Department of Commerce April 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold the annual meeting of the Council Bottomfish Plan Team (BPT).

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher processor vessels using pot gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2006 first seasonal allowance of the Pacific cod total allowable catch (TAC) specified for catcher processor vessels using pot gear in the BSAI.

The Bureau of the Census (Census Bureau) is issuing this notice to correct the dates of the meetings for the Census Advisory Committees (CACs) on the African American Population, the American Indian and Alaska Native Populations, the Asian Population, the Hispanic Population, and the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Populations. The Census Bureau originally published in the Federal Register on Monday, April 3, 2006 (63 FR 16548), a Notice of Public Meeting for the above named committees. This notice corrects the DATES section of the earlier notice. The DATES section should now read that the meetings will be held on April 27-28, 2006.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels using trawl gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2006 second seasonal allowance of the Pacific cod total allowable catch (TAC) specified for catcher vessels using trawl gear in the BSAI.

In response to a request from Ivis Partners Ltd. (IVIS), the Department of Commerce is initiating a changed circumstances review of the antidumping duty order on certain softwood lumber products from Canada.

The Department of Commerce (the Department) is partially rescinding its administrative review of the antidumping duty order of honey from Argentina for the period December 1, 2004 to November 30, 2005, with respect to 12 companies. This rescission, in part, is based on the timely withdrawal of the request for review by the respective interested party that requested the review. A complete list of the companies for which the administrative review is being rescinded is provided in the background section below.

The Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) invites applications to establish a Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) Cooperative Institute (CI). The creation of this CI is the cornerstone of NOAA's commitment to the Gulf of Mexico Alliance, and NOAA's response the U.S. Ocean Action Plan (Executive Office of the President, December, 2004). This institute will facilitate a long-term collaborative environment between NOAA and the recipients within which broad-based research, development, education and outreach capabilities focusing on the priorities in the northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) region can be developed and sustained. The CI will be regional in scope and should consist of a group of research institutions in the NGOM region (which is defined by the states of Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, and Texas). Most of the workforce is expected to be located in Stennis Space Center, MS.

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, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

NMFS is closing directed fishing for groundfish with non- pelagic trawl gear in the red king crab savings subarea (RKCSS) of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2006 red king crab prohibited species catch (PSC) limit that is specified for the RKCSS of the BSAI.

The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NMFS, (Assistant Administrator) has renewed the affirmative finding for the Government of Mexico under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). This affirmative finding will allow yellowfin tuna harvested in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean(ETP) in compliance with the International Dolphin Conservation Program (IDCP) by Mexican-flag purse seine vessels or purse seine vessels operating under Mexican jurisdiction to be imported into the United States. The affirmative finding was based on review of documentary evidence submitted by the Government of Mexico and obtained from the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) and the U.S. Department of State.

This Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) application is a continuation of a collaborative project involving the University of New Hampshire (UNH), Durham, New Hampshire (NH); the Lobster Conservancy, Friendship, Maine; the New England Aquarium, Boston, Massachusetts; and the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen's Association, Candia, NH. The EFP proposes to continue monitoring a total of 150 legal sized egg bearing female lobsters (berried lobsters) carrying early-stage eggs until the eggs mature and are released. Each berried lobster will be tagged and fitted with a small ambient temperature recording device (Tidbit temperature-loggers) and then the movement and egg-development stages of these tagged berried lobsters will be documented. When a tagged berried lobster is recaptured in commercial lobster gear, participating lobstermen will download thermal data from the attached Tidbit temperature-logger, and also preserve a maximum of 10 eggs from each tagged berried lobster to allow researchers to estimate the egg developmental stage and time to maturity. The tagged berried lobsters will then be released unharmed. The EFP would waive the prohibition on removal of eggs specified at 50 CFR 697.7(c)(1)(iv) for a maximum of 16 participating vessels and is limited to the 150 pre-tagged berried lobsters in this project. The Director, State, Federal and Constituent Programs Office, Northeast Region, NMFS (Office Director) has made a preliminary determination that the subject EFP application contains all the required information and warrants further consideration. The Office Director has also made a preliminary determination that the activities authorized under the EFPs would be consistent with the goals and objectives of Federal management of the American lobster resource. However, further review and consultation may be necessary before a final determination is made to issue EFPs. Therefore, NMFS announces that the Office Director proposes to issue EFPs that would allow a maximum of 16 Federally permitted commercial fishing vessels to participate in the continuation of a project designed to monitor the movement of berried lobsters in two inshore locations in the vicinity of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Friendship, Maine, and in two offshore locations along the northern edge of Georges Bank and in Corsair and Lydonia Canyons to the southeast of Georges Bank. This project would not involve the authorization of any additional trap gear, and all trap gear would conform to existing Federal lobster regulations. There would be no anticipated adverse effects on protected resources or habitat as a result of this research. Therefore, this document invites comments on the issuance of EFPs to allow a maximum of 16 commercial fishing vessels in possession of Federal lobster permits to remove a maximum of 10 eggs each time any one of the 150 tagged berried lobsters are captured during the course of normal fishing operations in the designated study areas.

