Department of Commerce 2022 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS announces that the State of Maine is transferring a portion of its 2022 commercial bluefish quota to the State of Rhode Island. This quota adjustment is necessary to comply with the Atlantic Bluefish Fishery Management Plan quota transfer provisions. This announcement informs the public of the revised commercial bluefish quotas for Maine and Rhode Island.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) finds that revocation of the countervailing duty (CVD) order on stainless steel sheet and strip in coils (sheet and strip) from the Republic of Korea (Korea) would likely lead to the continuation or recurrence of a countervailable subsidy at the levels indicated in the ``Final Results of the Sunset Review'' section of this notice.

NMFS proposes 2023 and 2024 harvest specifications, apportionments, and Pacific halibut prohibited species catch limits for the groundfish fishery of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to establish harvest limits for groundfish during the 2023 and 2024 fishing years and to accomplish the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska. The 2023 harvest specifications supersede those previously set in the final 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications, and the 2024 harvest specifications will be superseded in early 2024 when the final 2024 and 2025 harvest specifications are published. The intended effect of this action is to conserve and manage the groundfish resources in the GOA in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific ocean perch in the Eastern Aleutian district (EAI) of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI) by vessels participating in the BSAI trawl limited access sector fishery. This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2022 total allowable catch (TAC) of Pacific ocean perch in the EAI allocated to vessels participating in the BSAI trawl limited access sector fishery.

NMFS announces a closure for the 2023 fishing season for the red snapper private angling component in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off Texas in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) through this temporary rule. The red snapper recreational private angling component in the Gulf EEZ off Texas will close on January 1, 2023, until 12:01 a.m., local time, on June 1, 2023. This closure is necessary to prevent the private angling component from exceeding the Texas regional management area annual catch limit (ACL) and to prevent overfishing of the Gulf red snapper resource.

Free Atlantic Shark Identification Workshops and Safe Handling, Release, and Identification Workshops will be held in January, February, and March of 2023. Certain fishermen and shark dealers are required to attend a workshop to meet regulatory requirements and to maintain valid permits. Specifically, the Atlantic Shark Identification Workshop is mandatory for all Federally permitted Atlantic shark dealers. The Safe Handling, Release, and Identification Workshop is mandatory for vessel owners and operators who use bottom longline, pelagic longline, or gillnet gear, and who have also been issued shark or swordfish limited access permits. Additional free workshops will be conducted in 2023 and will be announced in a future notice. In addition, NMFS has implemented online recertification workshops for persons who have already taken an in-person training.

As a result of the determinations by the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) that revocation of the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders on 1-Hydroxyethylidene-1,1-Diphosphonic Acid (HEDP) from the People's Republic of China (China) would likely lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping, countervailable subsidies, and material injury to an industry in the United States, Commerce is publishing a notice of continuation of the AD and CVD orders.

NMFS publishes standard prices and fee percentages for cost recovery for the Amendment 80 Program, the American Fisheries Act (AFA) Program, the Aleutian Islands Pollock (AIP) Program, and the Western Alaska Community Development Quota (CDQ) Program in the Bering Sea Aleutian Islands (BSAI) management area. The fee percentages for 2022 are 0.87 percent for the Amendment 80 Program, 0.32 percent for the AFA inshore cooperatives, 0 percent for the AIP program, and 0.85 percent for the CDQ Program. This notice is intended to provide the 2022 standard prices and fee percentages to calculate the required payment for cost recovery fees due by December 31, 2022.

We, NMFS, announce receipt of a permit application (26277) to enhance the propagation and survival of species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended, from the United States Corps of Engineers (USACE) and California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). The USACE and CDFW are requesting for the next 10 years, hatchery and monitoring activities associated with the Russian River Steelhead Program (RRSP). As part of this permit application, the USACE and CDFW have submitted an HGMP as an attachment to the application. This notice advises the public that the permit application and associated HGMP are available for review and comment, prior to a determination by NMFS on the issuance of the permit. This document serves to notify the public of the availability of the HGMP and associated draft EA that analyzes two alternatives for comment, prior to a decision by NMFS whether to approve the proposed hatchery program. The permit application, and attached HGMP, may be viewed online at: https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/preview/preview_open_for_comment.c fm.

As a result of these expedited sunset reviews, the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) finds that revocation of the antidumping duty (AD) orders on emulsion styrene-butadiene rubber (ESB rubber) from Brazil, the Republic of Korea (Korea), Mexico, and Poland would be likely to lead to the continuation or recurrence of dumping at the levels indicated in the ``Final Results of Sunset Review'' section of this notice.

This notice announces a public meeting of the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (Committee). The Committee provides advice to the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on spectrum management policy matters.

NMFS issues this notice to inform the public that there will be a decrease of the fee rate required to repay the reduction loan financing the non-pollock groundfish fishing capacity reduction program. Effective January 1, 2023, NMFS is decreasing the Loan A fee rate to $0.020 per pound to ensure timely repayment of the loan. The fee rate for Loan B will remain unchanged at $0.001 per pound. The decreased fee rate is due to the 15 percent increase in non-pollock groundfish Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for 2023 since the fee rate was raised in 2021.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold public meetings of the Council and its Executive Committee, including joint sessions with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's (ASMFC) Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board and the ASMFC Interstate Fishery Management Program Policy Board.

The SEDAR 74 assessment of Gulf of Mexico red snapper will consist of a Data workshop, a series of Assessment webinars, and a Review workshop. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service has prepared a final programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), to analyze the potential environmental impacts associated with NOS' recurring data collection projects to characterize submerged features (e.g., habitat, bathymetry, marine debris). The ``action area'' for these projects encompasses the United States (U.S.) territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (U.S. EEZ), U.S. rivers, States' offshore waters, and coastal and riparian lands. As part of the Proposed Action, NOS may use active acoustic equipment such as sub-bottom profilers, single beam and multibeam echo sounders, side-scan sonars, and Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers. The Final PEIS analyzes NOS data collection projects for a time period of five years. In preparing the Final PEIS, NOS has considered public comments received on the Draft PEIS, which was published in June 2021.