Marine Mammal Commission – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Marine Mammal Commission (Commission) will hold a series of public meetings pursuant to the Government in the Sunshine Act and the Federal Advisory Committee Act in various locations in Alaska from February 3-February 11, 2016. This notice announces the date, time, and location of the public meetings.

This final rule amends the regulation that provides for the issuance of licenses to import certain dairy articles under tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) as set forth in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States. The three most significant changes to the rule are to suspend for an additional seven years the historical license reduction provision which was set to expire with the beginning of quota year 2016; to modify procedures for collecting licensing fees in order to better align the fee collection to the costs of administering the program; and to exclusively use electronic communications in the application, reporting and payment processes. The expected outcome from these changes is to allow license holders to adjust to changing market conditions impacting the dairy sector; increase the Department's ability to more closely align cost recovery with the actual costs of administering the program; and allow the Department to reduce lag times, minimize paper files, and increase the efficiency of the program operations.

The Marine Mammal Commission was created under Title II of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended. The Commission is assisted in its duties by the Committee of Scientific Advisors on Marine Mammals. The Committee consists of nine members, appointed by the Chairman of the Commission. As a general rule, Committee Members are appointed for three-year terms, which may be extended as necessary, but vacancies do not occur on a regular basis. To assist the Commission in identifying qualified candidates for appointment to the Committee if and when vacancies occur, the Commission is soliciting nominations from the public.

The Marine Mammal Commission adopts these guidelines to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information disseminated by the agency in accordance with the directive issued by the Office of Management and Budget (67 FR 8452-8460), pursuant to section 515 of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2001.

This notice sets out the establishment of the Marine Mammal Commission's (MMC) policy on classified information, as directed by Information Security Oversight Office regulations.

The U.S. Marine Mammal Commission is seeking proposals for research and related activities that will further the conservation and management goals of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Proposals should be tailored to address either of two focused research topics: (1) Conservation of Critically Endangered Marine Mammal Species or Populations and (2) Indirect Effects of Fisheries on Marine Mammals.

The Marine Mammal Commission (Commission) will hold the sixth meeting of its Advisory Committee on Acoustic Impacts on Marine Mammals (Committee) 20 to 22 September, 2005 in Bethesda, Maryland.