The Department of Commerce (``Department'') received timely requests to conduct administrative reviews of the antidumping duty orders on certain frozen warmwater shrimp (``shrimp'') from Brazil, Ecuador, India and Thailand. The anniversary month of these orders is February. In accordance with the Department's regulations, we are initiating these administrative reviews.

Pursuant to the negotiated settlement between the United States and Mexican industries, the panel review of the above noted case is terminated as of April 3, 2006. No panel has been appointed to this panel review.

Pursuant to the negotiated settlement between the United States and Mexican industries, the panel review of the above noted case is terminated as of April 3, 2006. No panel has been appointed to this panel review.

Pursuant to the negotiated settlement between the United States and Mexican industries, the panel review of the above noted case is terminated as of April 3, 2006. No panel has been appointed to this panel review.

Pursuant to the negotiated settlement between the United States and Mexican industries, the panel review of the above noted case is terminated as of April 3, 2006. No panel has been appointed to this panel review.

Pursuant to the negotiated settlement between the United States and Mexican industries, the panel review of the above noted case is terminated as of April 3, 2006. A panel has been appointed to this panel review and has been dismissed in accordance with the settlement agreement, effective April 3, 2006.

Pursuant to the negotiated settlement between the United States and Mexican industries, the panel review of the above noted case is terminated as of April 3, 2006. A panel has been appointed to this panel review and has been dismissed in accordance with the Rules of Procedure for Article 1904 Binational Panel Review, effective April 3, 2006.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) publishes this notice to announce the availability of the Draft NOAA Coral Ecosystem Research Plan Part II: Regional Priorities for public comment. The Draft NOAA Coral Ecosystem Research Plan is being developed by the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program to set priorities and guide NOAA-supported coral ecosystem research for fiscal years 2006 to 2010, including research conducted through extramural partners, grants, and contracts. The Draft NOAA Coral Ecosystem Research Plan covers all coral reef ecosystems under the jurisdiction of the United States and the Pacific Freely Associated States; and is written for a broad audience, including resource managers, scientists, policy makers, and the public.

Following completion of a comprehensive Endangered Species Act (ESA) Status Review and Update for the North American green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris; hereafter, ``green sturgeon''), we, NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), published a Proposed Rule to list the Southern distinct population segment (DPS) of green sturgeon as threatened on April 6, 2005. After considering public comments on the Proposed Rule, we are issuing a Final Rule to list the Southern DPS as a threatened species. NMFS is currently considering issuance of protective regulations that may be necessary and advisable to provide for the conservation of the species. With this document we are also soliciting information that may be relevant to our analysis of protective regulations and to the designation of critical habitat for the Southern DPS of green sturgeon. Details of our analyses, their outcome, and a request for public comment on our proposals will be published in subsequent Federal Register notices.