Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2004/09/13/04-20468/taking-of-marine-mammals-incidental-to-commercial-fishing-operations-tuna-purse-seine-vessels-in-the
Timestamp: 2014-03-11 04:55:16
Document Index: 318451118

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 216', '§ 216', '§ 216', '§ 216', '§ 216', '§ 216', '§ 216']

Publication Date: Monday, September 13, 2004
69 FR 55288
-55309 (22 pages)
Document Number: 04-20468
Shorter URL: https://federalregister.gov/a/04-20468 Action
Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to Commercial Fishing Operations; Tuna Purse Seine Vessels in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean 2 actions from September 13th, 2004 to November 2004
Agreement on the IDCP Back to Top
Proposed Rule and Interim Final Rule Back to Top
On August 17, 1999, in response to NMFS' issuance of the initial finding mandated under paragraph (g)(1) of the DPCIA, twelve environmental organizations and individuals filed a complaint against the Department of Commerce and NMFS alleging that NMFS violated the MMPA, the DPCIA, the IDCPA and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The plaintiffs in Brower v. Daley sought to prevent the change of the dolphin-safe labeling standard that had resulted from NMFS' initial finding. The plaintiffs alleged that NMFS failed to follow the requirements of these Acts in its April 29, 1999, initial finding that there was insufficient evidence to conclude that the encirclement of dolphins with purse seine nets by fishing vessels in the ETP was having a significant adverse impact on depleted ETP dolphin stocks. Under NMFS' initial finding, the dolphin-safe labeling standard changed to the definition under paragraph (h)(1) of the DPCIA. This definition states that tuna harvested by “large purse seine vessels,” i.e. vessels with carrying capacity greater than 400 short tons (st), in the ETP may be labeled dolphin-safe only if no dolphins were killed or seriously injured during the sets in which the tuna were caught.
Comment 1: For clarification purposes, revise the last sentence of § 216.24(f)(9)(vi) to read as follows: “Since shipments destined for the United States on a through bill of lading at the time of the original shipment are neither imported for consumption in the 'intermediary nation' nor exported therefrom under 50 CFR 216.24(f)(9)(viii), the nation would not be considered an 'intermediary nation' under the MMPA."
Response: The Parties to the Agreement on the IDCP, of which the United States is a member, established a working group to develop incentives and rewards to encourage vessel operators to reduce dolphin mortality. Recently, this working group selected vessel operators who had met or exceeded the criteria for high performing captains in reducing dolphin mortality in this fishery and awarded them with plaques recognizing their performance. This working group will continue to develop incentives for vessel captains and methods to reduce dolphin mortality. Additionally, while penalties are not part of these regulations, § 216.24(c)(9)(v) provides that a DML assigned to a U.S. vessel that exceeded its DML in a given year will be reduced by 150 percent of the overage in the following year.
Response: The heading of § 216.24 makes clear that the section deals with commercial fishing operations by tuna purse seine vessels in the ETP. Section 216.24(d) applies only to vessels without assigned DMLs, i.e. only vessels that do not intentionally deploy nets on or encircle dolphins. Under § 216.24(a)(2), vessels that do not have DMLs may not make intentional sets on dolphins. The IDCPA does not require every vessel to have a DML assigned. MMPA section 303(a)(2)(B)(ix) prohibits a vessel without an assigned DML from intentionally setting on dolphins.
Response: The regulations implement adequate monitoring systems for ensuring the separation and tracking of imported dolphin-safe and non-dolphin-safe tuna. All imports of tuna harvested in the ETP by large purse seine vessels must be accompanied by a certificate signed by an IDCP-member government official attesting to the dolphin-safe status of the tuna in that shipment. Shipments of tuna that are not declared to be dolphin-safe and that are imported into the United States from a nation that has an affirmative finding are spot-checked to ensure that no dolphin-safe logo appears on the product. In addition, NMFS tuna tracking and verification specialists perform spot-checks of canned tuna on grocery shelves. In this final rule, NMFS requires processors to provide documentary proof of the origin of that tuna. Finally, U.S. canned tuna processors report all purchases of imported frozen tuna to NMFS on a regular basis.
