Notice2023-11803
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Gear-Marking Requirements for Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction 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
June 2, 2023
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 106 (Friday, June 2, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 106 (Friday, June 2, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36280-36281]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-11803]
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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; Gear-Marking Requirements for Atlantic Large Whale Take
Reduction 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 February 13, 2023 (88 FR 9252) during a 60-day
comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public
comments.
Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Department of Commerce.
Title: Gear-Marking Requirements for Atlantic Large Whale Take
Reduction Plan.
OMB Control Number: 0648-0364.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular (extension of a current information
collection).
Number of Respondents: 3,970.
Average Hours per Response: Each mark requires approximately 6.7-
8.6 minutes of time.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 222,391.
Needs and Uses: In 1996, pursuant to section 118 of the MMPA, the
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) established and convened an
Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team (Team) to assist in the
development of the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (Plan).
Throughout this process, the Team has provided NMFS with recommended
measures designed to reduce mortality and serious injury to North
Atlantic right (Eubalaena glacialis), humpback (Megaptera
novaeangliae), minke (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), and fin
(Balaenoptera physalus) whales from incidental interactions with
commercial fishing gear. To gather information on where entanglements
are occurring and what type of gear is involved, the Team developed
gear marking requirements. As a result, any person setting trap/pot or
gillnet gear to fish commercially in some areas of the Atlantic Ocean
are required to paint or otherwise mark their gear with specific color
codes, designating the type of gear and area where it is set, in
addition to specific buoy marking requirements.
NMFS is continuing the gear marking regulations amended in the 2021
rule for the Northeast Region Trap/Pot Management Area (northeast
region) commercial trap/pot fisheries because increased gear marking
continues to be necessary to improve our understanding of where
entanglement incidents occur (RIN 648-BJ09). The gear modifications
required by the rule became effective May 1, 2022, which is at the
start of the American lobster/Jonah crab fishing year.
The continuation of this data collection allows for improved
information on entanglement origins that will further enable NMFS to
reduce injuries and deaths of large whales, especially North Atlantic
right whales, due to incidental entanglement in United States
commercial fishing gear. In order to develop fair and effective
management measures, the Team requires comprehensive data on when,
where, and how fixed gear vessels fish, and where whales become
entangled in fishing gear.
Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit organizations.
Frequency: All gear must be marked and maintained so marks are
visible. On average, gear is replaced every 5-6 years, at which time
the new gear must be marked.
Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: Marine Mammal Protection Act, Endangered Species
Act.
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
[[Page 36281]]
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 0648-0364.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2023-11803 Filed 6-1-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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