54384 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 183 / Friday, September 19, 2008 / Notices 

making available to the ITC all nonprivileged and non-proprietary 

information relating to this 

investigation. We will allow the ITC 

access to all privileged and business 

proprietary information in our files, 

provided the ITC confirms that it will 

not disclose such information, either 

publicly or under an administrative 

protective order, without the written 

consent of the Assistant Secretary for 

Import Administration. 

In accordance with section 705(b)(2) 

of the Act, if our final determination is 

affirmative, the ITC will make its final 

determination within 45 days after the 

Department makes its final 

determination. 

Disclosure and Public Comment 

In accordance with 19 CFR 

351.224(b), we will disclose to the 

parties the calculations for this 

preliminary determination within five 

days of its announcement. Case briefs 

for this investigation must be submitted 

no later than one week after the 

issuance of the last verification report. 

See 19 CFR 351.309(c) (for a further 

discussion of case briefs). Rebuttal briefs 

must be filed within five days after the 

deadline for submission of case briefs, 

pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(d)(1). A list 

of authorities relied upon, a table of 

contents, and an executive summary of 

issues should accompany any briefs 

submitted to the Department. Executive 

summaries should be limited to five 

pages total, including footnotes. 

Section 774 of the Act provides that 

the Department will hold a public 

hearing to afford interested parties an 

opportunity to comment on arguments 

raised in case or rebuttal briefs, 

provided that such a hearing is 

requested by an interested party. If a 

request for a hearing is made in this 

investigation, the hearing will 

tentatively be held two days after the 

deadline for submission of the rebuttal 

briefs, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(d), at 

the U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th 

Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., 

Washington, DC 20230. Parties should 

confirm by telephone the time, date, and 

place of the hearing 48 hours before the 

scheduled time. 

Interested parties who wish to request 

a hearing, or to participate if one is 

requested, must submit a written 

request to the Assistant Secretary for 

Import Administration, U.S. Department 

of Commerce, Room 1870, within 30 

days of the publication of this notice, 

pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c). Requests 

should contain: (1) The party’s name, 

address, and telephone; (2) the number 

of participants; and (3) a list of the 

issues to be discussed. Oral 

presentations will be limited to issues 

raised in the briefs. 

This determination is published 

pursuant to sections 703(f) and 777(i) of 

the Act. 

Dated: September 12, 2008. 

David M. Spooner, 

Assistant Secretary for Import 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. E8–21949 Filed 9–18–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–AV00 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 

Essential Fish Habitat 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of a draft 

integrated environmental impact 

statement and a fishery management 

plan amendment; request for written 

comments; notice of public hearings. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces the 

availability of an draft integrated 

environmental impact statement and 

fishery management plan amendment 

pursuant to the National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) that examines 

alternatives to revise existing Highly 

Migratory Species (HMS) Essential Fish 

Habitat (EFH); considers additional 

Habitat Areas of Particular Concern 

(HAPCs); and analyzes fishing and non– 

fishing impacts on EFH consistent with 

the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson–Stevens Act) and other 

relevant Federal laws. 

DATES: Public hearings for the draft 

integrated document will be held from 

September through December, 2008. See 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for hearing 

dates, times, and locations. Written 

comments on this action must be 

received no later than 5 p.m., local time, 

on November 18, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Public hearings will be held 

in Massachusetts, Delaware, Maryland, 

North Carolina, Florida, and Alabama. 

Written comments on this action must 

be sent to Chris Rilling, Highly 

Migratory Species Management Division 

by any of the following methods: 

• E-mail: HMSEFH@noaa.gov. 

• Mail: 1315 East–West Highway, 

Silver Spring, MD 20910. Please mark 

the outside of the envelope ‘‘Comments 

on EFH Amendment to HMS FMP.’’ 

• Fax: 301–713–1917. 

Copies of the draft Amendment 1 to 

the Consolidated Atlantic Highly 

Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP) are available 

from the HMS website under Breaking 

News at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/ 

hms/ or by contacting Chris Rilling (see 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Chris Rilling or Sari Kiraly by phone at 

(301) 713–2347 or by fax at (301) 713– 

1917. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Magnuson–Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 

et seq.) as amended by the Sustainable 

Fisheries Act (Public Law 104–297) 

requires the identification and 

description of EFH in FMPs and the 

consideration of actions to ensure the 

conservation and enhancement of such 

habitat. The EFH regulatory guidelines 

(50 CFR 600.815) state that NMFS 

should periodically review and revise 

EFH, as warranted, based on available 

information. 

