Notice2022-21314
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Mandatory Shrimp Vessel and Gear Characterization Survey
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
September 30, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites 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. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 189 (Friday, September 30, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 189 (Friday, September 30, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59403-59404]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-21314]
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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; Mandatory Shrimp Vessel and Gear Characterization Survey
AGENCY: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of Information Collection; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites 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. The
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment
preceding submission of the collection to OMB.
DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed
information collection must be received on or before November 29, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to
Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer, at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6c02030d0d421c1e0d2c02030d0d420b031a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="187677797936686a795876777979367f776e">[email protected]</span></a>. Please
reference OMB Control Number 0648-0542 in the subject line of your
comments. Do not submit confidential business information or otherwise
sensitive or protected information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed
to Rebecca Smith, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Southeast
Fisheries Science Center, Galveston Laboratory, 4700 Avenue U, Bldg.
306, Galveston, TX 77551 (409) 766-3783, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f684939493959597d8859b9f829eb698999797d8919980"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="384a5d5a5d5b5b59164b55514c507856575959165f574e">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
This request is for extension of a currently approved information
collection. The mandatory vessel and gear characterization survey is a
census data collection effort of all shrimp vessel owners or operators
who possess a valid Federal Gulf commercial shrimp fishing permit. NMFS
began collecting these survey data in 2006 under OMB Control No. 0648-
0542 per the final rule implementing Amendment 13 to the Fishery
Management Plan for the Shrimp Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico (Amendment
13) (71 FR 56039, September 26, 2006).
NMFS is currently collecting census-level information on fishing
vessel and gear characteristics in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) commercial
shrimp fishery (Gulf shrimp fishery), which operates in the Gulf
exclusive economic zone. NMFS uses this information to conduct analyses
that improve fishery management decision-making and ensure that
national goals, objectives, and requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act, 16
U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), National Environmental Policy Act, Regulatory
Flexibility Act, Endangered Species Act, and Executive Order 12866 are
met; and quantify achievement of the performance measures in the NMFS'
Operating Plans. This information is vital in assessing the economic,
social, and environmental effects of fishery management decisions and
regulations on individual shrimp fishing enterprises, fishing
communities, and the Nation as a whole. Recordkeeping requirements for
this information collection under the Magnuson-Stevens Act are codified
at 50 CFR 622.51(a)(3).
The mandatory vessel and gear characterization survey is a census
data collection effort of all shrimp vessel owners or operators who
possess a valid federal Gulf commercial shrimp fishing permit. NMFS
began collecting these survey data in 2006 under OMB Control No. 0648-
0542 per the final rule implementing Amendment 13 to the Fishery
Management Plan for the Shrimp Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico (Amendment
13) (71 FR 56039, September 26, 2006).
The vessel and gear survey annually updates existing data and
continues data collection efforts for this significant fishery. NMFS
currently collects other information from Gulf commercial shrimp
vessels pertaining to their fishing activities, trip dates, landings,
and other information through port agents, electronic logbooks, and
mandatory dealer reports. Prior to this annual survey, little data
related to vessel and gear characteristics at the individual vessel
level have been collected through other means.
Completion of the annual survey is required for fishermen to renew
or transfer a Gulf commercial shrimp permit. NMFS' Southeast Fisheries
Science Center (SEFSC) mails the annual survey to all Gulf shrimp
permit holders beginning in March each year. Requiring completion of
the survey shortly before permit renewal, with renewal contingent upon
survey
[[Page 59404]]
completion,\1\ ensures that all permitted fishermen will be included in
the census and each fisherman will only be surveyed once per annum.
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\1\ The Gulf shrimp fishery requires a limited-access federal
permit, and there is a moratorium on new federal Gulf shrimp permits
until October 26, 2026. If a person buys or transfers a permit on
January 1, 2022, before this person's permit can be renewed in 2022,
they would have to complete a survey form.
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The questions contained on the vessel and gear survey form are
needed to collect data as required by regulations implementing
Amendment 13. All but Question 1 on the form are focused on activity in
the past year. Questions 1-4 ask for year of vessel purchase, by whom
the vessel was operated in the past year, number of days at sea and
trips taken in the past year and in what areas and fisheries the vessel
was operated. Questions 5-11 pertain to the most frequent type of gear
used. Questions 12-13 pertain to the most frequently used bycatch
reduction devices (BRD). Questions 14-26 pertain to the most frequently
used turtle exclusion devices (TED). Question 27 asks for a list of all
electronic equipment used on the vessel.
The primary purposes of collecting vessel and gear characterization
data at the census level is to develop statistically valid sampling
designs for the other aforementioned data collection programs. It is
believed that the creation of stratified, random sampling designs for
these data collection programs is necessary to ensure that the data,
and the estimates of the fishery performance measures based on that
data, are accurate (e.g., representative of the fishery's actual
performance). The various vessel and gear characteristics serve as
strata in these sampling designs.
The information collected by the vessel and gear characterization
survey is used by NMFS economists, social scientists, and biologists to
help evaluate the performance of existing regulations (e.g., BRDs,
TEDs, time or area closures, etc.), and the impacts that changes to
those regulations may have on individual fishermen, the shrimp fishing
industry as a whole, and fishing communities. In addition, the vessel
and gear characterization data are further linked to various
biological, social, and economic data collected by other means.
It is anticipated that the information collected will be available
to the public through technical memoranda and similar publications, or
used to support publicly disseminated information, such as analyses
contained within documents distributed by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery
Management Council (Council). Data may be reported according to the
various types of nets, TEDs, BRDs or electronic equipment that is
generally used, which will allow comparisons and evaluations of
alternative vessel and gear configurations by analysts and vessel
owners.
II. Method of Collection
NMFS mails a paper copy of the forms to respondents and provides a
pre-paid business reply envelope for permit applications to submit the
form. Permit applicants must complete and mail the form back to NMFS
before a permit expires and before NMFS will issue or transfer a
permit.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0648-0542.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Review: Regular submission (extension of a currently
approved information collection).
Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit organizations,
individuals and households.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 1349.
Estimated Time per Response: 30 minutes.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 647.5 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0 in recordkeeping or
reporting costs.
Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
IV. Request for Comments
We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau
to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is
necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether
the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy
of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed
collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions
used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of
the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the reporting burden
on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection
techniques or other forms of information technology.
Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request
to OMB to approve this information collection. Before including your
address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying
information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire
comment--including your personal identifying information--may be made
publicly available at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to
withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2022-21314 Filed 9-29-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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