Department of Commerce April 29, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) publishes this final rule to implement editorial corrections to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). In particular, this rule corrects the country entry for Syria on the Commerce Country Chart to ensure that the license requirements are accurately represented. In addition, this rule corrects other errors in the Commerce Control List such as inaccurate references, spelling and technical errors, and removes superfluous wording to ensure accuracy in the EAR.

NMFS issues this final rule to implement a regulatory amendment to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP) prepared by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council). This final rule establishes a June through July seasonal closure of the recreational sector for greater amberjack in or from the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The intended effect of this final rule is to mitigate the social and economic impacts associated with implementing in-season closures. This rule also revises codified text to clarify the definition of a venting device used to deflate the abdominal cavity of a Gulf reef fish.

This rule would implement the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) recommendations 10-07 and 10-08, which prohibit the retention, transshipping, landing, storing, or selling of hammerhead sharks in the family Sphyrnidae (except for Sphyrna tiburo) and oceanic whitetip sharks (Carcharhinus longimanus) caught in association with ICCAT fisheries. This rule would affect the commercial HMS pelagic longline (PLL) fishery and recreational fisheries for tunas, swordfish, and billfish in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. This action implements ICCAT recommendations, consistent with the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA) and furthers domestic management objectives under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson- Stevens Act).

NMFS implements accountability measures (AMs) for commercial and recreational greater amberjack in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) for the 2011 fishing year through this temporary final rule, announces the closure date for the 2011 commercial sector for greater amberjack of the Gulf reef fish fishery, and provides an estimated season length for the 2011 recreational greater amberjack sector of the Gulf reef fish fishery. This rule reduces the 2011 commercial and recreational quotas for greater amberjack based on the 2010 quota overages. Additionally, NMFS has determined that the 2011 adjusted commercial quota for Gulf greater amberjack will have been reached by June 18, 2011. These actions are necessary to reduce overfishing of the Gulf greater amberjack resource.

NMFS proposes regulations under authority of the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) to implement Amendment 2 to the Fishery Management Plan for U.S. West Coast Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species (HMS FMP) which is currently under review by NMFS. The proposed rule would change the suite of management unit species, modify the process for revising numerical estimates of maximum sustainable yield and optimal yield, and specify status determination criteria so that overfishing and overfished determinations can be made for all management unit species. The proposed rule is necessary to ensure that the HMS FMP is consistent with the objectives of National Standard 1 in the MSA. National Standard 1 mandates that ``Conservation and management measures shall prevent overfishing while achieving, on a continuing basis, the optimum yield from each fishery for the U.S. fishing industry.''

In response to a request from petitioners \1\ to conduct an administrative review of Marsan Gida Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. (Marsan), the Department of Commerce (the Department) initiated an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain pasta (pasta) from Turkey. The period of review (POR) is July 1, 2009, through June 30, 2010. As discussed below, we preliminarily find that Marsan was not a producer of subject merchandise during the POR. In addition, because the producer of subject merchandise, Birlik Paz. San. ve Tic. A.S. (Birlik), had knowledge that the pasta it produced and sold to Marsan was destined for the United States, we preliminarily determine that Marsan had no reviewable entries during the POR.

As a result of the determinations by the Department of Commerce (the Department) and the International Trade Commission (ITC) that revocation of the antidumping duty orders on certain frozen warmwater shrimp (shrimp) from Brazil, India, the People's Republic of China (PRC), Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping and of material injury to an industry in the United States within a reasonably foreseeable time, the Department is publishing notice of the continuation of these antidumping duty orders.

The Department of Commerce (Department) seeks public comment on any subsidies, including stumpage subsidies, provided by certain countries exporting softwood lumber or softwood lumber products to the United States during the period July 1 through December 31, 2010.

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.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene Public Hearings on: Amendment 18 to the Fishery Management Plan for Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico; Joint Amendment 10 to the Spiny Lobster Fishery Management Plan for the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic; Generic Annual Catch Limits/ Accountability Measures Amendment for the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council's Red Drum, Reef Fish, Shrimp, Coral and Coral Reefs, and Stony Crab Fishery Management Plans.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and its advisory committees will hold public meetings, June 6-June 14, 2011 in Nome, AK.

NMFS proposes regulations to implement Framework Adjustment 22 (Framework 22) to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan (FMP), which was developed and adopted by the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) and submitted to NMFS for approval. The specifications proposed in Framework 22 are based on, and being proposed in conjunction with, the management measures proposed in Amendment 15 to the FMP (Amendment 15) that establish the process for setting annual catch limits (ACLs) and accountability measures (AMs) to bring the FMP into compliance with the requirements of the re- authorized Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The purpose of Framework 22 is to specify the following scallop management measures for the 2011 through 2012 fishing years (FYs): The overfishing limit (OFL), acceptable biological catches (ABC), ACLs, and annual catch targets (ACTs) for both the limited access (LA) and limited access general category (LAGC) fleets; open area days-at-sea (DAS) and Sea Scallop Access Area (access area) trip allocations; DAS adjustments if an access area yellowtail flounder (YTF) total allowable catch (TAC) is caught; LAGC-specific allocations, including access area trip allocations for vessels with individual fishing quotas (IFQs), the Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) TAC, and the incidental target TAC; management measures to minimize impacts of incidental take of sea turtles as required by the March 14, 2008, Atlantic Sea Scallop Biological Opinion (Biological Opinion); and the elimination of the default Georges Bank (GB) access area rotation schedule. Framework 22 also proposes, consistent with proposed measures in Amendment 15, precautionary default management measures for FY 2013 to be applied if a new biennial framework adjustment is not implemented by the start of FY 2013.