Thank you, Keith Strickland for bringing this notice to our attention. We have added a link to the most positive part of the notice and we hope you will take the time to write an e-mail to the link we have made after item number five in the list of possible actions.
You may 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:
Public Meeting on U.S. Coral Reef Task Force'', 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
[Federal Register: November 16, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 220)]
[Notices]
[Page 62215-62217]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16no99-109]
HOW CAN THE HOBBY HELP THIS LINK WILL TAKE YOU ONE OF THE ANSWERS
United States Coral Reef Task Force: Options for the United
States To Consider To Promote the Conservation of Coral Reefs; Public
Meeting
AGENCY: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.Monday, December 6 from 2:00
to 5:00 pm
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SUMMARY: On behalf of the United States Coral Reef Task Force, we, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce a public meeting to discuss
the trade in non-food fish coral reef species, the effects of this
trade on coral reefs, and measures which the United States should
consider to minimize these effects and promote coral reef conservation.
Representatives of other agencies involved in the Trade Subgroup will
participate in the meeting to answer questions and receive public
comments on potential conservation actions.
DATES: The public meeting will be held on Monday, December 6 from 2:00
to 5:00 pm.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in Room 7000A and B,
Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, N.W., Washington, DC.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sheila Einsweiler, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement, telephone (703) 358-1949,
fax (703) 358-2271, E-mail: Sheila__Einsweiler@fws.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
We request that anyone that wishes to speak at this public meeting
contact us using the contact information above so that we can ensure
that everyone is given enough time to express their opinions. We
request that everyone who speaks at this meeting also give us their
comments in writing. If you are unable to attend the meeting but still
wish to comment, you may submit your comments by any one of several
methods. You may mail comments to the following address: U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Office of the Assistant Director for International
Affairs, 1849 C Street, Room 3245, Washington, DC 20240. You may
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:
Public Meeting on U.S. Coral Reef Task Force'', 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 above.
Finally, you may hand-deliver comments to the above address. We will
consider comments and information received by December 10, 1999.
Coral reefs are recognized as being among the most diverse and
valuable ecosystems on earth. Reef systems are storehouses of immense
biological wealth and provide economic and ecosystem services to
millions of people as shoreline protection, areas of natural beauty and
recreation, and sources of food, pharmaceuticals, jobs, and revenues.
According to one estimate, reef habitats provide humans with services
worth about $375 billion each year, despite the fact that they cover
less than one percent of the earth's surface.
Unfortunately, coral reefs are also recognized as being among the
most threatened marine ecosystems on the planet. Coral reefs are being
seriously degraded by human activities, especially overexploitation of
resources, destructive fishing practices, coastal development, and
runoff from improper land-use practices. The international trade in
coral, reef fish, live rock, and other coral reef organisms contributes
to the decline and degradation of reefs. Coral reef resources traded
internationally supply a wide number of markets and industries,
including the seafood industry, live food fish markets, the aquarium
trade, the curio and jewelry trade, and the pharmaceutical and research
industries. As a major consumer of coral reef organisms and a leader in
coral reef conservation efforts, the United States has a critical responsibility
to address coral reef trade issues.
Since 1994, the United States has worked actively to address the
coral reef crisis through the United States Coral Reef Initiative and
the International Coral Reef Initiative. Federal agencies, State,
local, territorial, commonwealth, and local governments,
nongovernmental organizations, and commercial interests have worked
together to design and implement management, education, monitoring,
research, and restoration efforts to conserve and sustainably use coral
reef ecosystems. During the 1997 Year of the Reef, the U.S. joined many
other nations in activities to raise public awareness about the
importance of conserving coral reefs and to facilitate actions to
protect coral reef ecosystems. On October 21, 1997, the 105th Congress
passed House Concurrent Resolution 8, recognizing the significance of
maintaining the health and stability of coral reef ecosystems. The
United Nations declared 1998 as the International Year of the Ocean to
raise public awareness and increase actions to conserve and use in a
sustainable manner the broader ocean environment, including coral
reefs.
On June 11, 1998, as part of the National Ocean Conference,
President Clinton issued Executive Order 13089, Coral Reef Protection
(64 FR 323701). E.O. 13089 established a national policy directing all
Federal agencies whose actions may affect U.S. coral reef ecosystems to
identify actions which may affect these ecosystems, utilize their
authorities to protect and enhance these ecosystems, and to the extent
permitted by law, ensure that their actions will not degrade these
ecosystems. E.O. 13089 also established a United States Coral Reef Task
Force (USCRTF), co-chaired by the Secretary of the Interior and the
Secretary of Commerce and also including the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency, the Attorney General, the Secretary of
Agriculture, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, the
Secretary of Transportation, the Director of the National Science
Foundation, the Administrator of the Agency for International
Development, and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration.
The duties of the USCRTF include: (a) Coordination of a
comprehensive program of coral reef mapping and monitoring; (b)
development and implementation of scientific research; (c)
conservation, mitigation, and restoration of coral reef damage or
degradation; and (d) international cooperation and collaboration.
