View Rule

NMFS proposes amendments to regulations that require seafood import documentation under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). The statute prohibits the importation of seafood that was harvested in violation of foreign laws, any treaty, or binding conservation measures of regional fisheries organizations to which the United States is a party. The import permitting, reporting and recordkeeping regulations facilitate enforcement of the statutory prohibition. To ensure compliance with the import monitoring program, NMFS proposes to clarify what qualifies as the U.S. resident business address of the International Fisheries Trade Permit holder and the permit holder's obligation to ensure timely access to and production of the required supply chain records in the event of an audit. Further, the responsibilities of International Fisheries Trade Permit holders will be defined to clarify the role of the permit holder as the importer of record and to specify when and how the permit can be used and by whom. Finally, NMFS would revise the requirements for the permit holder to update details pertaining to the identification of the permit holder's responsible party and contact information. NMFS is considering the inclusion of additional species under the program, such as expanding currently listed single-species to species groups and adding new species. Additionally, NMFS proposes to clarify certain reporting requirements to ensure compliance and consistency of the information provided. U.S. seafood importers are likely to be affected by this rulemaking through increased reporting and recordkeeping requirements, but the magnitude of economic impact will be small because documentation is already completed, transmitted through the supply chain, and available to importers. The importer’s permit status will be verified electronically via the U.S. Customs Automated Commercial Environment as part of the normal entry filing. With the proposed revisions, supply chain records to support import audits could be stored, retrieved and submitted to NMFS electronically, thereby reducing the burden on NMFS and the trade community. Previous program implementation occurred without significant disruption to the trade community for the species currently subject to program requirements. Now that it has been in place for several years, expansion of the program to include additional species is not expected to create any significant new disruption or burden for the trade community. Certain candidate species, e.g., shellfish, have traceability requirements associated with imports through other agencies, and thus their inclusion in the program would not likely incur additional burden on the trade community.