Department of Commerce August 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On March 6, 2008, the Department of Commerce (the Department) published the preliminary results of the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain frozen warmwater shrimp (shrimp) from Thailand. This review covers 45 \1\ producers/exporters of the subject merchandise to the United States. The period of review (POR) is February 1, 2006, through January 31, 2007. We are rescinding the review with respect to three companies because these companies had no shipments of subject merchandise during the POR.

NMFS announces the approval of Amendment 72 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska. Amendment 72 amends the FMP to state that the Council will annually review information on the discard of shallow-water flatfish in Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries. After review of this annual information, the Council may recommend revisions to retention and utilization requirements if the discard rate for shallow-water flatfish falls above or below a specified threshold. This action is necessary to support the Council's initiatives to monitor and reduce bycatch in the Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries. The intended effect of this action is to conserve and manage the groundfish resource in the Gulf of Alaska in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

The Caribbean Fishery Management Council will hold scoping meetings to obtain input from fishers, the general public, and the local agencies representatives on the Regulatory Amendment to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Fishery of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands Concerning Bajo de Sico Seasonal Closure including a Regulatory Impact Review and an Environmental Assessment.

NMFS has received an application from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography (SIO) for an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take small numbers of marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to conducting a seismic survey within the Santa Barbara Channel, California. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS requests comments on its proposal to authorize SIO to take, by Level B harassment only, small numbers of marine mammals incidental to conducting a marine seismic survey in November, 2008.

This proposed rule would include three species of pelagic squid under Federal management, and establish permitting and reporting requirements for squid jig fishing vessels over 50 ft (15.4 m) in length. These vessels would also be required to carry Federal observers if requested by NMFS. This proposed rule is intended to improve monitoring and management of U.S. domestic pelagic squid fisheries in the western Pacific.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a joint meeting of its Executive and Finance Committees, a meeting of its Standard Operating, Policy and Procedure (SOPPs) Committee, Advisory Panel Selection Committee (Closed Session), Joint Ecosystem- based Management and Habitat Committees, Shrimp Committee, Spiny Lobster Committee, Snapper Grouper Committee, Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review (SEDAR) Committee, Allocation Committee, Limited Access Privilege (LAP) Program Committee, Dolphin Wahoo Committee, a joint meeting of its Golden Crab Advisory Panel and Deepwater Shrimp Advisory Panel, and a meeting of the full Council. The Council will also hold a public comment session regarding: Amendment 7 to the Shrimp Fishery Management Plan (FMP) addressing rock shrimp endorsements and economic reporting for the shrimp fishery; a Generic Import Amendment for the Spiny Lobster FMP addressing requirements for imported spiny lobster; Amendment 16 to the Snapper Grouper FMP addressing measures to end overfishing for gag grouper and vermilion snapper and interim allocations of these two species for commercial and recreational fisheries; and Interim Rule measures to address overfishing of red snapper and other snapper grouper complex species. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for additional details.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council's Crab Plan Team (CPT) will meet in Seattle, WA.

Based on affirmative final determinations by the Department of Commerce (the Department) and the International Trade Commission (the Commission), the Department is issuing antidumping duty orders on sodium nitrite from the Federal Republic of Germany (Germany) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). On August 20, 2008, the Commission notified the Department of its affirmative determination of material injury to a U.S. industry. See Sodium Nitrite from China and Germany (Investigation Nos. 701-TA-453 and 731-TA-1136-1137 (Final), USITC Publication 4029, August 2008).

Based on an affirmative final determination by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), the Department of Commerce (the Department) is issuing a countervailing duty order on sodium nitrite from the People's Republic of China (PRC). On August 20, 2008, the ITC notified the Department of its affirmative determination of material injury to a U.S. industry. See Sodium Nitrite from the People's Republic of China, USITC Pub. 4029, Inv. No. 701-TA-453 (Final) (August 2008).

NMFS withdraws a proposed rule for revisions to National Standard 1 (NS1) guidelines, which was published on June 22, 2005. Instead of going forward with a final rule directly resulting from the 2005 proposed rule, NMFS published a new proposed rule for the NS1 guidelines in the Federal Register on June 9, 2008, to address new provisions enacted in 2007 in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act (MSRA). Because of new requirements for annual catch limits (ACLs) and accountability measures (AMs), among other things, NMFS decided that it was better to proceed with a new proposed rule rather than try to revise a 3-year old action that preceded the MSRA. The new proposed rule provides guidance on ACLs and AMs and other requirements related to overfishing and rebuilding overfished stocks in the National Standard 1 (NS1) guidelines.

Pursuant to provisions under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. Appendix 2, the Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade announces the establishment of the Civil Nuclear Trade Advisory Committee (CINTAC) by the Secretary of Commerce. The CINTAC shall advise the Secretary regarding the development and administration of programs to expand United States exports of civil nuclear goods and services in accordance with applicable United States regulations, for use by the Department of Commerce in its role as member of the Civil Nuclear Trade Working Group (CINTWG) of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC). This notice also requests nominations for membership on the CINTAC.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) Aleutian Islands Ecosystem Team will meet in Seattle, WA.

The Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing (ACCRES) will meet October 7, 2008.

This announcement provides notice that the Secretary of Commerce has stayed, for a period of 60 days, closure of the decision record in an administrative appeal filed by Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency and its Board of Directors (TCA).

NMFS announces the Commerce Secretary's approval of Amendment 79 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (FMP). Amendment 79 amends the FMP and requires the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) to recommend an aggregate overfishing level and acceptable biological catch for the ``other species'' category in the Gulf of Alaska as part of the annual groundfish harvest specifications process. The ``other species'' category in the Gulf of Alaska consists of sharks, sculpins, squid, and octopus. Amendment 79 is necessary to allow the Council and NMFS to incorporate the best and most recent scientific and socioeconomic information for the specification of the ``other species'' total allowable catch, acceptable biological catch, and overfishing level. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the FMP, and other applicable laws.

NMFS is reallocating the projected unused amount of Pacific cod from catcher vessels greater than or equal to 60 feet ([gteqt] 18.3 meters (m)) length overall (LOA) using hook-and-line gear to the B season allocation for vessels using jig gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to allow the 2008 total allowable catch (TAC) of Pacific cod to be harvested.

Pursuant to the regulations governing the subsistence taking of northern fur seals, NMFS is publishing the annual fur seal subsistence harvests on St. George and St. Paul Islands (the Pribilof Islands) for 2005 to 2007, and the annual estimates for the fur seal subsistence needs for 2008 through 2010. NMFS estimates the annual subsistence needs are 1,645-2,000 seals on St. Paul and 300-500 seals on St. George.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) proposes to amend the Bottlenose Dolphin Take Reduction Plan's (BDTRP) implementing regulations by extending, for an additional three years, fishing restrictions expiring on May 26, 2009. This action will continue, without modification, current nighttime fishing restrictions of medium mesh gillnets operating in the North Carolina portion of the Winter- Mixed Management Unit during the winter. Members of the Bottlenose Dolphin Take Reduction Team (BDTRT) recommended these regulations be extended for an additional three years to ensure continued conservation of the Western North Atlantic coastal bottlenose dolphin stock, should a directed spiny dogfish fishery reemerge in North Carolina.

Notice is hereby given that NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Antarctic Marine Living Resources Program (Rennie Holt, Ph.D., Principal Investigator), 8604 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037 has been issued an amendment to Scientific Research Permit No. 774- 1847-02.