NMFS is striving to further reduce dolphin mortalities associated with the tuna purse seine fishery in the ETP. It is also important to note that no U.S. purse seine vessels are currently intentionally chasing or deploying purse seine nets on dolphins. In addition, annual dolphin mortality in the ETP tuna purse seine fishery, including both the domestic and foreign fleets, has averaged less than 2,000 dolphins since 2000. An annual dolphin mortality limit is one of a suite of tools being used by NMFS and Parties to the Agreement on the IDCP to conserve dolphin stocks, as well as other components of the ETP ecosystem.
In § 216.93(c)(5), paragraphs (iii) and (iv) clarify the entity responsible for delivering completed TTFs to the Southwest Regional Administrator. Paragraph (iii) describes a situation in which a vessel lands in a country that is a Party to the Agreement on the IDCP this case, a representative of the country has first responsibility for the TTFs. Paragraph (iv) describes a situation in which the vessel lands in a country that is not a Party to the Agreement. In this case, NMFS does not expect that a representative of the country will meet the vessel. Therefore, when landing in such a country, the vessel captain has responsibility for delivering the TTFs to the Southwest Regional Administrator.
Section 216.24(c)(9)(ii) of the interim final rule incorrectly described the second semester DML calculation by the IDCP as not to exceed “one-third” of an unadjusted full-year DML. Annex IV of the Agreement on the IDCP clearly states that “one-half” of an unadjusted full-year DML shall constitute the amount of a second semester DML. Therefore, NMFS has corrected § 216.24(c)(9)(ii) to state “one-half” instead of “one-third” in this final rule.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration when this rule was proposed that it would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The factual basis for the certification was published in the proposed rule. Specifically, the expected impacts to 15 to 17 small (less than 362.8 metric tons carrying capacity) purse seine vessels that participate on a seasonal basis in the fishery, domestic and foreign tuna processors, and tuna wholesalers and brokers were discussed in the proposed rule. Possible compliance costs, paperwork burdens, and other restrictions on these small business entities were expected to be minimal or nonexistent at the time the proposed rule was published. Experience since that time indicate that our expectations were correct, as there has not been a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. In fact, any impacts to small purse seine vessels are expected to have decreased, as the number of small purse seine vessels participating in the ETP fishery has decreased from approximately 16 in 1999, the year in which this rule was proposed, to approximately 6 in 2004. The per vessel impact is expected to be equal to the impact anticipated when this rule was proposed. Further, no comments have been received regarding the certification. As a result, no regulatory flexibility analysis was prepared.
NMFS prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for the interim final rule, and the Administrator for Fisheries concluded that there will be no significant impact on the human environment as a result of this final rule. A copy of the EA is available at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot_res/PR2/Tuna_Dolphin/IDCPA.html
2. Section 216.24 is revised to read as follows: § 216.24 Taking and related acts incidental to commercial fishing operations by tuna purse seine vessels in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.
(8) O perator permit holder performance requirements.[Reserved]
(iii) Exports from driftnet nations only: HTS numbers requiring a Fisheries Certificate of Origin and official certification. The following HTS numbers identify categories of fish and shellfish, in addition to those identified in paragraphs (f)(2)(i) and (f)(2)(ii) of this section, known to have been harvested using a large-scale driftnet and imported into the United States. Shipments exported from a large-scale driftnet nation, as identified under paragraph (f)(7) of this section, and imported into the United States under any of the HTS numbers listed in paragraph (f)(2) of this section must be accompanied by an FCO and the official statement described in paragraph (f)(4)(xiii) of this section.
Squid, other, cuttle fish frozen/dried/salted/brine
(xii) Dolphin-safe condition of the shipment, described by checking the appropriate statement on the form and attaching additional certifications if required;
(iii) Pelly certification. After 6 months of an embargo being in place against a nation under this section, the Secretary will certify that nation under section 8(a) of the Fishermen's Protective Act (