65472 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 244 / Wednesday, December 19, 2001 / Notices

States. The period of review is October

1, 1999, through September 30, 2000.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 19, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Irina

Itkin or Elizabeth Eastwood, Office of

AD/CVD Enforcement, Import

Administration, International Trade

Administration, U.S. Department of

Commerce, at (202) 482–0656 or (202)

482–3874, respectively.

Postponement of Final Results of

Administrative Review: The Department

published the preliminary results of the

1999–2000 administrative review of the

antidumping duty order on extruded

rubber thread from Malaysia on

November 6, 2001 (66 FR 56057). The

current deadline for the final results in

this review is March 6, 2002. We must

conduct sales and cost verifications of

the information provided by the

respondents. Due to scheduling

problems with one of the companies

participating in this review, we are

unable to complete verification before

March 2002. Because we need

additional time for verification, we have

extended the deadline until May 6,

2002.

This extension is in accordance with

section 751(a)(3)(A) of Tariff Act of

1930, as amended by the Uruguay

Round Agreements Act, and 19 CFR

351.213(h)(2).

Dated: December 12, 2001.

Louis Apple,

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Import

Administration.

[FR Doc. 01–31256 Filed 12–18–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

University of Connecticut, et al.; Notice

of Consolidated Decision on

Applications for Duty-Free Entry of

Electron Microscopes: Correction

In notice document 01–30170,

appearing on page 63218 in the issue of

Wednesday, December 5, 2001, make

the following correction:

On page 63218, in the third column,

first full paragraph, ‘‘Order Date:

December 8, 2001.’’ should read ‘‘Order

Date: December 8, 2000.’’

Gerald A. Zerdy,

Program Manager, Statutory Import Programs

Staff.

[FR Doc. 01–31258 Filed 12–18–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 110701B]

Marine Mammals; Notice of Intent to

Prepare an Environmental Assessment

for Issuing a Bowhead Whale

Subsistence Quota to the Alaska

Eskimo Whaling Commission (AEWC)

for the years 2003 through 2007

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an

Environmental Assessment (EA);

request for written comments.

SUMMARY: NMFS announces its

intention to prepare an EA, in

accordance with the National

Environmental Policy Act, to assess the

impacts of issuing a subsistence quota

for bowhead whales to the AEWC for

the years 2003 through 2007. NMFS

solicits comments and information to

facilitate this analysis.

DATES: Comments and information must

be postmarked by January 31, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be sent to Chief, Marine Mammal

Division (F/PR2), Office of Protected

Resources, National Marine Fisheries

Service, 13th Floor, 1315 East-West

Hwy, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Please

mark the outside of the envelope with

‘‘Comments on Bowhead Whale

Analysis.’’ Comments will not be

accepted if submitted via e-mail or

Internet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Emily Hanson Menashes, NMFS Office

of Protected Resources, 301–713–2322.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: At its

1997 annual meeting, the International

Whaling Commission (IWC) approved a

5-year quota for the aboriginal take of

the Western arctic stock of bowhead

whales. The quota allows for a

combined total of up to 280 whales to

be landed in the years 1998 through

2002 by Alaskan and Russian natives.

For each of these years, the number of

bowhead whales struck shall not exceed

67, except that any unused portion of a

strike quota from any year shall be

carried forward and added to the strike

quota of any subsequent year, provided

that no more than 15 strikes shall be

added to the strike quota for any one

year.

The basis for the quota was a joint

request by the Russian Federation and

the United States, showing that the

needs of both countries’ Native groups

could be met with an annual average of

56 landed bowhead whales (or a total of

255 for the Alaska Eskimos and 25 for

the Chukotka people over the 5-year

period). The annual strike limits and

quotas for whales are determined at the

beginning of each year after consultation

with the Russian government.

At the 52nd annual meeting of the

IWC, held in June and July of 2000, the

IWC Scientific Committee proposed a

structure for block quotas for the

bowhead whale aboriginal subsistence

hunt to be used as part of the Scientific

Committee’s proposed revisions to the

Aboriginal Whaling Management Plan.

This structure calls for five-year blocks

with an inter-annual carry-over

allowance of up to 50 percent of unused

strikes, including strikes from the

previous quota block (IWC/52/AS7).

The Commission agreed with the

proposal from the Scientific Committee

in the context of trials.

At the 53rd IWC annual meeting, held

in July of 2001, the Commission agreed

with the Scientific Committee’s

recommendations with respect to carryover. The Scientific Committee also

noted that if, under a recommended

Strike Limit Algorithm, current

aboriginal subsistence need is met, then

a revised Schedule paragraph might

specify a block strike limit quota with

an annual cap on strikes. The Scientific

Committee also reiterated its 1999

advice for the Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort

Seas stock of bowhead whales, i.e., that

it is very likely that a catch limit of 102

whales or less would be consistent with

the requirements of the Schedule (IWC/

53/4, Report of the Scientific

Committee).

Alaska Eskimos have been taking

bowhead whales for at least 2,000 years.

Alaska Native subsistence hunters take

less than one percent of the population

of bowhead whales per year. Since

1977, the number of takes has ranged

between 14 and 77 per year, depending

in part on changes in management

strategy and in part on higher estimates

of bowhead whale abundance in recent

years (NMFS Alaska Marine Mammal

Stock Assessments, 2000).

The IWC’s 54th annual meeting is

scheduled for May of 2002. NMFS is

preparing an EA on issuing a quota to

the AEWC for a subsistence hunt on

bowhead whales for the years 2003

through 2007 in the event that the IWC

renews a 5-year aboriginal subsistence

quota for bowhead whales. NMFS will

evaluate the following four alternatives:

Alternative 1—Grant the AEWC a

quota that meets the documented need

of Alaskan Eskimos for 255 landed

whales over 5 years (2003 through

2007), with an annual strike quota of 67