides an 

organized and continuing channel of 

communication between African 

American communities and the Census 

Bureau. Committee members identify 

useful strategies to reduce the 

differential undercount for the African 

American population, and on ways data 

can be disseminated for maximum 

usefulness to the African American 

population. 

2. The Committee draws upon prior 

decennial planning efforts, research 

studies, test censuses, and other 

experiences to provide advice and 

recommendations for the 2010 

Decennial Census Program. 

3. The Committee functions solely as 

an advisory body under the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act. 

4. The Committee reports to the 

Director of the Census Bureau. 

Membership 

1. Members are appointed by and 

serve at the discretion of the Secretary 

of Commerce. They are appointed to the 

nine-member Committee for a period of 

three years. 

2. Members will be reevaluated at the 

conclusion of the three-year term with 

the prospect of renewal, pending 

meeting attendance, administrative 

compliance, advisory committee needs, 

and the Secretary’s concurrence. 

Committee members are selected in 

accordance with applicable Department 

of Commerce guidelines. The 

Committee aims to have a balanced 

representation, considering such factors 

as geography, gender, technical 

expertise, community involvement, and 

knowledge of census procedures and 

activities. The Committee aims to 

include members from diverse 

backgrounds, including State and local 

governments, academia, media, 

research, community-based 

organizations, and the private sector. No 

employee of the Federal government can 

serve as a member of the Committee. 

Meeting attendance and active 

participation in the activities of the 

Advisory Committee are essential for 

sustained Committee membership as 

well as submission of required annual 

financial disclosure statements. 

Miscellaneous 

1. Members of the Committee serve 

without compensation, but receive 

reimbursement for Committee-related 

travel and lodging expenses. 

2. The Committee meets at least once 

a year, budget permitting, but additional 

meetings may be held as deemed 

necessary by the Census Director or 

Designated Federal Official. All 

Committee meetings are open to the 

public in accordance with the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act. 

Nomination Information 

1. Nominations are requested as 

described above. 

2. Nominees should have expertise 

and knowledge of the cultural patterns, 

issues, and/or data needs of the African 

American community. Such knowledge 

and expertise are needed to provide 

advice and recommendations to the 

Census Bureau on how best to 

enumerate the African American 

population and obtain complete and 

accurate data on this population. 

Individuals, groups, or organizations 

may submit nominations on behalf of a 

potential candidate. A summary of the 

candidate’s qualifications (resume ́ or 

curriculum vitae) must be included 

along with the nomination letter. 

Nominees must have the ability to 

participate in Advisory Committee 

meetings and tasks. Besides Committee 

meetings, active participation may 

include Committee assignments and 

participation in conference calls and 

working groups. 

3. The Department of Commerce is 

committed to equal opportunity in the 

workplace and seeks diverse Committee 

membership. 

Dated: June 12, 2009. 

Thomas L. Mesenbourg, 

Acting Director, Bureau of the Census. 

[FR Doc. E9–14442 Filed 6–18–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XN11 

Notification of Stock Status 

Determination for Atlantic Highly 

Migratory Species Shortfin Mako Shark 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notification of determination 

overfishing and approaching an 

overfished condition. 

SUMMARY: This action serves as a notice 

that NMFS, on behalf of the Secretary of 

Commerce (Secretary), has determined 

that overfishing is occurring on Atlantic 

highly migratory species shortfin mako 

and the stock is approaching an 

overfished condition. The Secretary is 

required to take action within 1 year 

following determination that: a stock is 

overfished; a stock is approaching an 

overfished condition; or existing 

remedial action taken to end overfishing 

or rebuild an overfished stock has not 

resulted in adequate progress. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mark Nelson, telephone: (301) 713– 

2341. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to sections 304(e)(2) and (e)(7) of the 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES