Department of Commerce May 23, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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 Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (Judges Panel) and the Board of Overseers of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (Board of Overseers) will meet together in open session on Thursday, June 13, 2013 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern time. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss and review information received from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and from the Chair of the Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

NMFS implements accountability measures (AMs) for the recreational sector of snowy grouper in the South Atlantic for the 2013 fishing year through this temporary rule. Average recreational landings from 2010-2012 exceeded the recreational annual catch limit (ACL) for snowy grouper. To account for this overage, this rule reduces the length of the 2013 recreational fishing season. Therefore, NMFS closes the recreational sector for snowy grouper on May 31, 2013. This closure is necessary to protect the snowy grouper resource.

In addition to a Council Member Visioning Workshop, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a joint meeting of the Ecosystem-Based Management Committee and Habitat & Environmental Protection Committee as well as meetings of the: Dolphin Wahoo Committee; Southeast Data, Assessment and Review Committee (partially CLOSED SESSION); Snapper Grouper Committee; King & Spanish Mackerel Committee; Advisory Panel Selection Committee (CLOSED SESSION); Scientific & Statistical Selection Committee (CLOSED SESSION); Law Enforcement Committee (CLOSED SESSION); Executive Finance Committee; Protected Resources Committee; Data Collection Committee; and a meeting of the Full Council. The Council will take action as necessary. The Council will also hold an informal public question and answer session regarding agenda items and a formal public comment session.

The New England Fishery Management Council's (Council) Groundfish Advisory Panel will meet to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

NMFS has received an application from the U.S. Navy (Navy) for an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to construction activities as part of a pier replacement project. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an IHA to the Navy to take, by Level B Harassment only, four species of marine mammals during the specified activity.

NMFS issues regulations under authority of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention Implementation Act (WCPFC Implementation Act) to implement limits on fishing effort by U.S. purse seine vessels in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and on the high seas, restrictions on the use of fish aggregating devices (FADs), and requirements for U.S. purse seine vessels to carry observers. This action is necessary for the United States to implement provisions of a conservation and management measure adopted by the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPFC) to satisfy the international obligations of the United States under the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (Convention), to which it is a Contracting Party.