Department of Commerce 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS announces its intent to issue Exempted Fishing Permits (EFPs), Scientific Research Permits (SRPs), Display Permits, Letters of Acknowledgment (LOAs), and Chartering Permits for the collection of Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) in 2010. In general, EFPs and related permits would authorize collection of a limited number of tunas, swordfish, billfishes, and sharks from Federal waters in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico for the purposes of scientific data collection and public display. Chartering permits allow the collection of HMS on the high seas or in the Exclusive Economic Zone of other nations. Generally, these permits will be valid from the date of issuance through December 31, 2010, unless otherwise specified, subject to the terms and conditions of individual permits.

The Department of Commerce has completed an administrative review of the countervailing duty order on dynamic random access memory semiconductors from the Republic of Korea for the period January 1, 2007, through December 31, 2007. We find that Hynix Semiconductor, Inc. received countervailable subsidies during the period of review, which result in a de minimis subsidy rate.

The Department of Commerce is conducting a changed- circumstances review of the antidumping duty order on ball bearings and parts thereof from France pursuant to section 751(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended. We preliminarily determine that, after acquisition by NTN Corporation, SNR Roulements S.A. is the successor-in-interest to pre-acquisition SNR Roulements S.A. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.

The Department of Commerce (the Department) is aligning the final determination in the countervailing duty investigation of pre- stressed concrete steel wire strand (PC Strand) from the People's Republic of China (PRC) with the final determination in the companion antidumping duty investigation.

In response to a request from Norca Engineered Products LLC and NEP Tianjin Machinery Company (collectively ``NEP''), exporter of subject merchandise, on April 30, 2009, the Department of Commerce (the ``Department'') initiated an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on non-malleable cast iron pipe fittings from the People's Republic of China (``PRC''). See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews, 74 FR 25711 (May 29, 2009). The period of review (``POR'') is April 1, 2008, through March 31, 2009. For the reason discussed below, we are rescinding this administrative review.

Notice is hereby given that Harold Brundage, Environmental Research and Consulting, Inc, 126 Bancroft Road, Kennett Square, PA 19348, has applied in due form for a permit to take shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) for purposes of scientific research.

This action modifies the gear requirements for the U.S./ Canada Management Area to prohibit all limited access Northeast (NE) multispecies vessels fishing on a NE multispecies day-at-sea (DAS) with trawl gear in the Western U.S./Canada Area south of 41[deg]40' N. lat. from using trawl nets, except if using a properly configured haddock separator trawl or Ruhle trawl. This action is authorized by the regulations implementing Amendment 13 to the NE Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP), and is intended to avoid exceeding the total allowable catch (TAC) for Georges Bank (GB) yellowtail flounder while continuing to allow access to stocks of Eastern GB cod and Eastern GB haddock during the 2009 fishing year (FY). This action is being taken to optimize the harvest of transboundary stocks of GB yellowtail flounder, haddock, and cod under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene a meeting of its Ecosystem Scientific and Statistical Committee.

Notice is hereby given that NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center, 3333 North Torrey Pines Court, La Jolla, CA 92037-1023, has applied in due form for a permit to take green (Chelonia mydas), loggerhead (Caretta caretta), olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), and leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) sea turtles for scientific research.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) publishes its proposed Annual Determination (AD) for 2010, pursuant to its authority under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Through this proposed AD, NMFS would identify commercial fisheries operating in state and Federal waters in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Pacific Ocean that would be required to take observers upon NMFS' request. The purpose of observing identified fisheries is to learn more about sea turtle interactions in a given fishery, evaluate existing measures to reduce or prevent sea turtle takes, and to determine whether additional

NMFS is reallocating the projected unused amount of halibut prohibited species catch (PSC) from rockfish cooperatives in the Central Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Rockfish Pilot Program to vessels using trawl gear in the GOA. This action is necessary to provide the opportunity to vessels using trawl gear to harvest available GOA groundfish total allowable catch (TAC) under existing PSC limits.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific ocean perch by vessels participating in the Amendment 80 limited access fishery in the Eastern Aleutian District of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2009 Pacific ocean perch allocation specified for vessels participating in the Amendment 80 limited access fishery in the Eastern Aleutian District of the BSAI.

NOAA proposes to amend the regulations implementing the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS or sanctuary) to eliminate the exemption that allows discharges of biodegradable effluent incidental to vessel use and generated by marine sanitation devices, and to require marine sanitation devices be locked to prevent discharges. This action builds upon the Environmental Protection Agency's creation of a no discharge zone for the state waters of the FKNMS. This action will help protect the Florida Keys ecosystem from potentially harmful vessel sewage discharges and will eliminate at least one contributing factor to declining water quality within the FKNMS. Improved water quality is necessary for the maintenance and enhancement of the sanctuary's biological resources, as well as of the recreational opportunities they provide. A draft environmental assessment has been prepared for this proposed action pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act.

NMFS issues this final rule to implement Amendment 15B to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP), as prepared and submitted by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council). This final rule, for South Atlantic snapper-grouper, requires a private recreational vessel that fishes in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), if selected by NMFS, to maintain and submit fishing records; requires a vessel that fishes in the EEZ, if selected by NMFS, to carry an observer and install an electronic logbook (ELB) and/or video monitoring equipment provided by NMFS; prohibits the sale of snapper-grouper harvested or possessed in the EEZ under the bag limits and prohibits the sale of snapper-grouper harvested or possessed under the bag limits by vessels with a Federal charter vessel/headboat permit for South Atlantic snapper-grouper regardless of where the snapper-grouper were harvested; requires an owner and operator of a vessel for which a commercial or charter vessel/headboat permit has been issued and that has on board any hook- and-line gear to comply with sea turtle and smalltooth sawfish release protocols, possess on board specific gear to ensure proper release of such species, and comply with guidelines for proper care and release of such species that are incidentally caught; and expands the allowable transfer of a commercial vessel permit under the limited access program and extends the allowable period for renewal of such a permit. Amendment 15B also revises the stock status determination criteria for golden tilefish and specifies commercial/recreational allocations for snowy grouper and red porgy. In addition, NMFS removes language specifying commercial quotas for snowy grouper and red porgy that are no longer in effect and revises sea turtle bycatch mitigation requirements applicable to the Gulf reef fish fishery to add two devices that were inadvertently omitted from a prior rule. The intended effects of this final rule are to provide additional information for, and otherwise improve the effective management of, the South Atlantic snapper-grouper fishery; minimize the impacts on incidentally caught threatened and endangered sea turtles and smalltooth sawfish; and remove outdated language.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) publishes its final List of Fisheries (LOF) for 2010, as required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The final LOF for 2010 reflects new information on interactions between commercial fisheries and marine mammals. NMFS must categorize each commercial fishery on the LOF into one of three categories under the MMPA based upon the level of serious injury and mortality of marine mammals that occurs incidental to each fishery. The categorization of a fishery in the LOF determines whether participants in that fishery are subject to certain provisions of the MMPA, such as registration, observer coverage, and take reduction plan requirements.

The Bureau of the Census (Census Bureau) is conducting the 2009 Annual Surveys in the Manufacturing Area. The 2009 Annual Surveys consist of the Current Industrial Report surveys, the Annual Survey of Manufactures, the Business Research & Development (R&D) and Innovation Survey, and the Manufacturers' Unfilled Orders Survey. The annual data collected from these surveys are needed to aid the efficient performance of essential governmental functions and have significant application to the needs of the public and industry. The data derived from these surveys, most of which have been conducted for many years, are not publicly available from nongovernmental or other governmental sources.