Notice2021-27381
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; West Coast Region Permit Family of Forms
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
December 17, 2021
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 240 (Friday, December 17, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 240 (Friday, December 17, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71626-71627]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27381]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment
Request; West Coast Region Permit Family of Forms
The Department of Commerce will submit the following information
collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite 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. Public comments were previously requested via the
Federal Register on October 15, 2021 during a 60-day comment period.
This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
Agency: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
Title: West Coast Region Permit Family of Forms.
OMB Control Number: 0648-0204.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular submission (Revision and extension of a
current information collection).
Number of Respondents: 1,459.
Average Hours per Response: Highly Migratory Species (Paper), New--
20 minutes; Highly Migratory Species (Online), New--15 minutes; HMS
Paper; Renew--10 minutes; HMS Online, Renew--5 minutes; CPS Renewal--10
minutes; CPS Transfer--30 minutes; LE DGN Renew--10 minutes; LE DGN
Transfer--30 minutes; LE DGN Designation Request--30 minutes; LE DGN
Exemption Request--30 minutes; Appeals--240 minutes; exempted fishing
permit requests; 60 minutes; letters of acknowledgement--420 minutes;
exempted educational activity authorization--420 minutes.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 198 hours.
Needs and Uses: This is a request for a revision and extension to
the existing reporting requirements of the collection of information
West Coast Region Family of Forms (0648-0204). In addition to the
extension of West Coast Region Family of Forms (0648-0204) this request
includes a revision to this collection. The revision will include the
addition of Letters of Authorization (LOA) and Exempted Educational
Activity Authorizations (EEAA). Currently, LOAs and EEAAs are part of
ICR Scientific Research, Exempted Fishing, and Exempted Educational
Activity Submissions (0648-0309).
Originally this information was collected under information
collection 0648-0309 which included all the Exempted Fishing Permit's
(EFPs), EEAAs, and LOAs for all NOAA regions. Beginning in November
2021, these collections will be maintained by each regional office.
Therefore, this notice proposes to combine the relevant collection
information from 0648-0309 with the West Coast Region's (WCR)
information collection 0648-0204.
The WCR Permits Office administers permits required for persons
participating in Federally-managed fisheries off the West Coast under
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management act, 16 U.S.C.
1801 et seq. Section 303(b)(1) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act specifically
authorizes the establishment of permit requirements. Almost all
international, federal, state, and local fishery management authorities
use permits as part of their management systems.
The Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) established regional fishery
management councils, including the Pacific Fishery Management Council
(Pacific Council), to develop fishery management plans (FMP) for
fisheries in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ). These plans, if
approved by the Secretary of Commerce, are implemented by Federal
regulations, which are enforced by the National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS) and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), in cooperation with
State agencies to the extent possible. FMPs are intended to regulate
fishing for stocks to prevent overfishing and achieve the optimum yield
from the fisheries for the benefit of the U.S. The Pacific Council has
prepared FMPs for the coastal pelagic species (CPS) fishery and Pacific
Highly Migratory Species (HMS) off the U.S. West Coast. Each of these
FMPs created permit programs which are administered by the WCR, NMFS.
There are two types of regulatory permits: Open access fishery
permits and limited entry permits for selected fisheries. Open access
permits are used in all fisheries where there are no specific
limitations or eligibility criteria for entry to the fishery. Limited
entry permits are used to prevent overcapitalization or address other
management goals in the fishery and are issued to applicants for
fishing activities that would otherwise be prohibited under a fisheries
management plan. Applicants for both open access and limited entry
permits are required to submit applications to obtain these permits but
are not required to submit reports on their fishing activities under
these permits.
Applicants for an EFP must submit written information that allows
NOAA Fisheries and the Pacific Council to evaluate the proposed
exempted fishing project activities and weigh the benefits and costs of
the proposed activities. The Pacific Council makes a recommendation on
each EFP application and for successful applicants, NOAA Fisheries
issues the EFP which contains terms and conditions for the project
including various reporting requirements. The information included in
an application is specified at 50 CFR 600.745(b)(2) and the Pacific
Council Operating Procedure #19. Permit holders are required to file
preseason harvest plans, interim and/or final summary reports on the
results of the project, and in some cases individual vessels and other
permit holders are required to provide data reports (i.e., logbooks
and/or catch reports). The results of EFPs are commonly used to explore
ways to reduce effort on depressed stocks, encourage innovation and
efficiency in the fishery, and provide access to constrained stocks by
directly measuring the bycatch associated with current and proposed
management measures. LOAs and EEAAs were historically collected under
OMB control number 0648-0309. To reduce burden estimates, NMFS
Headquarters proposes to move LOAs and EEAAs to their respective
region's permit family-of-forms collections. NMFS may grant exemptions
from fishery regulations for educational or other activities (e.g.,
using nonregulation gear). An EEAA is a permit issued by the Regional
Office to accredited educational institutions that authorize, for
educational purposes, the target or incidental harvest of species
managed under a fisheries management plan or fishery regulations that
would otherwise be prohibited. EEAAs are generally of limited scope and
duration and authorize the take of the amount of fish necessary to
demonstrate the lesson. Researchers are requested to submit reports of
their scientific research activity after its completion. LOAs are
required under Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act
(MMPA) of 1972 for the incidental take of marine mammals during
fisheries surveys and related research activities conducted by the
Northwest Fisheries Science Center
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(NWFSC), NMFS. Management of certain marine mammals falls under the
jurisdiction of the NMFS under the MMPA and Endangered Species Act
(ESA) and mechanisms exist under both the MMPA and ESA to assess the
effect of incidental takings and to authorize appropriate levels of
take.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
Frequency: HMS permits--biennial; CPS--biennial; DGN LE--annual;
EFP--biennial; DGN LE Designation Request--annual; DGN LE Exemption
Request--annual; Appeals--annual; LOA--annual; EEAA--annual.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain a permit. Keep a valid
vessel permit while fishing and provide accurate data on forms.
Legal Authority: MSA, MMPA, ESA.
This information collection request may be viewed at
<a href="http://www.reginfo.gov">www.reginfo.gov</a>. Follow the instructions to view the Department of
Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information
collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of
this notice on the following website <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>.
Find this particular information collection by selecting ``Currently
under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search
function and entering either the title of the collection or the OMB
Control Number 0648-0204.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2021-27381 Filed 12-16-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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