Department of Commerce February 19, 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council announces its intent to prepare, in cooperation with NMFS, an amendment to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan. An environmental impact statement may be necessary for the amendment to analyze the impacts of potential management measures in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act. The Council has initiated this amendment to review and consider modifications to both the permitting system for Illex squid and the fishery management plan goals and objectives. This notice announces a public process for determining the scope of issues to be addressed, and for identifying the significant issues related to this action. This notice alerts the interested public of the scoping process, the potential development of a draft environmental impact statement, and to provide for public participation in that process.

This notice sets forth the schedule and proposed agenda of a meeting of the Environmental Technologies Trade Advisory Committee (ETTAC).

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) published a document on February 11, 2019, announcing the agenda for upcoming meetings of the Council and its advisory committees. The announcement omitted an item from the agenda.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, we are announcing a meeting of the Bureau of Economic Analysis Advisory Committee. The meeting will address proposed improvements, extensions and research related to BEA's economic accounts. In addition, the meeting will include an update on recent statistical developments.

Notice is hereby given that NMFS has received 15 scientific research permit application requests relating to Pacific salmon and steelhead, rockfish, eulachon, and green sturgeon. The proposed research is intended to increase knowledge of species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and to help guide management and conservation efforts. The applications may be viewed online at: https:/ /apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/preview/preview_open_for_comment.cfm.

NMFS issued regulations to implement management measures described in Amendment 31 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Coastal Migratory Pelagics (CMP) of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) and Atlantic Region (Amendment 31), as prepared by the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf Council) and South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils (South Atlantic Council) (Councils). This final rule removes Atlantic migratory group cobia (Atlantic cobia) from Federal management under the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). At the same time, this final rule implements comparable regulations under the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act (Atlantic Coastal Act) to replace the existing Magnuson-Stevens Act based regulations in Atlantic Federal waters. The purpose of Amendment 31 is to facilitate improved coordination of Atlantic cobia in state and Federal waters, thereby more effectively constraining harvest and preventing overfishing and decreasing adverse socio-economic effects to fishermen.

On January 30, 2019, the United States Court of International Trade (the CIT) entered final judgment sustaining the Department of Commerce's (Commerce) second remand results pertaining to the fifteenth administrative review of the antidumping duty order on fresh garlic from the People's Republic of China (China) for Shenzhen Xinboda Industrial Co., Ltd. (Xinboda). Commerce is notifying the public that the final judgment in this case is not in harmony with the final results and partial rescission of the fifteenth antidumping duty administrative review, and that Commerce has amended the dumping margin found for Xinboda.

On December 27, 2018, NMFS published a proposed rule in the Federal Register to implement annual limits on commercial catch of Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis) in the eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO) for 2019 and 2020. Comments were due by January 16, 2019. However, due to a lapse in appropriations, the link to the public comment portal provided in the proposed rule was not active. Consequently, NMFS is reopening the public comment period for an additional 15 calendar days.