Department of Commerce 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) Steller Sea Lion Mitigation Committee (SSLMC) will meet in Juneau, AK.

We, NMFS, announce a 90-day finding on two petitions received to list the northeastern Pacific Ocean population of great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) as a threatened or endangered distinct population segment (DPS) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and to designate critical habitat concurrently with the listing. We find that the petitions and information in our files present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted. We will conduct a status review of the species to determine if the petitioned action is warranted. To ensure that the status review is comprehensive, we are soliciting scientific and commercial information pertaining to this species from any interested party.

On August 20, 2012, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued an Export Trade Certificate of Review to SunWest Foods, Inc (``SunWest).'' This notice summarizes the conduct for which certification has been granted.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council), its Visioning and Strategic Planning Working Group, and Spiny Dogfish Committee will hold public meetings.

On March 23, 2012, the Department of Commerce (``Department'') published in the Federal Register the Preliminary Results of the second administrative review of the antidumping duty order on sodium hexametaphosphate (``sodium hex'') from the People's Republic of China (``PRC'') for the period of review (``POR'') March 1, 2010, through February 28, 2011.\1\ Based upon our analysis of the comments, we made changes to the margin calculation for the final results.

We have received an application from PRBO Conservation Science (PRBO), for an Incidental Harassment Authorization to take marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to conducting proposed seabird and pinniped research activities on Southeast Farallon Island, A[ntilde]o Nuevo Island, and Point Reyes National Seashore in central California. PRBO is requesting an Authorization per the Marine Mammal Protection Act. We are requesting comments on our proposal to issue an Incidental Harassment Authorization to PRBO to incidentally harass, by Level B harassment only, four species of marine mammals during the specified activity from November 2012, through November 2013.

NMFS adjusts the differential days-at-sea (DAS) rate for common pool vessels for fishing year (FY) 2012 due to overages of FY 2011 catch levels. This measure will help prevent FY 2012 catch levels from being exceeded. NMFS also announces the final amount of unused FY 2011 annual catch entitlement (ACE) carryover available to each sector in FY 2012.

NMFS issues regulations that modify equipment and operational requirements for freezer longliners (catcher/processors) named on License Limitation Program (LLP) licenses endorsed to catch and process Pacific cod at sea with hook-and-line gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI). These regulations require vessel owners to select between two monitoring options: carry two observers so that all catch can be sampled, or carry one observer and use a motion-compensated scale to weigh Pacific cod before it is processed. The selected monitoring option is required to be used when the vessel is operating in either the BSAI or Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries when directed fishing for Pacific cod is open in the BSAI, or while the vessel is fishing for groundfish under the Western Alaska Community Development Quota (CDQ) Program. A vessel owner who notifies NMFS that the vessel will not be used to conduct directed fishing for Pacific cod in the BSAI or to conduct groundfish CDQ fishing at any time during a particular year will not be required to select one of the monitoring options and will continue to follow observer coverage and catch reporting requirements that apply to catcher/processors not subject to this action. These regulatory amendments address the need for enhanced catch accounting, monitoring, and enforcement created by the formation of a voluntary cooperative by the BSAI longline catcher/ processor subsector in 2010, and are necessary to improve the precision of the accounting for allocated quota species. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area, the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and other applicable laws.

The Department of Commerce (``the Department'') has received requests to conduct administrative reviews of various antidumping and countervailing duty orders and findings with August anniversary dates. In accordance with the Department's regulations, we are initiating those administrative reviews. The Department also received a request to revoke one antidumping duty order in part.

The Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB) will meet Wednesday, October 10, 2012, from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Thursday, October 11, 2012, from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Eastern Time, and Friday, October 12, 2012, from 8 a.m. until 12 p.m. Eastern Time. All sessions will be open to the public.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a joint meeting of its Deepwater Shrimp Advisory Panel (AP) and Coral Advisory Panel in Cape Canaveral, FL.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Joint Advisory Panel and Plan Development Team, in October 2012, to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Recommendations from this group will be brought to the full Council for formal consideration and action, if appropriate.

The SAFMC will hold a meeting of its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) to review and discuss the following items: Fishery Management Plan (FMP) amendments under development; stock assessment benchmarks and updates; and planning for 2013 stock assessments. The meeting will be held in North Charleston, SC.

This rule provides notice of the approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and resulting effectiveness of the collection-of-information requirements published by NMFS on July 2, 1996. OMB approved the collection-of-information requirements in April 2001, and extended that approval in September 2001, November 2004, April 2008, and July 2011.

Notice is hereby given that NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC; Responsible Party: Bonnie Ponwith), 75 Virginia Beach Dr., Miami, FL 33149, has applied in due form for a permit to take loggerhead (Caretta caretta), green (Chelonia mydas), Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), and olive ridley (L. olivacea) sea turtles for purposes of scientific research.

NMFS announces approval of a marine conservation plan for American Samoa.

On August 28, 2012, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued an Export Trade Certificate of Review to Colombia Rice Export Quota, Inc. (``COL-RICE''). This notice summarizes the conduct for which certification has been granted.

The Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an administrative review of the countervailing duty (CVD) order on corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products (CORE) from the Republic of Korea (Korea) for the period of review (POR) January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2010. For information on the net subsidy for Dongbu Steel Co., Ltd. (Dongbu), Hyundai HYSCO Ltd. (HYSCO), and Pohang Iron & Steel Co. Ltd. (POSCO), for the companies reviewed, see the ``Preliminary Results of Review'' section of this notice. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.\1\

NMFS proposes regulations to implement Framework Adjustment 5 to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan (MSB FMP), which was developed and adopted by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and submitted to NMFS for approval. This action proposes broadening the scope of individuals and entities approved to complete vessel fish hold capacity certifications for vessels issued Tier 1 and 2 limited access Atlantic mackerel permits.

On July 2, 2012, the Department of Commerce (the Department) initiated sunset reviews of the antidumping duty and countervailing duty orders on honey from Argentina.\1\ Because no domestic interested party responded to the sunset review notice of initiation by the applicable deadline, the Department is revoking the antidumping duty and countervailing duty orders on honey from Argentina.

The Department hereby solicits applications from persons (including firms, corporations, or other legal entities) who weave worsted wool fabrics in the United States for an allocation of the 2013 tariff rate quotas on certain worsted wool fabric. Interested persons must submit an application on the form provided to the address listed below by October 22, 2012. The Department will cause to be published in the Federal Register its determination to allocate the 2013 tariff rate quotas and will notify applicants of their respective allocation as soon as possible after that date. Promptly thereafter, the Department will issue licenses to eligible applicants.

The Census Bureau announces a prize competition under Section 105 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2011, Public Law 111-358 (2011) to create a statistical model to predict the census mail return rate of small area geographic units based on their demographic characteristics. The SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice provides more detailed information about the competition.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene a meeting of the Standing, Special Shrimp and Special Reef Fish Scientific and Statistical Committees (SSC), including a joint session of the Standing SSC and Socioeconomic SSC, and a joint session of the Gulf Council's Standing and Special Reef Fish SSC with the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council's SSC; and a separate meeting of the Socioeconomic Scientific and Statistical Committee.