Department of Commerce February 24, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Commerce (the Department) has received requests to conduct administrative reviews of various antidumping and countervailing duty orders and findings with January anniversary dates. In accordance with the Department's regulations, we are initiating those administrative reviews.

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burdens, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burdens, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

NMFS announces the receipt of an application for an exempted fishing permit (EFP) from Neil Allen on behalf of The Georgia Aquarium. If granted, the EFP would authorize the applicant, with certain conditions, to collect limited numbers of groupers, snappers, squirrelfish, sea basses, jacks, spadefish, bluefish, grunts, porgies, surgeonfish, and triggerfish. Specimens would be collected primarily from Federal waters off the coast of Georgia but may also be collected from Federal waters off the coasts of South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas during 2005 and 2006, and displayed at The Georgia Aquarium, located in Atlanta, Georgia.

Notice is hereby given that the following institutions have applied in due form for permits to conduct scientific research on marine mammals: Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, Nongame-Endangered Wildlife Program, Coastal Office, Brunswick, GA (File No. 594-1759) and the Center for Coastal Studies, Provincetown, MA (File No. 633-1763).

NMFS announces 2005 and 2006 final harvest specifications and prohibited species catch (PSC) allowances for the groundfish fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to establish harvest limits for groundfish during the 2005 and 2006 fishing years and to accomplish the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP). The intended effect of this action is to conserve and manage the groundfish resources in the BSAI in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).

NMFS announces the availability of Amendment 23 prepared by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) that would establish a 10-year rebuilding plan for vermilion snapper in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Gulf of Mexico. The rebuilding plan seeks to achieve a 25.5-percent reduction in harvest based on the 2003 predicted landings. Measures to accomplish this reduction equitably for the commercial and recreational sectors of this fishery include increases in minimum size, a decreased recreational bag limit, and a closed commercial season. Amendment 23 would also establish biological reference points and stock status determination criteria for vermilion snapper (i.e., maximum sustainable yield (MSY), optimum yield (OY), maximum fishing mortality threshold (MFMT), and minimum stock size threshold (MSST), consistent with the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson- Stevens Act). The intended effect of these measures is to end overfishing and rebuild the vermilion snapper resource consistent with the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.