Department of Commerce 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold a public workshop for the purposes of addressing law enforcement issues in for- hire fisheries operations, particularly operator versus angler (client) responsibility for fisheries violations that occur on for-hire vessels and law enforcement options for addressing these and issues related to the sale of fish by private recreational anglers (particularly golden tilefish and tunas) focusing on the need for vessels selling fish to comply with U.S. Coast Guard requirements and/or Federal permits that allow for the sale of fish.

We are finalizing specifications for the 2019 commercial golden tilefish fishery, including the annual catch and total allowable landings limits. This action establishes allowable harvest levels and other management measures to prevent overfishing while allowing optimum yield, consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan.

NMFS proposes to implement management measures described in the Gulf For-hire Electronic Reporting Amendment, as prepared and submitted by the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) Fishery Management Council (Gulf Council) and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (South Atlantic Council). The Gulf For-hire Reporting Amendment includes amendments to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (Reef Fish FMP) and the Coastal Migratory Pelagic (CMP) Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Region (CMP FMP). If implemented, this proposed rule would revise reporting requirements for federally permitted charter vessels and headboats (for-hire vessels). This proposed rule would require an owner or operator of a for-hire vessel with a Federal charter vessel/headboat permit for Gulf Reef Fish or Gulf CMP to submit an electronic fishing report for each fishing trip before offloading fish from the vessel, using NMFS-approved hardware and software. The proposed rule would also require that a for- hire vessel owner or operator use NMFS-approved hardware and software with global positioning system (GPS) capabilities that, at a minimum, archive vessel position data during a trip. Lastly, prior to departing for any trip, this proposed rule would require the owner or operator of a federally permitted charter vessel or headboat to notify NMFS and declare whether they are departing on a for-hire trip, or on another trip type. The purpose of this proposed rule is to increase and improve fisheries information collected from federally permitted for-hire vessels in the Gulf. The information is expected to improve recreational fisheries management of the for-hire component in the Gulf.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Groundfish Advisory Panel 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.

Effective October 24, 2018, NMFS is closing the directed herring fishery in management Area 1B, based on a projection that a prescribed trigger for that area has been reached. Federally permitted vessels may not fish for, possess, transfer, receive, land, or sell more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of Atlantic herring per trip or calendar day in or from Area 1B through December 31, 2018. Federally permitted dealers may not purchase more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of herring from federally permitted vessels for the duration of this action. This action is necessary to comply with the regulations implementing the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan and is intended to prevent overharvest of herring in Area 1B.

The U.S. 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 the proposed information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

NMFS is implementing a commercial framework adjustment to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan that modifies the accountability measures required for overages not caused by directed landings (i.e., discards) in the summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass fisheries. This adjustment incorporates the status of the stocks into the accountability measures. This action is intended to provide additional flexibility in determining when accountability measures are appropriate, similar to the method already used in the recreational fisheries for these species.

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 Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that Ercros S.A. (Ercros) did not make sales of subject merchandise at less than fair value during the period of review (POR), June 1, 2016, through May 31, 2017.

NMFS announces that the State of Maine is transferring a portion of its 2018 commercial summer flounder quota to the State of Connecticut. This quota adjustment is necessary to comply with the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan quota transfer provisions. This announcement informs the public of the revised commercial quotas for Maine and Connecticut.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) publishes its proposed List of Fisheries (LOF) for 2019, as required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The LOF for 2019 reflects new information on interactions between commercial fisheries and marine mammals. NMFS must classify each commercial fishery on the LOF into one of three categories under the MMPA based upon the level of mortality and serious injury of marine mammals that occurs incidental to each fishery. The classification of a fishery on the LOF determines whether participants in that fishery are subject to certain provisions of the MMPA, such as registration, observer coverage, and take reduction plan (TRP) requirements.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) is aligning the final determination in the countervailing duty (CVD) investigation of glycine from the People's Republic of China (China) with the final determinations in the antidumping duty (AD) investigations of glycine from India, Japan, and Thailand (A-533-883, A-588-878, A-549-837).

The NAFTA Secretariat has received submissions filed on behalf of the United States Department of Commerce, Maquilacero S.A. de C.V., and Wheatland Tube requesting the termination of panel review in the matter of Certain Circular Welded Non-Alloy Steel Pipe From Mexico: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Final Determination of No Shipments; 2014-2015 (Circular Welded Steel Pipe AR) dispute. Given all the participants have consented to a Notice of Termination of Panel Review pursuant to Rule 71(2) of the NAFTA Rules of Procedure for Article 1904 Binational Panel Reviews (Rules), the NAFTA Circular Welded Steel Pipe AR dispute has been terminated. As a result, and in accordance with Rule 78(a), notice is hereby given that the panel review of the NAFTA Circular Welded Steel Pipe AR dispute has been completed effective October 11, 2018.

In this final rule, NMFS specifies a 2018 limit of 2,000 metric tons (t) of longline-caught bigeye tuna for each U.S. Pacific territory (American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)). NMFS will allow each territory to allocate up to 1,000 t each year to U.S. longline fishing vessels in a valid specified fishing agreement. As an accountability measure, NMFS will monitor, attribute, and restrict (if necessary), catches of longline- caught bigeye tuna, including catches made under a specified fishing agreement. These catch limits and accountability measures support the long-term sustainability of fishery resources of the U.S. Pacific Islands.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that Shanghai Wells Hanger Co., Ltd., Hong Kong Wells Ltd., and Hong Kong Wells Ltd. (USA) (collectively, Shanghai Wells) sold subject merchandise in the United States at prices below normal value during the period of review (POR), October 1, 2016, through September 30, 2017.

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is seeking public comments on the effects and costs that would result if BIS were to amend its regulations to reflect new export authorization requirements regarding electronic waste, including new recordkeeping requirements, reporting requirements, and data elements in the Automated Export System, maintained by the U.S. Census Bureau, to track electronic waste that is exported. Comments from all interested persons are welcome and will help BIS determine the feasibility and cost of implementing a mechanism for tracking and controlling electronic waste exports.

The SEDAR 63 assessment of the Gulf of Mexico stock of Menhaden will be reviewed by an independent Panel at the Review Workshop. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

The Secretary of Commerce, through the Office of Trade and Economic Analysis (``OTEA''), issued an amended Export Trade Certificate of Review to NFE on October 9, 2018. A previous amended Export Trade Certificate of Review was issued to NFE on October 24, 2016, and a notice of its issuance was published in the Federal Register on November 7, 2016.

In accordance with the regulations implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as amended, notification is hereby given that NMFS has issued an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to the Port of San Francisco to incidentally harass, by Level B harassment only, marine mammals during construction activities associated with the pile driving, pile removal, and drilling on the Mission Bay Ferry Landing (MBFL) and Water Taxi Landing (WTL) Project in San Francisco Bay, California.