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OMB Control No: 0648-0651	ICR Reference No: 201808-0648-007
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 201701-0648-013
Agency/Subagency: DOC/NOAA	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Fishery Products Subject to Trade Restrictions Pursuant to Certification Under the High Seas Driftnet Fishing (HSDF) Moratorium Protection Act
Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR: No
Type of Review Request: Emergency	Approval Requested By: 08/15/2018
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 08/10/2018
Retrieve Notice of Action (NOA)	Date Received in OIRA: 08/07/2018
Terms of Clearance: The Office of Management and Budget approves this revision to an existing information collection for 180 days, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act § 3507(j)(2). The agency is requested to submit a revision request for this information collection in accordance with § 3507(a) for these changes to remain effective beyond 180 days.

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	02/28/2019	6 Months From Approved	11/30/2020
Responses	900	0	600
Time Burden (Hours)	150	0	100
Cost Burden (Dollars)	9,000	0	6,000

Abstract: To ensure that the United States is compliant with its obligations as a Member of the WTO to be non-discriminatory in matters of trade, it is necessary to avoid trade restrictions that are so broad as to affect fisheries not governed by the injunction. Products of fisheries that do not employ gillnets or do not operate within the marine areas occupied by the vaquita must remain admissible to the U.S. seafood market. To accomplish the necessary balance, NMFS proposes to use a certification of admissibility whereby an official of the Government of Mexico would attest to the origin of the fish offered for entry into the United States as being derived from a fishery that did not employ gill nets or that was not operating the range of the vaquita. Absent such certification, the fish products would be deemed inadmissible and the entry filing would be rejected. NMFS would work with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to identify those fish and fish products that would be subject to the import certification requirements so as not to unnecessarily burden fisheries not subject to the court-ordered injunction.

Emergency Justfication: We are seeking an emergency Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) clearance of revisions to an information collection previously approved under OMB Control No. 0648-0651. That collection implements certification of admissibility requirements for certain fish products exported from nations that are subject to trade restrictions under the authority of the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act. The revisions are necessary to extend the certification of admissibility requirements for certain fish products exported from nations that are subject to trade restrictions under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). These certification requirements are necessary to ensure that fish products subject to trade restrictions are not admitted into United States commerce. This action is intended to implement requirements of the MMPA while also ensuring that the United States is also in compliance with its obligations as a Member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Failure to approve the MMPA certification of admissibility requirements on this emergency basis could lead to a violation of a recent court ruling to prohibit imports of fish products. Plaintiffs Natural Resources Defense Council, Center for Biological Diversity, and Animal Welfare Institute brought action in the United States Court of International Trade to prevent irreparable harm to the vaquita, a critically endangered marine mammal endemic to Mexican waters of the northern Gulf of California. The principal cause of the vaquita’s decline is entanglement and drowning in gillnets. If current levels of legal and illegal gillnet fishing continue, the species will likely be extinct in a few years. Prior to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs had petitioned NMFS to prohibit, under the authority of the MMPA, the import of fish and fish products from these fisheries. On July 26, 2018, the court granted plaintiffs’ motion for “a preliminary injunction requiring the Government, pending final adjudication of the merits, to ban the importation of all fish and fish products from Mexican commercial fisheries that use gillnets within the vaquita’s range.” To ensure that the United States is compliant with its obligations as a Member of the WTO to be non-discriminatory in matters of trade, it is necessary to avoid trade restrictions that are so broad as to affect fisheries not governed by the injunction. Products of fisheries that do not employ gillnets or do not operate within the marine areas occupied by the vaquita must remain admissible to the U.S. seafood market. To accomplish the necessary balance, NMFS proposes to use a certification of admissibility whereby an official of the Government of Mexico would attest to the origin of the fish offered for entry into the United States as being derived from a fishery that did not employ gill nets or that was not operating the range of the vaquita. Absent such certification, the fish products would be deemed inadmissible and the entry filing would be rejected. NMFS would work with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to identify those fish and fish products that would be subject to the import certification requirements so as not to unnecessarily burden fisheries not subject to the court-ordered injunction.

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 16 USC 1826d-k Name of Law: High Seas Driftnet Fishing Protection Moratorium Act

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

Federal Register Notices & Comments
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 1

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Proof of Admissibility	NA	Certificate of Admissibility

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to Agency Discretion
Annual Number of Responses	900	600	300
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	150	100	50
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	9,000	6,000	3,000

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Increase Due to: Miscellaneous Actions

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: Program Change: Based on an estimated 50% more activity in certifications filed due to the new MMPA requirement, new totals would be: 90 respondents, 900 responses and 150 hours, with recordkeeping/reporting costs remaining at a maximum of $10 per U.S. importer per year.

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $24,270

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. No

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? Uncollected

Agency Contact: Christopher Rogers 3017139090 ext. 117

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