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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 r9oma__cites@fws.gov. 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 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
as 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
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