Included in these duties are specific directions to the USCRTF to
develop solutions to problems of over-fishing, over-use, and collection
of coral reef species, and to assess the U.S. role in international
trade and protection of coral reef species.
At its first meeting in October, 1998, at Biscayne National Park,
Florida, the USCRTF established a series of Working Groups to develop
immediate actions and longer-term strategies, including an
International Working Group under the leadership of the U.S. Department
of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development. At the
second meeting of the USCRTF, held in Hawaii in March, 1999, the
International Working Group reported on its review of the effects of
international trade, destructive fishing practices, and other issues,
which showed that the United States is by far the largest consumer of
live coral and marine fishes for the aquarium trade and dead coral
skeletons and precious corals for curios and jewelry. The United States
also was found to be a major consumer of sea horses, queen conch, and
giant clams.
As a result, at its March meeting the USCRTF adopted a resolution
requesting an accelerated interagency review of the advisability of
pursuing legislation that addresses the trade in coral and coral reef
species, led by the Council on Environmental Quality and in close
consultation with members of the marine aquarium trade industry that
are promoting certification and sustainability in the trade in coral
reef species. The USCRTF also supported resolutions adopted by working
groups of the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum regarding
destructive fishing practices. In addition, a Trade Subgroup was
established to further examine the nature and extent of threats to
reefs related to trade in coral reef resources, evaluate current U.S.
activities, and recommend further actions.
We are committed to working in cooperation with State, Territorial,
Commonwealth, and local government agencies, nongovernmental
organizations, the scientific community, and commercial interests and
any other stakeholders in pursuing the objectives of E.O. 13089. With
this public meeting, we are seeking comment on the relationship between
trade and conservation of non-food fish coral reef species, and what
actions the United States should consider, internationally and
domestically, to reduce harmful effects of human activity and encourage
beneficial measures. There are a number of international and domestic
activities which could assist in reducing harmful impacts to coral
reefs from overharvest, destructive harvest, and trade. These coral
reef conservation activities may include:
(1) Working within existing international frameworks such as the
Convention on International Trade In Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora (CITES), the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), and
other multilateral, regional, and bilateral forums;
(2) Raising international awareness among governments, NGOs,
industry, scientists, and consumers, and gathering better information
regarding impacts of international trade;
(3) Building capacity in source countries to address
overexploitation of resources, implementation of CITES and national
controls, and destructive fishing practices;
(4) Improving law enforcement efforts against illegal coral trade
and smuggling into the United States, development of cyanide detection
tests for live fish, and committing additional resources to enforcement;
(5) Raising domestic consumer awareness through educational
materials and encouraging alternatives to wild collection, such as
sustainable captive-breeding or artificial culture or captive breeding;
PLEASE SEND YOUR IDEAS ON HOW THE HOBBY CAN HELP THE REEFS
- WE CAN ADD TO THE RESEARCH, REEFS CREATE AWARENESS AND LOVE FOR THE REEFS,
OCEAN BASED REEF FARMING WILL GIVE THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE NEAR THE REEFS A REASON
TO PROTECT THEIR FUTURE INCOME BY DOING THINGS THAT PROTECT THE HEALTHY REEFS.
THE CAPTIVE CORALS IN THE HOBBY HAVE ALREADY BEEN DONATED
TO REPLANT CORALS THAT WERE DAMAGED BY EL NINO
SEND YOUR EMAIL AS A TEXT FILE mailto:r9oma__cites@fws.gov WRITE YOUR LETTER AND SEND IT AS AN ATTACHMENT
(6) Analyzing and improving data collection and monitoring for
imports of coral reef species into the United States;
(7) And, if necessary, developing new regulatory measures which
would create additional authority to restrict commerce and address the
role of U.S. consumer demand in causing unsustainable harvest or
destructive harvests.
With this public meeting, we are particularly seeking comments
about whether actions (1) through (6) can be expected to be sufficient
to address the harmful effects of trade in coral reef species, if
actively pursued, or whether there is a need for additional regulatory
authority now to restrict commerce, in addition to the other actions
included in this list. If such new authority were to be developed, we
would like to receive comments about whether and how we should
consider:
(a) The scope of species and activities which could be subject to
additional regulatory authority;
(b) International issues, such as destructive fishing practices,
unsustainable harvests, and international trade;
(c) Domestic issues, such as interstate commerce and domestic
harvest,including commercial, subsistence, and recreational uses, and
applicability to Federal vs. State waters;
(d) Ways in which such new authority could be used to encourage
voluntary measures prior to, or lieu of, the actual imposition of new
regulations on harvest and trade; and
(e) Any other issues pertinent to assessing the need for, and
effects of, additional regulatory authorities or non-regulatory
measures designed to promote coral reef conservation.
You may obtain additional information about the U.S. Coral Reef
Task Force and its conservation activities from the internet at http://
coralreef.gov or by contacting us at one of the addresses above.
Dated: November 10, 1999.
Marshall P. Jones,
Assistant Director for International Affairs, Fish and Wildlife
Service.
[FR Doc. 99-29878 Filed 11-15-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P