Department of Commerce 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The United States Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration is amending the Notice published at 78 FR 42505, July 16, 2013, regarding the U.S. Healthcare Education Mission to New Delhi, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad, India to revise the date of the application deadline from November 1, 2013 to the new deadline of November 22, 2013.

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 January 1, 2013 through June 30, 2013.

The Caribbean Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a scoping meeting to obtain input from fishers, the general public, and the local agencies representatives on the development of compatible regulations for three seasonally closed areas off Puerto Rico. The Council is considering modifying the seasonal closures of Abrir La Sierra, Bajo de Sico, and Tourmaline Bank. The goal of modifying the closures is to protect the red hind spawning aggregations and large individuals of snappers and groupers from directed fishing pressure to achieve a more natural sex ratio, age, and size structure, while minimizing adverse social and economic effects. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

This temporary rule increases the possession limits for Gulf of Maine cod, Cape Cod/Gulf of Maine yellowtail flounder, Gulf of Maine winter flounder, white hake, and pollock for Northeast multispecies common pool vessels for the remainder of the 2013 fishing year. This action is being taken because catch rates of these stocks are low. Increasing these possession limits is intended to provide additional fishing opportunities and help allow the common pool fishery to catch more of its quota for these stocks.

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.

We, NMFS, will hold a public hearing related to our Proposed Designation of Marine Critical Habitat for the Loggerhead Sea Turtle, Caretta caretta, under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA), we, NMFS, issue this final rule to remove the eastern distinct population segment (DPS) of Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. After receiving two petitions to delist this DPS, we completed a review of the status of the eastern DPS of Steller Sea Lion. Based on the information presented in the Status Review, the factors for delisting in section 4(a)(1) of the ESA, the recovery criteria in the 2008 Recovery Plan, the continuing efforts to protect the species, and information received during public comment and peer review, we have determined that this DPS has recovered and no longer meets the definition of an endangered or threatened species under the ESA: It is not in danger of extinction or likely to become so within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range. Thus, we find that the delisting of the DPS is warranted. This rule also makes technical changes that recodify existing regulatory provisions to remove special protections for the eastern DPS and clarify that existing regulatory protections for the western DPS of Steller sea lions continue to apply.

NMFS announces that the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 102 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI FMP) for review by the Secretary of Commerce. Amendment 102 would implement a Community Quota Entity (CQE) Program for sablefish in the Aleutian Islands regulatory area. The proposed CQE Program would be similar to the existing CQE Program in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). Amendment 102 is necessary to provide additional fishing opportunities in fishery dependent communities of the Aleutian Islands and sustain participation in the sablefish IFQ fisheries. This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the BSAI FMP, and other applicable laws.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a public hearing pertaining to Amendment 7 to the Dolphin Wahoo Fishery Management Plan (FMP).

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

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) Gulf of Alaska (GOA) and Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Groundfish Plan Teams will meet in Seattle, WA.

In 2005, the Governments of the United States and India established the U.S.-India CEO Forum. On February 10, 2012, we published in the Federal Register a ``Request for Applicants for the Appointment to the United States-India CEO Forum'' (FR Doc. 2012-3158), announcing membership opportunities for appointment as representatives to the U.S. Section of the Forum, and we appointed ten members to the U.S. Section of the Forum for a two-year term beginning on September 1, 2012. We are now soliciting additional applications for up to two openings from members of the private sector representing either the U.S. health care sector or the U.S. insurance industry sector. This notice supplements the notice of February 10, 2012, and announces membership opportunities for appointment as representatives to the U.S. Section of the Forum's private sector Committee to serve for the remainder of the current term which ends on August 31, 2014.

The Department of Commerce (``the Department'') has received information sufficient to warrant initiation of a changed circumstances review of the antidumping duty order on certain new pneumatic off-the- road tires (``OTR tires'') from the People's Republic of China (``PRC''). Specifically, based upon a request filed by Shandong Linglong Tyre Co., Ltd. (``Shandong Linglong''), an exporter to the United States of subject merchandise, the Department is initiating a changed circumstances review to determine whether Shandong Linglong is the successor-in-interest to Zhaoyuan Leo Rubber Co., Ltd. (``Leo Rubber''), a separate-rate respondent in the original investigation.

On April 9, 2013, the Department of Commerce (the Department) published in the Federal Register its preliminary results of administrative review of the countervailing duty (CVD) order on circular welded carbon steel pipes and tubes (steel pipes and tubes) from Turkey for the January 1, 2011, through December 31, 2011, period of review (POR).\1\ The Department preliminarily found that the following producers/exporters of subject merchandise covered by this review had de minimis net subsidy rates for the POR: (1) Borusan Group, Borusan Mannesmann Boru Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. (BMB), and Borusan Istikbal Ticaret T.A.S. (Istikbal) (collectively, Borusan); (2) Erbosan Erciyas Boru Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. (Erbosan AS) and Erbosan Erciyas Pipe Industry and Trade Co. Kayseri Free Zone Branch (Erbosan FZB), (collectively Erbosan), and (3) Tosyali dis Ticaret A.S. (Tosyali) and Toscelik Profil ve Sac Endustrisi A.S. (Toscelik Profil), (collectively, Toscelik). The Department has now completed the administrative review in accordance with section 751(a) of the Tariff of 1930, as amended (the Act). Based on our analysis of comments received, the net subsidy rates for Borusan and Erbosan, although revised, continue to be de minimis. The Department has also revised the net subsidy rate for Toscelik. Further discussion of our analysis of the comments received is provided in the accompanying Final Decision Memorandum.\2\ The final net subsidy rates for Borusan, Erbosan, and Toscelik are listed below in the ``Final Results of Review'' section.

This rule extends, pursuant to NMFS's emergency authority in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson- Stevens Act), the Georges Bank (GB) yellowtail flounder and white hake specifications for fishing year (FY) 2013 and the GOM cod sector carryover reduction that were published on May 3, 2013, which were implemented as emergency actions concurrently with the Framework Adjustment (FW) 50 final rule under the Northeast (NE) Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP). These measures were scheduled to expire on October 30, 2013. Specifically, this temporary rule maintains the current Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) and Annual Catch Limit (ACL) for GB yellowtail flounder and white hake, and the 1.85-percent allowable carryover of unused FY 2012 GOM cod Annual Catch Entitlement (ACE) for sectors for an additional 183 days, i.e., through the end of FY 2013 (May 1, 2013, through April 30, 2014). The need for the emergency measures is unchanged, which is to establish FY 2013 catch limits for GB yellowtail flounder and white hake based upon the best available scientific information, and to reduce available carryover of unused FY 2012 GOM cod ACE for sectors. The intended effect of the emergency measures is to prevent overfishing on GB yellowtail flounder and GOM cod, and to incorporate the best available science into the management of white hake.

NMFS has received an application from the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Study of Coastal Oceans (PISCO) at the University of California (UC) Santa Cruz for an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) to take marine mammals, by harassment, incidental to rocky intertidal monitoring surveys. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an IHA to PISCO to incidentally take, by Level B harassment only, marine mammals during the specified activity.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific ocean perch in the Central Aleutian district (CAI) of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI) by vessels participating in the BSAI trawl limited access fishery. This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2013 total allowable catch (TAC) of Pacific ocean perch in this area allocated to vessels participating in the BSAI trawl limited access fishery.