Notice2023-00980
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Reporting Requirements for Sea Otter Interactions With the Pacific Sardine Fishery; Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan
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
January 19, 2023
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 12 (Thursday, January 19, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 12 (Thursday, January 19, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3388-3389]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-00980]
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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; Reporting Requirements for Sea Otter Interactions With the
Pacific Sardine Fishery; Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management
Plan
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 September 6, 2022 (87 FR 54484) during a 60-day
comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public
comments.
Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
Title: Reporting Requirements for Sea Otter Interactions with
Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries.
OMB Control Number: 0648-0566.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular submission (extension of a current
information collection).
Number of Respondents: 2.
Average Hours per Response: 15 minutes.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 30 minutes.
Needs and Uses: This request is for extension of a currently
approved collection. On May 30, 2007, NMFS published a final rule (72
FR 29891) implementing a requirement under the Coastal Pelagic Species
(CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to report any interactions that may
occur between a CPS vessel and/or fishing gear and sea otters. In
accordance with the regulations implementing the Endangered Species Act
(ESA), NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) initiated an ESA
section 7 consultation with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS) regarding the effects of implementing the final rule (72 FR
29891), which codified Amendment 11 to the CPS FMP. USFWS determined
that formal consultation was necessary on the possible effects to the
threatened southern sea otter. USFWS completed a biological opinion for
this action and although it was concluded that fishing activities were
not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the southern sea
otter, that there remained the potential to incidentally take southern
sea otters. USFWS determined that certain measures should be put in
place to ensure the continued protection of the species, including
certain reporting requirements.
Specifically, these reporting requirements are:
(1) If a southern sea otter is entangled in a net, regardless of
whether the animal is injured or killed, the vessel operator must
report this interaction within 24 hours to the Regional Administrator.
(2) While fishing for CPS, vessel operators must record all
observations of otter interactions (defined as otters within encircled
nets or coming into contact with nets or vessels, including but not
limited to entanglement) with their purse seine net(s) or vessel(s).
With the exception of an entanglement, which must be initially reported
as described in paragraph (1) of this section, all other observations
must be
[[Page 3389]]
reported within 20 days to the Regional Administrator.
(3) When contacting NMFS after an interaction, vessel operators
must provide the location (latitude and longitude) of the interaction
and a description of the interaction itself. If available, location
information should also include water depth, distance from shore, and
relation to port or other landmarks. Descriptive information of the
interaction should include: whether or not the otters were seen inside
or outside the net; if inside the net, had the net been completely
encircled; whether any otters came in contact with either the net or
the vessel; the number of otters present; duration of interaction; the
otter's behavior during interaction; measures taken to avoid
interaction.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
Frequency: As necessary.
Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: 50 CFR 660.520(a).
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 0648-0566.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2023-00980 Filed 1-18-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on January 19, 2023.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.