Department of Commerce May 26, 2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS proposes to implement annual harvest specifications and management measures for the northern subpopulation of Pacific sardine (hereafter, Pacific sardine), for the fishing year from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022. The proposed action would prohibit most directed commercial fishing for Pacific sardine off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California. Pacific sardine harvest would be allowed only in the live bait fishery, minor directed fisheries, as incidental catch in other fisheries, or as authorized under exempted fishing permits. The incidental harvest of Pacific sardine would be limited to 20 percent by weight of all fish per trip when caught with other stocks managed under the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan, or up to 2 metric tons per trip when caught with non-Coastal Pelagic Species stocks. The proposed annual catch limit for the 2021-2022 Pacific sardine fishing year is 3,329 metric tons. This proposed rule is intended to conserve and manage the Pacific sardine stock off the U.S. West Coast.

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that certain pasta (pasta) from Italy was sold in the United States at less than normal value during the period of review (POR) July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2019. Additionally, Commerce determines that Pasta Berruto S.p.A. (Pasta Berruto) had no shipments during the POR.

NMFS issues regulations to remove limits on the maximum amount of halibut Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) that may be harvested by a vessel, commonly known as vessel use caps, in IFQ regulatory areas 4A (Eastern Aleutian Islands), 4B (Central and Western Aleutian Islands), 4C (Central Bering Sea), and 4D (Eastern Bering Sea) for the 2021 IFQ fishing year. This action is needed to provide additional flexibility to IFQ participants in 2021 to ensure allocations of halibut IFQ can be harvested by the limited number of vessels operating in these areas. This action is within the authority of the Secretary of Commerce to establish additional regulations governing the taking of halibut which are in addition to, and not in conflict with, those adopted by the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC). This action is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the IFQ Program, the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 (Halibut Act), and other applicable laws.

We are implementing 2021 specifications for the Mid-Atlantic blueline tilefish fishery, including the annual catch and total allowable landings limits. This action establishes allowable harvest levels and other management measures to prevent overfishing, consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan.

NMFS proposes new 2021-2022 butterfish specifications, while maintaining the current longfin squid, Illex squid, and Atlantic mackerel specifications for 2021-2023. This action also adjusts the dealer reporting requirement and adjusts the closure threshold for the Illex squid fishery to avoid overages. These proposed specifications are intended to promote the sustainable utilization and conservation of the mackerel, squid, and butterfish resources. Additionally, this action reaffirms previously approved Atlantic chub mackerel specifications for 2021-2022.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) proposes to amend the rules of practice to permit higher- capacity physical media to be submitted to the USPTO. Patent applications for certain inventions require significant data in American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) text format to be submitted to the USPTO in order to determine whether the invention described in the patent application is patentable. When submission of such data exceeds the USPTO's patent electronic filing system capacity, direct submission would not be possible for a large data submission in ASCII text format. To that end, the rules of practice are proposed to be amended to provide applicants with the ability to use physical media larger than compact discs (CDs) for submission of an electronic version of amino acid and nucleotide sequence information, information compiled in a large table, and information relating to a computer program listing. Additionally, changes regarding extraction of compressed data files, which had not been permitted in the past for certain submissions, would be permitted if compliant with the requirements of the proposed rules. Other rules relating to certain obsolete and non-secure methods of presenting data would be eliminated.