Department of Commerce June 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as amended, and implementing regulations, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued three one-year Letters of Authorization (LOAs) to take marine mammals by harassment incidental to the U.S. Navy's training activities within the Navy's Virginia Capes (VACAPES), Jacksonville (JAX), and Cherry Point (CHPT) Range Complexes to the Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, 1562 Mitscher Avenue, Suite 250, Norfolk, VA 23551-2487 and persons operating under his authority.

NMFS has received an application from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to conducting a marine geophysical survey in the central-western Bering Sea, August 2011. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS requests comments on its proposal to issue an IHA to USGS to incidentally harass, by Level B harassment only, 12 species of marine mammals during the specified activity.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Alaska plaice in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2011 Alaska plaice total allowable catch (TAC) specified for the BSAI.

The Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on circular welded carbon steel pipes and tubes from Taiwan for the period of review (POR) of May 1, 2009, to April 30, 2010. We preliminarily determine that sales of subject merchandise by Yieh Phui Enterprise Co., Ltd. (Yieh Phui) have been made below normal value (NV). If these preliminary results are adopted in our final results, we will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to assess antidumping duties on appropriate entries. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results. We will issue the final results no later than 120 days from the publication of this notice.

The SEDAR 26 assessments of the South Caribbean silk snapper, queen snapper, and redtail parrotfish will consist of a series of workshops and webinars. This notice is for a webinar associated with the Data and Assessment portions of the SEDAR process. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

NMFS established fishery management measures for the 2011 ocean salmon fisheries off Washington, Oregon, and California and the 2012 salmon seasons opening earlier than May 1, 2012. The final rule published on May 4, 2011, included an incorrect area description for minimum size requirements for the commercial salmon fishery. This action corrects the incorrect language.

This proposed rule would require specific gear configuration for pelagic longline fishing for vessels based in American Samoa, as well as other U.S. longline vessels longer than 40 ft (12.2 m), while fishing south of the Equator in the Pacific Ocean. The requirements include minimum float line and branch line lengths, number of hooks between floats, and distances between floats and adjacent hooks. The rule would also limit the number of swordfish taken. The proposed action is intended to ensure that longline hooks are set at depths of 100 meters (m) or deeper to reduce interactions between longline fishing and Pacific green sea turtles.

Notice is hereby given that Randall S. Wells, Ph.D. (Principal Investigator), Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, c/o Mote Marine Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL 34236, has been issued a permit to conduct research on bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).

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 Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, has made a preliminary determination that the subject exempted fishing permit (EFP) application submitted by Limuli Laboratories of Cape May Court House, NJ, contains all the required information and warrants further consideration. The proposed EFP would allow the harvest of up to 10,000 horseshoe crabs from the Carl N. Shuster Jr. Horseshoe Crab Reserve (Reserve) for biomedical purposes and require, as a condition of the EFP, the collection of data related to the status of horseshoe crabs within the reserve. The Acting Director has also made a preliminary determination that the activities authorized under the EFP would be consistent with the goals and objectives of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's (Commission) Horseshoe Crab Interstate Fisheries Management Plan (FMP). However, further review and consultation may be necessary before a final determination is made to issue the EFP. Therefore, NMFS announces that the Acting Director proposes to recommend that an EFP be issued that would allow up to two commercial fishing vessels to conduct fishing operations that are otherwise restricted by the regulations promulgated under the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act (Atlantic Coastal Act). The EFP would allow for an exemption from the Reserve. Regulations under the Atlantic Coastal Act require publication of this notification to provide interested parties the opportunity to comment on applications for proposed EFPs.

On January 31, 2011, the Department of Commerce (``Department'') published the Preliminary Results of the 2009-2010 administrative review of the antidumping duty order on non-malleable cast iron pipe fittings (``pipe fittings'') from the People's Republic of China (``PRC'').\1\ We gave interested parties an opportunity to comment on the Preliminary Results. We did not receive comments on the Preliminary Results. We find that the only participating mandatory respondent in this review, NEP (Tianjin) Machinery Company (``NEP Tianjin'') did not sell subject merchandise at less than normal value during the period of review (``POR''), April 1, 2009, through March 31, 2010. The final dumping margin for this administrative review is listed in the ``Final Results of Review'' section below.

The Department of Commerce is currently seeking nominations of individuals for consideration for appointment by the Secretary of Commerce to serve as members of one of the 60 District Export Councils (DECs) nationwide. DECs are closely affiliated with the U.S. Export Assistance Centers of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service (CS), and play a key role in the planning and coordination of export activities for their communities.

In response to requests from petitioners,\1\ the Department of Commerce (``the Department'') is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat products from India (``hot-rolled steel'') manufactured by Ispat Industries Limited (``Ispat''), JSW Steel Limited (``JSW''), and Tata Steel Limited (``Tata''). The period of review (``POR'') is December 1, 2009, through November 30, 2010. We preliminarily determine that Ispat, JSW, and Tata had no entries of subject merchandise during the POR.

We, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), propose revising the current critical habitat for the Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi) by extending the current designation in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) out to the 500-meter (m) depth contour and including Sand Island at Midway Islands; and by designating six new areas in the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI), pursuant to section 4 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Specific areas proposed for the MHI include terrestrial and marine habitat from 5 m inland from the shoreline extending seaward to the 500-m depth contour around: Kaula Island, Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Maui Nui (including Kahoolawe, Lanai, Maui, and Molokai), and Hawaii (except those areas that have been identified as not included in the designation). We propose to exclude the following areas from designation because the national security benefits of exclusion outweigh the benefits of inclusion, and exclusion will not result in extinction of the species: Kingfisher Underwater Training area in marine areas off the northeast coast of Niihau; Pacific Missile Range Facility Main Base at Barking Sands, Kauai; Pacific Missile Range Facility Offshore Areas in marine areas off the western coast of Kauai; the Naval Defensive Sea Area and Puuloa Underwater Training Range in marine areas outside Pearl Harbor, Oahu; and the Shallow Water Minefield Sonar Training Range off the western coast of Kahoolawe in the Maui Nui area. We solicit comments on all aspects of the proposal, including information on the economic, national security, and other relevant impacts. We will consider additional information received prior to making a final designation.