§ 635.43 - Contents of documentation.

(a) A BSD, to be deemed complete, must state:

(1) The document number assigned by the country issuing the document.

(2) The name of the country issuing the document, which must be the country whose flag vessel harvested the bluefin tuna, regardless of where the bluefin tuna is first landed.

(3) The name of the vessel that caught the fish and the vessel's registration number, if applicable.

(4) The name of the owner of the trap that caught the fish, if applicable.

(5) The point of export, which is the city, state or province, and country from which the bluefin tuna is first exported.

(6) The product type (fresh or frozen) and product form (round, gilled and gutted, dressed, fillet, or other).

(7) The method of fishing used to harvest the fish (e.g., purse seine, trap, rod and reel).

(8) The ocean area from which the fish was harvested (i.e., western Atlantic, eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean, or Pacific).

(9) The weight of each fish (in kilograms for the same product form previously specified).

(10) The identifying BSD tag number, if landed by vessels from countries with tagging programs.

(11) The name and license number of, and be signed and dated in the exporter's certification block by, the exporter.

(12) If applicable, the name and title of, and be signed and dated in the validation block by, a responsible government official of the country whose flag vessel caught the bluefin tuna (regardless of where the bluefin tuna are first landed) or by an official of an institution accredited by said government, with official government or accredited institution seal affixed, thus validating the information on the BSD.

(13) As applicable, the name(s) and address(es), including the name of the city and state or province of import, and the name(s) of the intermediate country(ies) or the name of the country of final destination, and license number(s) of, and be signed and dated in the importer's certification block by each intermediate and the final importer.

(b) An approved BSD may be obtained from NMFS to accompany exports of bluefin tuna from the United States. A bluefin tuna dealer in a country that does not provide an approved BSD to exporters may obtain an approved BSD from NMFS to accompany exports to the United States.

(c) A dealer who exports bluefin tuna to the United States may use the approved BSD obtainable from NMFS or a document developed by the country of export, if that country submits a copy to the ICCAT Executive Secretariat and NMFS concurs with the ICCAT Secretariat's determination that the document meets the information requirements of the ICCAT recommendation. In such case, NMFS will provide a list of countries for which BSDs are approved, with examples of approved documents, to the appropriate official of the U.S. Customs Service. Effective upon the date indicated in such notice to the U.S. Customs Service, shipments of bluefin tuna or bluefin tuna products offered for importation from said country(ies) may be accompanied by either that country's approved BSD or by the BSD provided to the foreign country exporter by NMFS.