Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES); Carrying Out the Inclusion of all Species of the Order Acipenseriformes (Sturgeon and Paddlefish) in the Appendices to CITES

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

RIN 1018-AF66

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild

Fauna and Flora (CITES); Carrying Out the Inclusion of all Species of

the Order Acipenseriformes (Sturgeon and Paddlefish) in the Appendices

to CITES

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of proposed policy.

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SUMMARY: We propose to no longer issue or accept for import any ``pre-

Convention'' certificates for caviar. A pre-Convention certificate for

caviar documents that the caviar pre-dates April 1, 1998, the effective

date of the listing of all previously unlisted species of the Order

Acipenseriformes (sturgeon and paddlefish) in the Appendices to the

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna

and Flora (CITES).

DATES: We will consider comments and information received by November

10, 1999 in developing a final policy.

ADDRESSES: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Management

Authority, Mail Stop 700 ARLSQ, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20240.

If you wish to comment, you may submit your comments by any one of

several methods. You may mail comments to the above address. You may

also comment via the Internet to [email protected]. Please submit

Internet comments as an ASCII file, avoiding the use of special

characters and any form of encryption. Please also include Attn: [RIN

number, 1018-AF66] and your name and return address in your Internet

message. If you do not receive a confirmation from the system that we

have received your Internet message, contact us directly at the

telephone number listed below. Finally, you may hand-deliver comments

to the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Teiko Saito, Chief, Office of

Management Authority, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, telephone (703)

358-2093, fax (703) 358-2280.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: To make sure that commercial demand does not

threaten the survival of wild sturgeon, the Tenth Meeting of the

Conference of Parties to CITES (COP10) adopted a proposal on June 20,

1997, to include all previously unlisted species of the Order

Acipenseriformes (sturgeon and paddlefish) in Appendix II of CITES,

effective April 1, 1998. Therefore, all international shipments of

sturgeon and paddlefish specimens or their parts and products,

including caviar, made on or after April 1, 1998, must include a valid

CITES export permit, re-export certificate, or pre-Convention

certificate, which shows that the CITES treaty is being followed.

We have issued pre-Convention certificates for the re-export of

caviar only when we were satisfied that it was imported before April 1,

1998. We have learned from the sturgeon products industry and others

that the normal shelf life for caviar is 12 months. By the time this

proposed policy is finalized, the normal shelf life of any caviar

imported before April 1, 1998, will have been exceeded by several

months. In addition, it has become evident since April 1, 1998, that

the false declaration of caviar as having been acquired before April 1,

1998, is a means of circumventing the CITES treaty. So, we propose to

no longer issue pre-Convention certificates for caviar.

On March 12, 1999, the CITES Secretariat issued Notification to the

Parties No. 1999/23, which recommends that no permits or certificates

declaring pre-Convention caviar should be accepted after April 1, 1999.

Consistent with that recommendation, we propose to no longer accept

``pre-Convention'' certificates for the importation of Appendix II

sturgeon caviar into the United States.

For imports, this proposed policy does not affect aquaculture-

produced caviar or caviar harvested from the wild after April 1, 1998,

which will continue to be allowed with a valid CITES export permit from

the country of origin or a valid CITES re-export certificate from the

country of re-export. For exports or re-exports from the United States,

this proposed policy does not affect aquaculture-produced caviar or

caviar

[[Page 57646]]

acquired from the wild after April 1, 1998, provided a valid CITES

permit or re-export certificate is issued and accompanies the shipment.

Our practice is to make comments, including names and home

addresses of respondents, available for public review during regular

business hours. Individual respondents may request that we withhold

their home address from the rulemaking record, which we will honor to

the extent allowable by law. There also may be limited circumstances in

which we would withhold from the rulemaking record a respondent's

identity, as allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold your name

and/or address, you must state this clearly at the beginning of your

comment. But, we will not consider anonymous comments. We generally

make all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from

individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of

organizations or businesses, available for public inspection in their

entirety.

Required Determinations

This document has not been reviewed by the Office of Management and

Budget under Executive Order 12866.

The Department of the Interior certifies that this document will

not have a significant effect on a substantial number of small entities

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). This

proposed policy would restrict the sturgeon industry within the United

States from engaging in foreign commerce with ``pre-Convention'' caviar

that is, according to industry representatives, perhaps no longer

available, and if available, only in very limited quantities at greatly

reduced value. We estimate that there would likely be less than 100

businesses with remaining stocks of ``pre-Convention'' caviar. Any such

caviar has exceeded its normal shelf life and has decreased in value

dramatically. Therefore, this proposed policy is restricting the

sturgeon industry within the United States from engaging in commerce,

under an exemption to CITES, with a commodity that may no longer even

be available, and if available, only in very limited quantities at

greatly reduced value. Therefore, it does not appear likely that this

proposed policy will have a significant economic effect on a

substantial number of small entities as defined under the Regulatory

Flexibility Act. It should be noted that this proposed policy will not

restrict members of the sturgeon products industry from conducting

business with caviar that has been obtained after April 1, 1998. Only

the availability of the ``pre-Convention'' exemption would be

terminated if this proposed policy were made final.

Similarly, this proposed policy is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C.

804(2), the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act.

This proposed policy does not impose an unfunded mandate of more

than $100 million per year or have a significant or unique effect on

State, local, or tribal governments or the private sector because we,

as the lead agency for CITES implementation in the United States, are

responsible for the authorization of shipments of live wildlife, or

their parts and products, that are subject to the requirements of

CITES.

Under Executive Order 12630, this proposed policy does not have

significant takings implications for the same reason as described above

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act.

Under Executive Order 12612, this proposed policy does not have

sufficient federalism implications to warrant the preparation of a

Federalism Assessment because it is not anticipated that a state

tagging program, similar to the one currently employed in the

management of CITES listed furbearer species for export, will be

administered in the management of exports of sturgeon products from

U.S. wild-caught stock.

Under Executive Order 12988, the Office of the Solicitor has

determined that this proposed policy does not unduly burden the

judicial system and meets the requirements of Sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2)

of the Order.

This proposed policy does not contain new or revised information

collection for which Office of Management and Budget approval is

required under the Paperwork Reduction Act. Information collections

associated with CITES permits is covered by an existing OMB approval,

and is assigned clearance No. 1018-0093, Form 3-200-27, with an

expiration date of January 31, 2001. Detailed information for the CITES

documentation appears at 50 CFR 23.15(g). The Service may not conduct

or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of

information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

This proposed policy does not constitute a major Federal action

significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.

Therefore, an environmental impact statement is not required. The

proposed policy is categorically excluded from further National

Environmental Policy Act requirements, under Part 516 of the

Departmental Manual, Chapter 2, Appendix 1.10.

Executive Order 12866 requires each agency to write regulations

that are easy to understand. We invite your comments on how to make

this proposed policy easier to understand including answers to

questions such as the following: (1) Are the requirements in the

proposed policy clearly stated?; (2) Does the proposed policy contain

technical language that interferes with its clarity? What else could we

do to make this proposed policy easier to understand?

Our normal practice is to publish proposed policies with a 60-day

comment period. But in this case, we are using a 15-day comment period

since we feel that a 60-day comment period is unnecessary because: 1)

we have learned in discussions we have had with the sturgeon products

industry and others, that the normal shelf life for caviar is 12 months

so, there no longer is any pre-Convention caviar available; 2) as a

member of CITES, it is our responsibility to carry out promptly our

obligations under the treaty.

Dated: September 21, 1999.

Donald J. Barry,

Assistant Secretary--Fish and Wildlife and Parks.

[FR Doc. 99-27953 Filed 10-25-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-55-P