Department of Commerce April 9, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On May 8, 2008, the United States Court of International Trade (CIT) sustained the results of redetermination made by the Department of Commerce (the Department) pursuant to the CIT's remand in Agro Dutch Industries Limited v. United States, Slip Op. 07-185 (CIT December 26, 2007) (Agro Dutch II). See Agro Dutch Industries Limited v. United States, Slip Op. 08-50 (CIT May 8, 2008) (Agro Dutch III). Subsequent to the CIT's judgment upholding Commerce's remand redetermination, in October 2008, the CIT exercised its equitable power to order reliquidation of some of Agro Dutch's entries. See Agro Dutch Industries Limited v. United States, Slip Op. 08-110 (CIT October 17, 2008) (Agro Dutch IV). The Government appealed the CIT's decision in Agro Dutch IV to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC), and on December 15, 2009, the CAFC affirmed the CIT's decision. See Agro Dutch Industries Limited v. United States, Slip Op. 2009-1127 (Fed.Cir. December 15, 2009) (Agro Dutch V). As there is now a final and conclusive court decision in this case, the Department is amending the final results of the 2000-2001 administrative review of certain preserved mushrooms from India.

NMFS (on behalf of the Secretary of Commerce) issues this final rule to facilitate conservation and management of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (AMLR). The regulations: further detail current U.S. requirements to only allow importation and/or re-exportation of frozen toothfish or toothfish product with verifiable documentation that the harvesting vessel participated in the Centralized-Vessel Monitoring System (C-VMS) regardless of where the fish was harvested; revise the NMFS catch-documentation requirements for re-exporting toothfish and add requirements for exporting U.S.-caught toothfish; require applicants for an AMLR harvesting permit for krill to apply to NMFS no later than June 1 preceding the harvesting season for krill; and rescind the existing regulatory framework for annual management measures. The intent of the rule is to further detail requirements for importing and re-exporting toothfish, to facilitate enforcement, to fulfill U.S. obligations in the Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), and to simplify the process for informing the public of annual conservation measures.

This final rule implements measures approved under Framework Adjustment 44 (FW 44) to the Northeast (NE) Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP), including specifications for the FMP for fishing years (FY) 2010-2012. FW 44 is implemented in this rule in conjunction with approved Amendment 16 measures, as well as with approved sector operations plans authorized under the FMP. Specifically, FW 44 modifies the Gulf of Maine (GOM) cod and pollock trip limits implemented in Amendment 16; provides the Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator) authority to implement inseason trip limits and/or differential day-at-sea (DAS) counting for any groundfish stock in order to prevent catch from exceeding the Annual Catch Limit (ACL); and specifies Overfishing Levels (OFLs), Acceptable Biological Catch levels (ABCs), and ACLs for all 20 groundfish stocks in the FMP for FY 2010 through 2012, as well as the Total Allowable Catches (TACs) for transboundary Georges Bank (GB) stocks. Pursuant to current Regional Administrator authority under the FMP, this action also allocates zero trips to the Closed Area II (CA II) Yellowtail Flounder Special Access Program (SAP); limits the Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock SAP to the use of Category A DAS for common pool vessels; delays the opening of the Eastern U.S./Canada Area for trawl vessels; and implements a GB yellowtail flounder trip limit of 2,500 lb (1,125 kg). Finally, this rule makes technical corrections to Amendment 16 regulations.