Department of Commerce March 18, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS has received an amended application for an exempted fishing permit (EFP) from William Thornton Smith of the North Pacific Longline Association (NPLA). If granted, this EFP would authorize the applicant to conduct an experiment to evaluate the integrated weight groundline as a potential seabird avoidance measure in the 2005 Pacific cod hook-and-line fishery in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI). The project is intended to promote the objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP) by reducing fishery interactions with the endangered short-tailed albatross (Phoebastria albatrus) and other seabird species.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and its advisory entities will hold public meetings. There will also be a Tuesday evening meeting between NMFS, states, and industry on the 2005 whiting exempted fishing permit and a Monday evening meeting sponsored by NMFS and the states to provide an update on the Pacific Groundfish Essential Fish Habitat EIS.

This document provides notice of vessel monitoring systems (VMS) approved by NOAA for use by vessels participating in the Rock Shrimp Fishery of the South Atlantic Region and sets forth relevant features of the VMS, and supersedes all previous type approval notices for the South Atlantic Rock Shrimp Fishery.

NMFS is closing directed fishing for yellowfin sole by vessels using trawl gear in Bycatch Limitation Zone 1 (Zone 1) of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2005 bycatch allowance of red king crab specified for the trawl yellowfin sole fishery in Zone 1.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App., notice is hereby given that the Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB) will meet Tuesday, March 29, 2005 from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Wednesday, March 30, 2005 from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. All sessions will be open to the public. The Advisory Board was established by the Computer Security Act of 1987 (Pub. L. 100-235) and amended by the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-347) to advise the Secretary of Commerce and the Director of NIST on security and privacy issues pertaining to federal computer systems. Details regarding the Board's activities are available at https://csrc.nist.gov/ispab/.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) invites interested parties to attend a meeting on April 20, 2005 to discuss the possibility of setting up a cooperative research consortium. The objective is to develop high throughput foam preparation methods and flammability measurement methods to aid polyurethane manufacturers and additive suppliers in developing fire safe foams that are environmentally safe and cost effective. The primary outcome of this work being the creation of a structure- flammability property database for polyurethane foams.

On March 10, 2005, the NAFTA Panel issued its decision in the matter of Certain Durum Wheat and Hard Red Spring Wheat CVD determination from Canada, Secretariat File No. USA-CDA-2003-1904-05.

This document contains corrections to the final regulations that were published in the Federal Register on Thursday, December 23, 2004. These regulations implemented the 2005-2006 fishery specifications and management measures for groundfish taken in the U.S. exclusive economic zone off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California.

NMFS proposes to establish target total allowable catch (TAC) levels for the monkfish fishery for the 2005 fishing year (FY), and adjust trip limits for limited access monkfish vessels fishing in the Southern Fishery Management Area (SFMA) based upon the annual target TAC setting and trip limit adjustment methods established in Framework Adjustment 2 (Framework 2) to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The proposed action is necessary to comply with the rebuilding plan established in the FMP and modified in Framework 2. The target TACs for FY 2005, based upon the target TAC setting method, would be 13,160 mt for the Northern Fishery Management Area (NFMA), and 9,673 mt for the SFMA. This action would also adjust the trip limits for vessels fishing in the SFMA, in accordance with the trip limit analysis method established in Framework 2, to be 700 lb (318 kg) tail weight per day- at-sea (DAS) for limited access Category A and C vessels, and 600 lb (272 kg) tail weight per DAS for limited access Category B and D vessels. The intent of this action is to eliminate overfishing and rebuild the monkfish resource in accordance with Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requirements.

NMFS announces a 12-month finding on a petition to add the elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata), staghorn coral (A. cervicornis), and fused-staghorn coral (A. prolifera), throughout their known range, to the list of threatened and endangered wildlife and to designate critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Based on a review of the best available scientific and commercial information on the status of the species, NMFS finds that the petitioned action is warranted with respect to elkhorn and staghorn corals and will promptly publish a proposed rule to list these two species as threatened. Furthermore, NMFS concludes that listing fused-staghorn coral is not warranted as it is a hybrid and does not constitute a species.