EFH, including HAPCs, for HMS was 

identified and described in the 1999 

FMP for Atlantic Tunas, Swordfish, and 

Sharks, and in the 1999 Amendment 1 

to the Atlantic Billfish FMP. EFH for 

five shark species was updated in the 

2003 Amendment 1 to that FMP. Later, 

NMFS reviewed all new and existing 

EFH data in the 2006 Consolidated HMS 

FMP and determined that revisions to 

existing EFH for some Atlantic HMS 

may be warranted. The draft integrated 

environmental impact statement and 

amendment to the Consolidated HMS 

FMP (hereafter Draft Amendment 1) 

proposes alternatives to amend the 

existing EFH identifications and 

descriptions. 

Habitat Areas of Particular Concern 

(HAPCs) 

To further the conservation and 

enhancement of EFH, the EFH 

guidelines encourage FMPs to identify 

HAPCs. HAPCs are areas within EFH 

that should be identified based on one 

or more of the following considerations: 

1) the importance of the ecological 

function provided by the habitat; 2) the 

extent to which the habitat is sensitive 

to human–induced environmental 

degradation; 3) whether, and to what 

extent, development activities are, or 

will be stressing the habitat type; and 4) 

the rarity of the habitat type. HAPCs can 

be used to focus conservation efforts on 

specific habitat types or areas that are 

especially important ecologically or 

particularly vulnerable to degradation. 

HAPCs are not required to have any 

specific management measures and an 

HAPC designation does not 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 183 / Friday, September 19, 2008 / Notices 54385 

automatically result in closures or other 

fishing restrictions. Rather, the areas are 

intended to focus conservation efforts 

and bring heightened awareness to the 

importance of the habitat being 

considered as an HAPC. 

Draft Amendment 1 considers several 

alternatives for designating HAPCs for 

bluefin tuna (BFT) spawning areas in 

the Gulf of Mexico. A growing body of 

evidence collected in the Gulf of 

Mexico, including but not limited to, 

NMFS observer program data, NMFS 

larval surveys, and peer–reviewed 

publications that include information 

from pop–up archival tags (PATs) and 

pop–up satellite archival tags (PSATs) 

have highlighted the central Gulf of 

Mexico as an important BFT spawning 

area. Although no directed BFT fishing 

is permitted in the Gulf of Mexico, and 

there are no direct environmental effects 

of designating the Gulf or portions of the 

Gulf as a HAPC, the designation could 

help identify additional conservation 

efforts, for example, to minimize the 

impacts of oil and gas development 

projects on BFT spawning habitat. 

Fishing and Non–Fishing Activities 

In addition to considering revisions to 

existing EFH and designating new 

HAPCs, the EFH guidelines require that 

FMPs identify fishing and non–fishing 

activities that may adversely affect EFH. 

Each FMP must include an evaluation of 

the potential adverse impacts of fishing 

on EFH designated under the FMP, 

effects of each fishing activity regulated 

under the FMP, as well as the effects of 

other Federal FMPs and non–federally 

managed fishing activities (i.e., state 

fisheries) on EFH. The FMPs must 

describe each fishing activity and 

review and discuss all available relevant 

information such as the intensity, 

extent, and frequency of any adverse 

effects on EFH; the type of habitat 

within EFH that may be adversely 

affected; and the habitat functions that 

may be disturbed (50 CFR 

600.815(a)(2)). If adverse effects of 

fishing activities are identified, then the 

Magnuson–Stevens Act requires the 

effects of such fishing activities on EFH 

to be minimized to the extent 

practicable (Magnuson–Steven Act 

section 303(a)(7)). 

NMFS completed the original analysis 

of fishing and non–fishing impacts in 

the 1999 FMP for Atlantic Tunas, 

Swordfish, and Sharks, and presented 

all new information gathered during the 

five-year review, including a 

comprehensive review of all fishing 

gears and non–fishing activities that 

could potentially impact EFH, in the 

2006 Consolidated HMS FMP. In that 

FMP, NMFS preliminarily concluded 

that no HMS gear, other than bottom 

longline, was likely to have an effect on 

HMS or other managed species’ EFH 

since most HMS gears such as rod and 

reel, handline, and pelagic longline, are 

fished in the water column where they 

are unlikely to affect either the water 

column or benthic habitat that define 

EFH for managed species. Bottom 

longline gear is used predominantly in 

the Atlantic commercial shark fishery to 

target large and small coastal sharks. 

The Consolidated FMP also indicated 

that additional analyses would be 

initiated to determine the extent to 

which bottom longline gear might be 

impacting specific habitats such as coral 

reefs. which are generally considered 

the habitat type most likely to be 

adversely affected by bottom longline 

gear. 

This draft amendment includes: an 

assessment of whether HMS bottom 

longline gear is used in EFH; an analysis 

of the intensity, extent, and frequency of 

such impacts; and a determination as to 

whether those impacts are more than 

minimal and not temporary. The ‘‘more 

than minimal and not temporary’’ 

threshold was established by NMFS as 

the necessary threshold for taking 

additional action to minimize such 

impacts. Based on the analysis, NMFS 

has determined that bottom longline 

gear is not having more than a minimal 

and temporary effect on EFH and thus 

has not proposed any measures to 

restrict the use of bottom longline gear. 

The findings are based on observer 

program data which indicate that only 

a small fraction of bottom longline sets 

occur within coral reef habitat, as well 

as recent measures included in 

Amendment 2 to the Consolidated HMS 

FMP which are expected to greatly 

reduce fishing effort in the Atlantic 

shark fishery (73 FR 40658; July 15, 

2008). Nevertheless, NMFS will 

continue to work with the Regional 

Fishery Management Councils to 

identify areas where bottom longline 

gear used in the reef fish fishery or 

snapper grouper fishery may be having 

an adverse effect on habitat, and where 

the Councils may propose to prohibit 

bottom longline gear. In those cases, 

NMFS may consider complementary 

regulations to prohibit shark bottom 

longline gear as was done in the 

Caribbean (72 FR 5633, February 7, 

2007) and most recently in the South 

Atlantic Marine Protected Areas (73 FR 

40658, July 15, 2008). 

Public Hearings and Special 

Accommodations 

As listed in the table below, NMFS 

will hold six public hearings to receive 

comments from fishery participants and 

other members of the public regarding 

this draft amendment to the 

Consolidated HMS FMP. 

Date Time Hearing Location 

Sept 30, 

2008 

3:30–4:30 

p.m. 

Crowne 

Plaza Hotel, 

8777 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, 

MD 20910 

Oct 14, 2008 7:00–9:00 

p.m. 

Key Largo 

Grand Resort & Beach 

Club, 97000 

South Overseas Highway, Key 

Largo, FL 

33037 

Oct 15, 2008 7:00–9:00 

p.m. 

Ramada Inn, 

1701 S. Virginia Dare 

Trail, Kill 

Devil Hills, 

NC 27948 

Oct 28, 2008 7:00–9:00 

p.m. 

Renaissance 

Riverview 

Plaza Hotel, 

64 South 

Water St., 

Mobile, AL 

36602 

Nov 18, 2008 7:00–9:00 

p.m. 

Sheraton 

Ferncroft 

Resort, 50 

Ferncroft 

Rd., 

Danvers, MA 

01923 

Dec 3, 2008 7:00–9:00 

p.m. 

Hilton Wilmington Riverside, 301 

N. Water 

Street, Wilmington, NC 

28401 

These hearings will be physically 

accessible to people with disabilities. 

Requests for sign language 

interpretation or other auxiliary aids 

should be directed to Chris Rilling at 

(301) 713–2347 at least 7 days prior to 

the hearing date. 

NMFS has requested time to present 

this draft amendment to the five 

Atlantic Regional Fishery Management 

Councils and the Atlantic and Gulf 

States Marine Fisheries Commissions at 

their meetings during the public 

comment period. Please see the 

Councils’ and Commissions’ fall and 

winter meeting notices for dates, times, 

and locations. NMFS also anticipates 

holding a meeting of its HMS Advisory 

Panel (AP) from September 30 – Oct 2, 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
54386 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 183 / Friday, September 19, 2008 / Notices 

2008, in Silver Spring, Maryland, and 

will present the draft amendment to the 

HMS AP. 

Copies of Draft Amendment 1 to the 

Consolidated HMS FMP are available 

for review (see ADDRESSES). NMFS 

anticipates completing this integrated 

document and any related documents 

by the spring of 2009. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. 

Dated: September 10, 2008. 

James P. Burgess 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–21846 Filed 9–18–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XD16 

Marine Mammals; File No. 782–1702 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; issuance of permit 

amendment. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

NMFS National Marine Mammal 

Laboratory, 7600 Sand Point Way, NE, 

Seattle, WA 98115–0070 has been 

issued an amendment to scientific 

research Permit No. 782–1702. 

ADDRESSES: The amendment and related 

documents are available for review 

upon written request or by appointment 

in the following office(s): 

Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 

13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone 

(301)713–2289; fax (301)427–2521; 

Northwest Region, NMFS, 7600 Sand 

Point Way NE, BIN C15700, Bldg. 1, 

Seattle, WA 98115–0700; phone 

(206)526–6150; fax (206)526–6426; and 

Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West 

Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, 

CA 90802–4213; phone (562)980–4001; 

fax (562)980–4018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Tammy Adams or Kate Swails, 

(301)713–2289. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An 

amendment to Permit No. 782–1702–04 

has been granted under the authority of 

the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 

1972, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et 

seq.), and the regulations governing the 

taking and importing of marine 

mammals (50 CFR part 216). 

The amended permit extends the 

duration of the permit through 

September 30, 2009 to allow 

continuation of research on harbor seals 

(Phoca vitulina), California sea lions 

(Zalophus californianus), and northern 

elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) 

in California, Washington, and Oregon. 

This minor amendment also revokes 

authority to take Steller sea lions 

(Eumetopias jubatus). This is the fifth 

amendment of the subject permit, which 

was issued originally issued on 

September 16, 2003 (68 FR 58663). 

In compliance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), a final 

determination has been made that the 

activity proposed is categorically 

excluded from the requirement to 

prepare an environmental assessment or 

environmental impact statement. 

Dated: September 16, 2008. 

P. Michael Payne, 

Chief, Permits, Conservation and Education 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–21988 Filed 9–18–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XK36 

New England Fishery Management 

Council; Public Meeting; Cancellation 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of cancellation of a 

public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The New England Fishery 

Management Council has cancelled the 

public meeting of its Groundfish 

Committee that was scheduled for 

Monday, September 29, 2008 beginning 

at 9 a.m., in Peabody, MA. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul 

J. Howard, Executive Director, New 

England Fishery Management Council; 

telephone: (978) 465–0492. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The initial 

notice was published on September 11, 

2008, (73 FR 52831), and the meeting 

will be rescheduled at a later date and 

announced in the Federal Register. 

Dated: September 16, 2008. 

Tracey L. Thompson, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–21900 Filed 9–18–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

COMMITTEE FOR THE 

IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE 

AGREEMENTS 

Determination under the Textile and 

Apparel Commercial Availability 

Provision of the Dominican RepublicCentral America-United States Free 

Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR 

Agreement) 

September 15, 2008. 

AGENCY: The Committee for the 

Implementation of Textile Agreements 

ACTION: Determination to add a product 

in unrestricted quantities to Annex 3.25 

of the CAFTA-DR Agreement. 

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 19, 2008. 

SUMMARY: The Committee for the 

Implementation of Textile Agreements 

(CITA) has determined that certain 

three-yarn circular stretch knit fleece 

fabrics, as specified below, are not 

available in commercial quantities in a 

timely manner in the CAFTA-DR 

countries. The product will be added to 

the list in Annex 3.25 of the CAFTA-DR 

Agreement in unrestricted quantities. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Maria Dybczak, Office of Textiles and 

Apparel, U.S. Department of Commerce, 

(202) 482 3651. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ONLINE: http://web.ita.doc.gov/tacgi/ 

CaftaReqTrack.nsf.Reference number: 

82.2008.08.05.Fabric.ST&RforBadger 

Sportswear 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Authority: Section 203(o)(4) of the 

Dominican Republic-Central America-United 

States Free Trade Agreement Implementation 

Act (CAFTA-DR Act); the Statement of 

Administrative Action (SAA), accompanying 

the CAFTA-DR Act; Presidential 

Proclamations 7987 (February 28, 2006) and 

7996 (March 31, 2006). 

BACKGROUND: 

The CAFTA-DR Agreement provides a 

list in Annex 3.25 for fabrics, yarns, and 

fibers that the Parties to the CAFTA-DR 

Agreement have determined are not 

available in commercial quantities in a 

timely manner in the territory of any 

Party. The CAFTA-DR Agreement 

provides that this list may be modified 

pursuant to Article 3.25(4)-(5), when the 

President of the United States 

determines that a fabric, yarn, or fiber is 

not available in commercial quantities 

in a timely manner in the territory of 

any Party. See Annex 3.25, Note; see 

also section 203(o)(4)(C) of the CAFTADR Act. 

The CAFTA-DR Act requires the 

President to establish procedures 

governing the submission of a request 

and providing opportunity for interested 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES