*EPF407 04/27/00
Text: State Dept. Certifies 41 Countries To Export Shrimp to U.S.
(Law aims to protect sea turtles accidentally harvested) (900)

The U.S. State Department has certified 41 nations to export shrimp to the U.S. market after finding that they meet requirements for protecting sea turtles.

"Shrimp from other nations that may have been harvested in a manner harmful to sea turtles will be embargoed," said State Department spokesman James Rubin April 27.

Certification was granted to 16 nations that require their shrimpers to use turtle excluder devices (TEDs) to prevent the accidental drowning of sea turtles in shrimp trawls; U.S. shrimpers are subject to the same requirement. The 16 meeting the TEDs standard are Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela, the department said.

However, the department stripped Honduras of its certification, which was granted in 1999. "However, the Government of Honduras has informed us that it is working quickly to take steps to ensure that its sea turtle protection program is in full compliance with requirements" of U.S. law, Rubin said. "Upon verification of those efforts, the department will be in a position to certify Honduras once again."

The State Department certified 25 nations where the fishing environment poses no threat to sea turtles. Shrimpers from the Bahamas, China, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Haiti, Jamaica, Oman, Peru and Sri Lanka were certified because of their use of manual harvesting techniques. Sixteen other nations' shrimpers harvest in cold waters where the risk to turtles is negligible. They include Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay.

Following is the text of the State Department announcement:

(begin text)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
April 27, 2000

STATEMENT BY JAMES P. RUBIN, SPOKESMAN

Sea Turtle Conservation and Shrimp Imports

On April 25, the Department of State certified 41 nations as meeting the requirements set by Section 609 of P.L. 101-162 for continued export of shrimp to the United States. Shrimp from other nations that may have been harvested in a manner harmful to sea turtles will be embargoed.

Section 609 prohibits importation of shrimp and products of shrimp harvested in a manner that may adversely affect sea turtle species. This import prohibition does not apply in cases where the Department of State certifies annually to Congress, not later than May 1, that the government of the harvesting nation has taken specific measures to reduce the incidental taking of sea turtles in its shrimp trawl fisheries -- or that the fishing environment of the harvesting nation does not pose a threat to sea turtle species. Such certifications are based in part on verification visits made to countries by teams of experts from the State Department and the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service.

The chief component of the U.S. sea turtle conservation program is a requirement that commercial shrimp boats use sea turtle excluder devices (TEDs) to prevent the accidental drowning of sea turtles in shrimp trawls. The sixteen nations meeting this standard are: Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Panama, Suriname, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.

The Department was unable to certify this year one nation certified in 1999 -- Honduras. However, the Government of Honduras has informed us that it is working quickly to take steps to ensure that its sea turtle protection program is in full compliance with requirements of Section 609. Upon verification of those efforts, the Department will be in a position to certify Honduras once again.

Twenty-five nations were certified as having fishing environments that do not pose a danger to sea turtles. Of these, nine nations -- the Bahamas, China, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Haiti, Jamaica, Oman, Peru and Sri Lanka -- harvest shrimp using manual rather than mechanical means to retrieve nets, or use other fishing methods not harmful to sea turtles. Sixteen nations have shrimp fisheries only in cold waters, where the risk of taking sea turtles is negligible. They are: Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay.

Importation of shrimp from all other nations will be prohibited unless harvested by aquaculture, in cold waters, or by specialized fishing techniques that do not threaten sea turtles. If any of these situations apply, the shipment must be accompanied by a Department of State DSP-121 form signed by the exporter and importer and certified by a government official of the harvesting nation. Users should note that exception 7.A.(2) on the form "Harvested Using TEDs" is currently a valid exception to the prohibition on imports from nations not certified under P.L. 101-162, though the Department of State must determine that a country wishing to use this exception has in place an enforcement and catch segregation system for making individual shipment certifications. Only Brazil has shown that it has such a system in place. The DSP-121 form is required with all shrimp shipments, but no harvesting nation government signature is required if the shrimp is from a certified nation.

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(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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