Department of Commerce February 6, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) announces its intent to prepare an amendment to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan (FMP) (Placopecten magellanicus (Gmelin)) and to prepare an SEIS to analyze the impacts of any proposed management measures. The Council is also formally re-initiating a public process to determine the scope of alternatives to be addressed in the amendment and SEIS. The purpose of this notification is to alert the interested public of the re-commencement of the scoping process and to provide for public participation in compliance with environmental documentation requirements.

This corrects the title of the information collection (OMB Control No. 0648-471) submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for review. The notice was published on January 17, 2006 (Vol. 71, No. 10, page 2514).

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted Amendments 78 and 65 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI), Amendments 73 and 65 to the FMP for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), Amendments 16 and 12 to the FMP for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs, Amendments 7, 9, and 11 to the FMP for the Scallop Fishery Off Alaska, and Amendments 7 and 8 to the FMP for Salmon Fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone Off the Coast of Alaska. These amendments, if approved, would revise the FMPs by identifying and authorizing protection measures for essential fish habitat (EFH) and habitat areas of particular concern (HAPCs) in all five FMPs and update the biological and management information in the scallop FMP. This action is necessary to revise the descriptions of EFH in the FMPs based on the best available scientific information and to protect areas that have important habitat features for the sustainability of managed fish stocks. This action also is necessary to provide an updated FMP for scallop fishery management. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the FMPs, and other applicable laws. Comments from the public are welcome.

On January 30, 2006, Mittal Canada Inc. (formerly Ispat Sidbec Inc.) filed a First Request for Panel Review with the United States Section of the NAFTA Secretariat pursuant to Article 1904 of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Panel review was requested of the final results of the antidumping duty administrative review made by the United States Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, respecting Carbon and Certain Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Canada. This determination was published in the Federal Register, (71 FR 3822) on January 24, 2006. The NAFTA Secretariat has assigned Case Number USA-CDA-2006-1904-04 to this request.