NMFS Seeks to Extend Information Collection Related to Importing Fish Under MMPA
The National Marine Fisheries Service is opening a 60-day comment period on information it collects related to fishing products restrictions.
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The agency is informing the Office of Management and Budget that it would like to extend its efforts to collect information related the certification of admissibility for importing certain fish and fish products that are subject to the Marine Mammal Protection Act, or the MMPA, it said in a notice released March 14.
"Certain fish or fish products of a nation may be subject to import prohibitions. To facilitate enforcement, NMFS requires that other fish or fish products from that nation that are not subject to the import prohibitions must be accompanied by documentation of admissibility," the notice said. "A duly authorized official/agent of the applicant's Government must certify that the fish in the shipments being imported into the United States (U.S.) are of a species, or from fisheries, that are not subject to an import restriction. If a nation is identified under the Moratorium Protection Act and fails to receive a positive certification decision from the Secretary of Commerce, products from that nation may be subject to the import prohibitions and would subsequently need to be accompanied by the certificate of admissibility."
Per the MMPA, import certification requirements apply where foreign fisheries do not meet U.S. standards for marine mammal bycatch mitigation.
Comments on this information collection are due by May 16.