Department of Commerce June 13, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This rule revises Section 756.2 of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to authorize the Under Secretary for Industry and Security to designate any employee of the Department of Commerce to be the appeals coordinator for appeals of administrative actions taken under part 756 of the EAR. Such designation of employees from outside the Bureau of Industry and Security shall require the concurrence of the head of the operating unit in which that employee is employed. Prior to publication of this rule, only a ``BIS official'' might have been designated as appeals coordinator.

In preparation for the 2006 ICCAT meeting, the AdvisoryCommittee to the U.S. Section to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) will have a summer meeting. There will be an open session the morning of Monday June 26, 2006, beginning at 9 am. The remainder of the meeting will be closed to the public.

The John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program (Prescott Grant Program) provides funding to eligible marine mammal stranding network participants to fund the recovery or treatment (i.e., rescue and rehabilitation) of stranded marine mammals, data collection from living or dead stranded marine mammals for scientific research regarding marine mammal health, and facility operations directly related to the recovery or treatment of stranded marine mammals and collection of data from living or dead stranded marine mammals. The Prescott Grant Program is administered through the NMFS Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program (MMHSRP). As stranding services have become unavailable in the crucial geographic area of the main Hawaiian Islands, the Prescott Grant Program is making this special announcement to inform the public of the availability of funding up to $200,000 for marine mammal stranding response and rehabilitation activities in this area. The annual competitive cycle of the Prescott Grant Program will be announced separately.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), 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 the continuing information collection, 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 yellowfin sole by vessels using trawl gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the third seasonal allowance of the 2006 halibut bycatch allowance specified for the trawl yellowfin sole fishery category in the BSAI.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for species that comprise the shallow-water species fishery by vessels using trawl gear in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the second seasonal apportionment of the 2006 Pacific halibut bycatch allowance specified for the shallow-water species fishery in the GOA.