635.40—Restrictions to enhance conservation.

(a) Determinations. Upon a determination by NMFS that species of fish subject to regulation or under investigation by ICCAT are ineligible for entry into the United States under 16 U.S.C. 971d (c)(4) or (c)(5), NMFS, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, will file with the Office of the Federal Register for publication a finding to that effect. Effective upon the date of filing of such finding, all shipments of fish in any form of the species found to be ineligible will be denied entry unless, with respect to a particular shipment, it is established by satisfactory proof pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section that the particular shipment of fish is eligible for entry. Entry will not be denied and no such proof will be required for any such shipment that, on the date of filing was in transit to the United States on board a vessel operating as a common carrier.

(b) Proof of admissibility. (1) For the purposes of paragraph (a) of this section and section 6(c) of ATCA, a shipment of fish in any form of the species under regulation or under investigation by ICCAT offered for entry, directly or indirectly, from a country named in a finding filed with the Office of the Federal Register for publication under paragraph (a) of this section is eligible for entry if the shipment is accompanied by a completed ATCA COE attached to the invoice certifying that the fish in the shipment:

(i) Are not of the species specified in the finding;

(ii) Are of the species named in the finding, but were not taken in the regulatory area; or

(iii) Are of the species named in the finding, but are products of an American fishery and were lawfully taken in conformity with applicable conservation laws and regulations and landed in the country named in the finding solely for transshipment.

(2) If the fish are offered for entry under paragraph (b)(1)(i) or (b)(1)(ii) of this section, the ATCA COE must be executed by a duly authorized official of the country named in the finding and the ATCA COE must be validated by a consular officer or consular agent of the United States. Such validation must be attached to the ATCA COE.

(3) If the fish are offered for entry under paragraph (b)(1)(iii) of this section, the ATCA COE must be executed by a consular officer or consular agent of the United States and be accompanied by the declaration(s) required by 19 CFR 10.79. The “Declaration of Master and Two Members of Crew on Entry of Products of American Fisheries” required by 19 CFR 10.79 must contain a further statement as follows: “We further declare that the said fish were caught by us in full compliance with part 635, title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, and such other conservation laws and regulations as were applicable at the time the fishing operation was in progress.”

(c) Removal of import restrictions. Upon a determination by NMFS that the conditions no longer exist that warranted the finding under paragraph (a) of this section, NMFS will remove the import restriction by filing with the Office of the Federal Register for publication notification of removal effective on the date of filing. However, for 1 year from the date of filing every shipment of fish in any form that was subject to the finding under paragraph (a) of this section will continue to be denied entry, unless the shipment is accompanied by a certification executed by an authorized official of the country of export and authenticated by a consular officer or consular agent of the United States certifying that no portion of the shipment is composed of fish taken prior to or during the import restriction.