Department of Commerce May 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Advisory Panel will hold a public meeting, jointly with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Advisory Panel.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) currently implements a pilot program for motion to amend (MTA) practice and procedures in trial proceedings under the America Invents Act (AIA) before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB or Board). The USPTO seeks public comments on whether the MTA Pilot Program's procedures should be made permanent, and if so, whether any modifications would be beneficial. Additionally, the USPTO previously issued rulemaking covering the allocation of the burdens of persuasion in MTA proceedings. The USPTO seeks public input on the practical effects of the rules on the parties and AIA proceedings, and whether modifications to the rules, or additional guidance on implementing the rules, would be beneficial. Lastly, the USPTO seeks input on whether the Board should have broader authority to raise sua sponte grounds in the MTA process.

NMFS implements an accountability measure (AM) for the red grouper recreational sector in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) for the 2023 fishing year through this temporary rule. NMFS has projected that the 2023 recreational annual catch target (ACT) for Gulf red grouper will have been reached by July 21, 2023. Therefore, NMFS closes the recreational sector for Gulf red grouper on July 21, 2023, and it will remain closed through the end of the fishing year on December 31, 2023. This closure is necessary to protect the Gulf red grouper resource.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that HiSteel Co., Ltd. (HiSteel) and the non-individually- examined companies for which a review was requested made sales of large diameter welded pipe (welded pipe) from the Republic of Korea (Korea) at prices below normal value (NV), while Hyundai Steel Company (Hyundai Steel) did not make sales of the subject merchandise at prices below NV during the period of review (POR), May 1, 2021, through April 30, 2022. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.

NMFS has received a request from Invenergy Wind Offshore, LLC (IWO) for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to marine site characterization surveys in waters off of New Jersey and New York in the New York Bight, specifically within the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Commercial Lease of Submerged Lands for Renewable Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lease Area OCS- A 0542 (Lease Area) and associated Export Cable Route (ECR) survey area (ECR Area). Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) to incidentally take marine mammals during the specified activities. NMFS is also requesting comments on a possible one-time, 1-year renewal that could be issued under certain circumstances and if all requirements are met, as described in Request for Public Comments at the end of this notice. NMFS will consider public comments prior to making any final decision on the issuance of the requested MMPA authorization and agency responses will be summarized in the final notice of our decision.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Groundfish Advisory Subpanel (GAP) will hold an online meeting, which is open to the public.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and its advisory committees will meet June 5, 2023 through June 11, 2023, in Sitka, AK.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) submitted Amendment 51 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper- Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP) for review, approval, and implementation by NMFS. If approved by the Secretary of Commerce, Amendment 51 to the FMP would revise the catch limits for snowy grouper and the associated sector harvest allocations. In addition, Amendment 51 would revise the commercial seasonal quotas, recreational fishing season, and recreational accountability measures (AMs). The purpose of Amendment 51 is to end overfishing of snowy grouper, rebuild the stock, and achieve optimum yield (OY) while minimizing, to the extent practicable, adverse social and economic effects.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold meetings of the following: Citizen Science Committee, Mackerel Cobia Committee, Dolphin Wahoo Committee, and Snapper Grouper Committee. The meeting week will also include a formal public comment session and a meeting of the Full Council.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of certain freight rail couplers and parts thereof (freight rail couplers) from the People's Republic of China (China) during the period of investigation January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2021.

NMFS announces the 2023 recreational fishing season for the Federal charter vessel/headboat (for-hire) component for red snapper in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) through this temporary rule. The red snapper recreational for-hire component in the Gulf EEZ opens on June 1, 2023, and will close at 12:01 a.m., local time, on August 25, 2023. This closure is necessary to prevent the Federal for-hire component from exceeding its quota and to prevent overfishing of the Gulf red snapper resource.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold public meetings of the Council.

In accordance with the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and based on the area's qualities and boundaries described in the community-based nomination on December 31, 2015 (https://nominate.noaa.gov/), NOAA is initiating a scoping process to consider designating a national marine sanctuary in the eastern Lake Erie adjacent to Pennsylvania. The nomination provides a description of the cultural and historical resources in the region, the potential benefits of a national marine sanctuary designation, recommendations for management of the sanctuary, and a proposed sanctuary boundary. As a first step in this scoping process, NOAA invites comments on the factors that will contribute to its determination of whether and how to designate the area as a national marine sanctuary. The results of this scoping process will inform NOAA's next steps in the designation process, which would include the preparation and release of draft designation documents, as well as the formulation of action alternatives for the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS). This scoping process will also inform the initiation of consultations with Indigenous Nations and Tribes, Federal, State, and local agencies, and other interested parties, as appropriate. In support of the scoping process, the nomination package and additional information regarding the qualities of the Lake Erie Quadrangle area can be found at https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/lake-erie.

The Regional Administrator, West Coast Region, NMFS, has made a preliminary determination that two Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) applications warrant further consideration. Both applications are from the California Wetfish Producers Association and request an exemption from the expected prohibition on primary directed fishing for Pacific sardine during the 2023-2024 fishing year to collect Pacific sardine as part of industry-based scientific research. NMFS requests public comment on the applications.