Department of Commerce June 19, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for species that comprise the deep-water species fishery for catcher vessels subject to sideboard limits established under the Central Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Rockfish Program in the GOA. This action is necessary because the 2007 Pacific halibut prohibited species catch (PSC) sideboard limit specified for the deep-water species fishery for catcher vessels subject to sideboard limits established under the Central GOA Rockfish Program in the GOA is insufficient to support directed fishing for the deep-water species fisheries.

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.

In this final rule, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to revise and clarify U.S. licensing requirements and licensing policy on exports and reexports of items to the People's Republic of China (PRC). BIS published a revised policy and related amendments in proposed form in the Federal Register with a request for comments. This final rule establishes a control, based on knowledge of a ``military end-use,'' on exports and reexports to the PRC of certain items on the Commerce Control List (CCL) that otherwise do not require a license to the PRC. It also includes a revision to the license application review policy for items destined for the PRC that are controlled on the CCL for reasons of national security, and revises the license review policy for items controlled for reasons of chemical and biological weapons proliferation, nuclear nonproliferation, and missile technology for export to the PRC, requiring that applications involving such items be reviewed in conjunction with the revised national security licensing policy. This rule also creates a new authorization for ``validated end-users'' to which specified items may be exported or reexported without a license. Validated end-users will be placed on a list in the EAR after review and approval by the United States Government. The process for such review is also set forth in this final rule. This rule also revises the circumstances in which End-User Statements, issued by the PRC Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), must be obtained, requiring them for transactions that both require a license to the PRC for any reason and (for most exports) exceed a total value of $50,000. This final rule also includes other minor corrections and conforming amendments.

The Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 supports effective management and sound science to preserve, sustain, and restore valuable coral reef ecosystems. The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP or Program) is a partnership among four NOAA Line Offices (i.e., the National Ocean Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, and the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research) working on coral reef issues. The program carries out, directly and in partnership with scientific, private, government and nongovernmental groups, a wide range of coral reef-related activities, including mapping and monitoring, management and capacity building, strategic research, and education and outreach. In order to evaluate and improve the success of its efforts to understand and conserve coral reefs, the CRCP is undertaking a comprehensive external review of the program. To this end, the CRCP is seeking external feedback, including public comment, on the program's approach to balancing competing priorities. An independent contractor will summarize all comments received in response to this request and will provide them to an expert review panel scheduled to convene in late September 2007.