Department of Commerce May 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS closes the Angling category Gulf of Mexico area fishery for large medium and giant ("trophy" (i.e., measuring 73 inches (185 centimeters) curved fork length or greater)) Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT). This action applies to Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Angling and HMS Charter/Headboat permitted vessels when fishing recreationally.

We, NMFS, announce our 90-day finding on a petition to list the Delaware River population of Atlantic sturgeon as an endangered distinct population segment (DPS) of Atlantic sturgeon under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and to designate critical habitat for the DPS. We find that the petition does not present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned actions may be warranted. Therefore, we are denying this petition.

NMFS is prohibiting recreational fishing for Chinook salmon in the Cook Inlet exclusive economic zone (EEZ) Area. This action is necessary for the conservation of all Cook Inlet Chinook stocks due to the uncertainty of run strength and to protect stocks of concern.

The Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, has made a preliminary determination that an exempted fishing permit application contains all of the required information and warrants further consideration. The exempted fishing permit would allow federally permitted fishing vessels to fish outside fishery regulations in support of exempted fishing activities proposed by the Coonamessett Farm Foundation. Regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act require publication of this notification to provide interested parties the opportunity to comment on applications for proposed exempted fishing permits.

This action makes two corrections to the 2024 Area 2A Pacific halibut recreational management measures implemented on April 4, 2024. Specifically, NMFS is correcting the open fishing dates listed for the Washington South Coast subarea fishery and a reference to the subarea allocation amount for the Oregon Central Coast nearshore fishery. The date and allocation corrections are to address minor inadvertent transcriptional errors, non-substantive changes to the final rule, and this rule is needed to avoid confusion with the public, enforcement, and management agencies.

The Board of Overseers of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (Board of Overseers) will meet in open session on Thursday, June 13, 2024, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. The Board of Overseers, appointed by the Secretary of Commerce, reports the results of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (Award) activities to the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) each year, along with its recommendations for the improvement of the Award process. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss and review information received from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The agenda will include: Baldrige Program Update, Baldrige Foundation Update, Ethics Review, Alliance for Performance Excellence Update, Communities of Excellence Update, and New Business/Public Comment.

Following the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's (Commission) withdrawal of Lobster Conservation Management Area 2 and 3 ownership caps and Area 3 maximum trap cap reductions from its Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster (Lobster Plan), this action removes those requirements from Federal regulations and clarifies that all other measures included in the October 2, 2023, interim final rule (IFR) remain in effect. This action is intended to support the Commission's management of the lobster fishery and eliminate the potential for inconsistent State and Federal regulations that risk undermining management of the fishery and is necessary to ensure that fishery regulations for the lobster fishery in Federal waters remain compatible with the Lobster Plan and consistent with the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act (Atlantic Coastal Act).

Pursuant to the Promoting Research and Observations of Space Weather to Improve the Forecasting of Tomorrow (PROSWIFT) Act of and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), the Space Weather Interagency Working Group (interagency working group), requests nominations for membership on the SWAG.

NMFS corrects the final rule published on May 10, 2024, to implement Amendment 56 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (Amendment 56). The final rule excluded a reference to the recreational annual catch target in the recreational accountability measures for gag. This correction fixes that omission.

In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as amended, its implementing regulations, and NMFS' MMPA Regulations for Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Geophysical Surveys Related to Oil and Gas Activities in the Gulf of Mexico, notification is hereby given that a Letter of Authorization (LOA) has been issued to Echo Offshore LLC (Echo) for the take of marine mammals incidental to geophysical survey activity in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM).

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that certain paper shopping bags (paper bags) from Cambodia are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less-than-fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is April 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023.

NMFS seeks comments on this proposed rule issued under authority of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention Implementation Act (WCPFC Implementation Act). The proposed rule would implement a recent decision of the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPFC or Commission). This decision shortens the duration of fish aggregating device (FAD) closure periods for the U.S. purse seine fishery. This action is necessary to satisfy the obligations of the United States under the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Species in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (Convention), to which it is a formal signatory to the Convention (Contracting Party).

This notice sets forth the schedule and proposed topics of discussion for the upcoming public meeting of the Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness (Committee).

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a joint hybrid meeting of its Scallop Committee and Habitat Committee 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.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public hybrid meeting of Herring Committee 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.

The SEDAR 95 assessment of the Atlantic stock of cobia will consist of a series of data and assessment webinars. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment on the proposed extension of the Business Enterprise Research and Development Survey, prior to the submission of the information collection request (ICR) to OMB for approval.

NMFS has received a request from Orsted Wind Power North America, LLC (Orsted), for an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) that is identical to an IHA previously issued to Orsted authorizing the take of marine mammals, by Level B harassment only, incidental to marine site characterization surveys conducted off the coast of Delaware in 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 0482 and 0519 (Lease Areas), and the associated export cable route (ECR) area. The only changes from the previously issued IHAs involve the updated marine mammal population estimates, marine mammal density data, and take estimates, as well as the new effective dates for the IHA. Accordingly, pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to issue an IHA to incidentally take marine mammals during specified activities. NMFS is also requesting comments on a possible 1- year renewal IHA 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 IHA would be valid for one year from the effective date.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that critical circumstances exist regarding certain imports of aluminum extrusions from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam).