64750 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 211 / Friday, October 31, 2014 / Notices 

the Department subsequently 

determines, based on information 

collected, that a new shipper review for 

any applicant is not warranted, the 

Department may rescind the review or 

apply facts available pursuant to section 

776 of the Act, as appropriate. 

We will instruct CBP to allow, at the 

option of the importer, the posting, until 

the completion of the review, of a bond 

or security in lieu of a cash deposit for 

each entry of the subject merchandise 

from each new shipper applicant in 

accordance with section 751(a)(2)(B)(iii) 

of the Act and 19 CFR 351.214(e). 

Because each new shipper applicant 

certified that it produced and exported 

subject merchandise, the sale of which 

is the basis for the request for a new 

shipper review, we will apply the 

bonding privilege to each new shipper 

applicant only for subject merchandise 

which was produced and exported by 

each new shipper applicant. 

To assist in its analysis of the bona 

fides of each new shipper applicant’s 

sales, upon initiation of this new 

shipper review, the Department will 

require each new shipper applicant to 

submit on an ongoing basis complete 

transaction information concerning any 

sales of subject merchandise to the 

United States that were made 

subsequent to the POR. 

Interested parties requiring access to 

proprietary information in the new 

shipper review should submit 

applications for disclosure under 

administrative protective order in 

accordance with 19 CFR 351.305 and 

351.306. 

This initiation and notice are 

published in accordance with section 

751(a)(2)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 

351.214 and 351.221(c)(1)(i). 

Dated: October 24, 2014. 

Christian Marsh, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping 

and Countervailing Duty Operations. 

[FR Doc. 2014–25958 Filed 10–30–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XD457 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 

Atlantic Shark Management Measures; 

2015 Research Fishery 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of intent; request for 

applications. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces its request 

for applications for the 2015 shark 

research fishery from commercial shark 

fishermen with directed or incidental 

shark limited access permits. The shark 

research fishery allows for the collection 

of fishery-dependent and biological data 

for future stock assessments to meet the 

shark research objectives of the Agency. 

The only commercial vessels authorized 

to land sandbar sharks are those 

participating in the shark research 

fishery. Shark research fishery 

permittees may also land other large 

coastal sharks (LCS), small coastal 

sharks (SCS), and pelagic sharks. 

Commercial shark fishermen who are 

interested in participating in the shark 

research fishery need to submit a 

completed Shark Research Fishery 

Permit Application in order to be 

considered. 

DATES: Shark Research Fishery 

Applications must be received no later 

than 5 p.m., local time, on December 1, 

2014. 

ADDRESSES: Please submit completed 

applications to the HMS Management 

Division at: 

• Mail: Attn: Guy ́ DuBeck, HMS 

Management Division (F/SF1), NMFS, 

1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, 

MD 20910. 

• Fax: (301) 713–1917. 

For copies of the Shark Research 

Fishery Permit Application, please write 

to the HMS Management Division at the 

address listed above, call (301) 427– 

8503 (phone), or fax a request to (301) 

713–1917. Copies of the Shark Research 

Fishery Application are also available at 

the HMS Web site at http://

www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/index.htm. 

Additionally, please be advised that 

your application may be released under 

the Freedom of Information Act. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Karyl Brewster-Geisz or Guy ́ DuBeck, at 

(301) 427–8503 (phone) or (301) 713– 

1917 (fax). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Atlantic shark fisheries are managed 

under the authority of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens 

Act). The Consolidated HMS Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP) is 

implemented by regulations at 50 CFR 

part 635. 

The shark research fishery was 

established, in part, to maintain time 

series data for stock assessments and to 

meet NMFS’ research objectives. Since 

the shark research fishery was 

established in 2008, the research fishery 

has allowed for: The collection of 

fishery dependent data for current and 

future stock assessments; the operation 

of cooperative research to meet NMFS’ 

ongoing research objectives; the 

collection of updated life-history 

information used in the sandbar shark 

(and other species) stock assessment; 

the collection of data on habitat 

preferences that might help reduce 

fishery interactions through bycatch 

mitigation; and the evaluation of the 

utility of the mid-Atlantic closed area 

on the recovery of dusky sharks and 

collection of hook-timer and pop-up 

satellite archival tag (PSAT) information 

to determine at-vessel and post-release 

mortality of dusky sharks. 

The shark research fishery allows 

selected commercial fishermen the 

opportunity to earn revenue from selling 

additional sharks, including sandbar 

sharks. Only the commercial shark 

fishermen selected to participate in the 

shark research fishery are authorized to 

land sandbar sharks subject to the 

sandbar quota available each year. The 

base quota is 116.6 metric (mt) dressed 

weight (dw) per year, although this 

number may be reduced in the event of 

overharvests, if any. The selected shark 

research fishery permittees will also be 

allowed to land other LCS, SCS, and 

pelagic sharks per any restrictions 

established on their shark research 

fishery permit. Generally, the shark 

research fishery permits are valid only 

for the calendar year for which they are 

issued. 

The specific 2015 trip limits and 

number of trips per month will depend 

on the availability of funding, number of 

selected vessels, the availability of 

observers, the available quota, and the 

objectives of the research fishery and 

will be included in the permit terms at 

time of issuance. The number of 

participants in the research fishery 

change each year. In 2014, five 

fishermen were chosen to participate. 

From 2008 through 2014, there has been 

an average of seven participants each 

year with the range from five to eleven. 

The trip limits and the number of trips 

taken per month have changed each 

year the research fishery has been 

active. Participants may also be limited 

on the amount of gear they can deploy 

on a given set (e.g., number of hooks 

and sets, soak times, length of longline). 

In 2014, NMFS split the sandbar and 

LCS research fishery quotas equally 

among selected participants, with each 

vessel allocated 18.6 mt dw of sandbar 

shark research fishery quota and 8.0 mt 

dw of other LCS research fishery quota. 

NMFS also established a regional dusky 

bycatch limit where once three or more 

dusky sharks were caught dead in any 


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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 211 / Friday, October 31, 2014 / Notices 64751 

of five designated regions across the 

Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic through the 

entire year, any shark research fishery 

permit holder in that region was not 

able to soak their gear for longer than 3 

hours. If there were three or more 

additional dusky shark interactions 

(alive or dead) observed, shark research 

fishery permit holders were not able to 

make a trip in that region for the 

remainder of the year, unless otherwise 

permitted by NMFS. There were slightly 

different measures established for shark 

research fishery participants in the midAtlantic shark closed area in order to 

allow NMFS observers to place satellite 

archival tags on dusky sharks and 

collect other scientific information on 

dusky sharks while also minimizing any 

dusky shark mortality. 

Participants were also required to 

keep any dead sharks, unless they were 

a prohibited species, in which case they 

were required to release them. If the 

regional non-blacknose SCS, blacknose, 

and/or pelagic shark management group 

quotas were closed, then the shark 

research fishery permit holder fishing in 

the closed region had to discard all of 

the species from the closed management 

groups regardless of condition. Any 

sharks, except prohibited species or 

closed management groups (i.e., SCS or 

pelagic sharks), caught and brought to 

the vessel alive could have been 

released alive or landed. In addition, 

participants were restricted by the 

number of longline sets as well as the 

number of hooks they could deploy and 

have on board the vessel. The vessels 

participating in the shark research 

fishery fished an average of one trip per 

month. 

In order to participate in the shark 

research fishery, commercial shark 

fishermen need to submit a completed 

Shark Research Fishery Application by 

the deadline noted above (see DATES) 

showing that the vessel and owner(s) 

meet the specific criteria outlined 

below. 

Research Objectives 

Each year, the research objectives are 

developed by a shark board, which is 

comprised of representatives within 

NMFS, including representatives from 

the Southeast Fisheries Science Center 

(SEFSC) Panama City Laboratory, 

Northeast Fisheries Science Center 

Narragansett Laboratory, the Southeast 

Regional Office, Protected Resources 

Division, and the HMS Management 

Division. The research objectives for 

2015 are based on various documents, 

including the 2012 Biological Opinion 

for the Continued Authorization of the 

Atlantic Shark Fisheries and the Federal 

Authorization of a Smoothhound 

Fishery, 2010/2011 U.S. South Atlantic 

blacknose, U.S. Gulf of Mexico 

blacknose, sandbar, and dusky sharks 

stock assessment and the 2012 U.S. Gulf 

of Mexico blacktip shark stock 

assessment. The 2015 research 

objectives are: 

• Collect reproductive, length, sex, 

and age data from sandbar and other 

sharks throughout the calendar year for 

species-specific stock assessments; 

• Monitor the size distribution of 

sandbar sharks and other species 

captured in the fishery; 

• Continue on-going tagging shark 

programs for identification of migration 

corridors and stock structure using dart 

and/or spaghetti tags; 

• Maintain time-series of abundance 

from previously derived indices for the 

shark bottom longline observer program; 

• Sample fin sets (e.g. dorsal, 

pectoral) from prioritized species to 

further develop fin identification 

guides; 

• Acquire fin-clip samples of all 

shark and other species for genetic 

analysis; 

• Attach satellite archival tags to 

endangered smalltooth sawfish to 

provide information on critical habitat 

and preferred depth, consistent with the 

requirements listed in the take permit 

issued under Section 10 of the 

Endangered Species Act to the SEFSC 

observer program; 

• Attach satellite archival tags to 

prohibited dusky and other sharks, as 

needed, to provide information on daily 

and seasonal movement patterns, and 

preferred depth; 

• Evaluate hooking mortality and 

post-release survivorship of dusky, 

hammerhead, blacktip, and other sharks 

using hook-timers and temperaturedepth recorders; 

• Evaluate the effects of controlled 

gear experiments in order to determine 

the effects of potential hook changes to 

prohibited species interactions and 

fishery yields; 

• Examine the size distribution of 

sandbar and other sharks captured 

throughout the fishery including in the 

Mid-Atlantic shark time/area closure off 

the coast of North Carolina from January 

1 through July 31; and 

• Develop allometric and weight 

relationships of selected species of 

sharks (e.g. hammerhead, sandbar, 

blacktip shark). 

Selection Criteria 

Shark Research Fishery Permit 

Applications will be accepted only from 

commercial shark fishermen who hold a 

current directed or incidental shark 

limited access permit. While incidental 

permit holders are welcome to submit 

an application, to ensure that an 

appropriate number of sharks are landed 

to meet the research objectives for this 

year, NMFS will give priority to 

directed permit holders as 

recommended by the shark board. As 

such, qualified incidental permit 

holders will be selected only if there are 

not enough qualified directed permit 

holders to meet research objectives. 

The Shark Research Fishery Permit 

Application includes, but is not limited 

to, a request for the following 

information: Type of commercial shark 

permit possessed; past participation in 

the commercial shark fishery (not 

including sharks caught for display); 

past involvement and compliance with 

HMS observer programs per 50 CFR 

635.7; past compliance with HMS 

regulations at 50 CFR part 635; 

availability to participate in the shark 

research fishery; ability to fish in the 

regions and season requested; ability to 

attend necessary meetings regarding the 

objectives and research protocols of the 

shark research fishery; and ability to 

carry out the research objectives of the 

Agency. An applicant who has been 

charged criminally or civilly (e.g., 

issued a Notice of Violation and 

Assessment (NOVA) or Notice of Permit 

Sanction) for any HMS-related violation 

will not be considered for participation 

in the shark research fishery. In 

addition, applicants who were selected 

to carry an observer in the previous 2 

years for any HMS fishery, but failed to 

contact NMFS to arrange the placement 

of an observer as required per 50 CFR 

635.7, will not be considered for 

participation in the 2015 shark research 

fishery. Applicants who were selected 

to carry an observer in the previous 2 

years for any HMS fishery and failed to 

comply with all the observer regulations 

per 50 CFR 635.7 will also not be 

considered. Exceptions will be made for 

vessels that were selected for HMS 

observer coverage but did not fish in the 

quarter when selected and thus did not 

require an observer. Applicants who do 

not possess a valid USCG safety 

inspection decal when the application is 

submitted will not be considered. 

Applicants who have been noncompliant with any of the HMS observer 

program regulations in the previous 2 

years, as described above, may be 

eligible for future participation in shark 

research fishery activities by 

demonstrating 2 subsequent years of 

compliance with observer regulations at 

50 CFR 635.7. 

Selection Process 

The HMS Management Division will 

review all submitted applications and 

develop a list of qualified applicants 


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64752 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 211 / Friday, October 31, 2014 / Notices 

from those applications that are deemed 

complete. A qualified applicant is an 

applicant that has submitted a complete 

application by the deadline (see DATES) 

and has met the selection criteria listed 

above. Qualified applicants are eligible 

to be selected to participate in the shark 

research fishery for 2015. The HMS 

Management Division will provide the 

list of qualified applicants without 

identifying information to the SEFSC. 

The SEFSC will then evaluate the list of 

qualified applicants and, based on the 

temporal and spatial needs of the 

research objectives, the availability of 

observers, the availability of qualified 

applicants, and the available quota for a 

given year, will randomly select 

qualified applicants to conduct the 

prescribed research. Where there are 

multiple qualified applicants that meet 

the criteria, permittees will be randomly 

selected through a lottery system. If a 

public meeting is deemed necessary, 

NMFS will announce details of a public 

selection meeting in a subsequent 

Federal Register notice. 

Once the selection process is 

complete, NMFS will notify the selected 

applicants and issue the shark research 

fishery permits. The shark research 

fishery permits will be valid only in 

calendar year 2015. If needed, NMFS 

will communicate with the shark 

research fishery permit holders to 

arrange a captain’s meeting to discuss 

the research objectives and protocols. 

NMFS held mandatory captain’s 

meetings before observers were placed 

on vessels in both 2013 (78 FR 14515; 

March 6, 2013) and 2014 (79 FR 12155; 

March 4, 2014) and expects to hold one 

again in 2015. Once the fishery starts, 

the shark research fishery permit 

holders must contact the NMFS 

observer coordinator to arrange the 

placement of a NMFS-approved 

observer for each shark research trip. 

A shark research fishery permit will 

only be valid for the vessel and owner(s) 

and terms and conditions listed on the 

permit, and, thus, cannot be transferred 

to another vessel or owner(s). Issuance 

of a shark research permit does not 

guarantee that the permit holder will be 

assigned a NMFS-approved observer on 

any particular trip. Rather, issuance 

indicates that a vessel may be issued a 

NMFS-approved observer for a 

particular trip, and on such trips, may 

be allowed to harvest Atlantic sharks, 

including sandbar sharks, in excess of 

the retention limits described in 50 CFR 

635.24(a). These retention limits will be 

based on available quota, number of 

vessels participating in the 2015 shark 

research fishery, the research objectives 

set forth by the shark board, the extent 

of other restrictions placed on the 

vessel, and may vary by vessel and/or 

location. When not operating under the 

auspices of the shark research fishery, 

the vessel would still be able to land 

LCS, SCS, and pelagic sharks subject to 

existing retention limits on trips 

without a NMFS-approved observer. 

NMFS annually invites commercial 

shark permit holders (directed and 

incidental) to submit an application to 

participate in the shark research fishery. 

Permit applications can be found on the 

HMS Management Division’s Web site 

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

index.htm or by calling (301) 427–8503. 

Final decisions on the issuance of a 

shark research fishery permit will 

depend on the submission of all 

required information by the deadline 

(see DATES), and NMFS’ review of 

applicant information as outlined above. 

The 2015 shark research fishery will 

start after the opening of the shark 

fishery and under available quotas as 

published in a separate Federal Register 

final rule. 

Dated: October 28, 2014. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–25957 Filed 10–30–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XD597 

New England Fishery Management 

Council (NEFMC); Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of a public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The New England Fishery 

Management Council (Council) will 

hold a 4-day meeting to consider actions 

affecting New England fisheries in the 

exclusive economic zone (EEZ). 

DATES: The meeting will be held 

Monday through Thursday, November 

17–20, 2014. The Monday session will 

begin at 1 p.m., while the next three 

days will start at 8:30 a.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Marriott Hotel, 25 America’s Cup 

Avenue, Newport, RI 02840; telephone: 

(401) 849–1000 and fax: (401) 849–3422. 

For online information about the venue 

www.marriott.com/hotels/hotelinformation/travel/pvdlw-newportmarriott/. 

Council address: New England 

Fishery Management Council, 50 Water 

Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950; 

telephone: (978) 465–0492. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, 

New England Fishery Management 

Counci; telephone: (978) 465–0492. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Monday, November 17, 2014 

The Council meeting will begin with 

introductions, and brief reports from the 

NEFMC Chairman and Executive 

Director, the NOAA Fisheries Regional 

Administrator, Northeast Fisheries 

Science Center and Mid-Atlantic 

Fishery Management Council liaisons, 

NOAA General Counsel and NOAA Law 

Enforcement, and representatives of the 

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 

Commission and U.S. Coast Guard. 

Immediately after these reports, the 

Council will provide an opportunity for 

the public to present brief comments on 

items that are relevant to Council 

business but are otherwise not listed on 

the published agenda. The Monkfish 

Committee will update members on the 

development of alternatives for 

inclusion in Amendment 6 to the 

Monkfish Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP) and possibly the necessity of 

initiating a framework adjustment to 

expedite the implementation of several 

measures previously included in 

Amendment 6. The Council staff will 

present the annual monitoring report on 

the Northeast Skate Complex FMP and 

the day will end with a report from the 

Small Mesh Multispecies (Whiting) 

Committee. The committee will 

recommend approval of the 2015–17 

specifications for the small-mesh 

multispecies (whiting) fishery. Although 

the formal Council meeting will 

adjourn, staff from the Greater Atlantic 

Regional Fisheries Office will present an 

overview and discuss the office’s 

Strategic Plan at 5:45 p.m. or 

immediately following the conclusion of 

the Council’s meeting. 

Tuesday, November 18, 2014 

The day will begin with an overview 

and summary of public comments on a 

NOAA/NMFS-led action that will affect 

all federally managed fisheries in the 

Northeast. The Council then intends to 

take final action on what is called the 

Vessel Baseline Omnibus Amendment. 

During this same morning session, the 

Council also expects to approve 

alternatives to be considered for 

inclusion in Amendment 18 to the 

Northeast Multispecies or Groundfish 

FMP. The discussion will focus on 

accumulation limits and an inshore/


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