Department of Commerce 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This proposed rule would update the Atlantic highly migratory species (HMS) regulations regarding the sea turtle safe handling and release requirements and equipment in the HMS pelagic and bottom longline fisheries. These proposed updates are based on two technical memoranda published by NMFS' Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) in order to replace some of the more technical terms with those that are more commonly used, add more detail to make the regulations more understandable, and add additional tools or options for fishermen to use to safely handle and release sea turtles. In addition, this proposed rule would simplify the regulations by removing redundancies, making minor changes in formatting, and revising wording to clarify responsibility of implementation.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in Statistical Area 610 in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2024 total allowable catch (TAC) of pollock for Statistical Area 610 in the GOA.

NMFS announces the receipt of two applications for exempted fishing permits (EFPs) from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). If granted, the EFPs would authorize limited recreational harvest of red snapper outside of any Federal recreational season in South Atlantic Federal waters and exempt that harvest from the red snapper recreational bag and possession limits, recreational annual catch limits (ACLs), and accountability measures (AMs). FWC's projects are intended to test alternative recreational management strategies that could be used by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) to reduce the numbers of discards of red snapper and other federally managed snapper-grouper species, create additional opportunities to participate in sustainable recreational harvest, and improve angler satisfaction.

NMFS announces the receipt of an application for an exempted fishing permit (EFP) from LGL Ecological Research Associates Inc. If granted, the EFP would allow the retention, up to 24 hours, and lethal harvest of a limited number of red drum, king mackerel, and Spanish mackerel harvested by approved participants in the Louisiana commercial menhaden purse seine fishery in Federal waters during the 2024 menhaden season. The project would seek to quantify bycatch and test post- release mortality of these species in the fishery to assess impacts the fishery may have on Federally-managed species in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf).

This final rule allocates Northeast multispecies annual catch entitlements to approved groundfish sectors and permit banks for fishing year 2024 based on 2024 annual catch limits set in Framework Adjustment 65 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan or default specifications. This action is intended to allow limited access permit holders to continue to operate sectors, as authorized under the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that countervailable subsidies were provided to producers and/or exporters of certain new pneumatic off-the-road tires (OTR tires) from India, during the period of review (POR) January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.

NMFS establishes the annual harvest guideline for the commercial lobster fishery in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) for calendar year 2024 at zero lobsters.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS; collectively, the "Services"), finalize revisions to portions of our regulations that implement section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. The revisions to the regulations clarify, interpret, and implement portions of the Act concerning the procedures and criteria used for listing, reclassifying, and delisting species on the Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants (Lists) and designating critical habitat.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) is holding three pre-workshop discussion meetings in preparation for the Climate Scenario Workshop.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a meeting of the Habitat and Ecosystem Advisory Panel on April 22- 24, 2024, and a joint meeting of the Shrimp and Deepwater Shrimp Advisory Panels on April 24-25, 2024.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that Samyoung Fitting Co., Ltd. (Samyoung), a producer/exporter subject to this administrative review, made sales of forged steel fittings at less than normal value. The period of review (POR) is December 1, 2021, through November 31, 2022.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that granular polytetrafluoroethylene resin (granular PTFE) from India was sold in the United States at less than normal value (NV) during the period of review (POR) September 2, 2021, through February 28, 2023. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results of review.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that certain producers and/or exporters made sales of certain corrosion inhibitors (corrosion inhibitors) at less than normal value during the period of review (POR) March 1, 2022, through February 28, 2023. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results of review.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) proposes to set or adjust patent fees as authorized by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA), as amended by the Study of Underrepresented Classes Chasing Engineering and Science Success Act of 2018 (SUCCESS Act). The proposed fee adjustments are needed to provide the USPTO with sufficient aggregate revenue to recover the aggregate costs of patent operations in future years (based on assumptions and estimates found in the agency's Fiscal Year 2025 Congressional Justification (FY 2025 Budget)), including implementing the USPTO 2022-2026 Strategic Plan (Strategic Plan).

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that Zhejiang Best Nail Industrial Co., Ltd. and its affiliated exporter Shaoxing Bohui Import & Export Co., Ltd. (Best Nail/Shaoxing Bohui) made no shipments of subject merchandise during the period of review (POR) July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023. In addition, we are rescinding the administrative review with respect to Shanghai Yueda Nail Co., Ltd. (Shanghai Yueda); Tianjin Hweschun Fasteners Manufacturing, Co., Ltd. (Tianjin Hweschun); Vina Hardwares Joint Stock Company (Vina Hardwares); YF Technology Corporation (Thailand) Ltd.; and YF Technology Corporation Limited because the requests for review for these companies were timely withdrawn. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.

This final rule approves changes to the Pacific Halibut Catch Sharing Plan for the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC)'s regulatory Area 2A off of Washington, Oregon, and California. In addition, this final rule implements management measures governing the 2024 recreational fisheries that are not implemented through the IPHC. These management measures include the recreational fishery seasons and subarea allocations for Area 2A. This rule also adds a new inseason management provision to transfer anticipated uncaught recreational fishery allocation between the Area 2A states. Additionally, the rule establishes a new management line at Point Arena, CA, creating two subareas with separate allocations off California. These actions are intended to conserve Pacific halibut and provide angler opportunity where available.

On February 5, 2024, NMFS received a request from the Municipality of Skagway (MOS) to modify an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) that was issued to MOS on August 29, 2023 to take small numbers of eight species of marine mammals, by Level A and Level B harassment, incidental to the Skagway Ore Terminal redevelopment project. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is requesting comments on its proposal to modify the IHA. This modification includes changes to the amount of authorized take by Level B harassment for Steller sea lions and the addition of take by Level A and Level B harassment for the northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus). There are no changes to the activity, mitigation and monitoring, NMFS' findings, the effective dates of the issued IHA, or any other aspect of the IHA. NMFS will consider public comments prior to making any final decision on the requested modification of the authorization and agency responses will be summarized in the final notice of our decision.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of frozen warmwater shrimp (shrimp) from Ecuador. The period of investigation (POI) is January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily finds that stainless steel sheet and strip in coils (SSSSC) from the Republic of Korea (Korea) were sold in the United States at less than normal value (NV) during the period of review (POR) is July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023. Additionally, Commerce is rescinding this administrative review, in part, with respect to certain companies that had no entries of subject merchandise during the POR. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.

The MAFMC will hold a public meeting of its Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish (MSB) Advisory Panel. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for agenda details.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a one-day meeting of its Reef Fish Advisory Panel (AP).

The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 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 preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration ("NTIA") publishes this Notice that it will follow the First Responder Network Authority's ("FirstNet Authority") National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA") procedures on an interim basis with modifications to account for NTIA's internal organization and establish 30 new categorical exclusions ("CEs") in compliance with NEPA, Council on Environmental Quality ("CEQ") regulations, and other related authorities.