Notice2024-03747
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Alaska Halibut Fisheries: Charter
Primary source
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Published
February 23, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 37 (Friday, February 23, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 37 (Friday, February 23, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13693-13694]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03747]
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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; Alaska Halibut Fisheries: Charter
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 28, 2023, 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: Alaska Halibut Fisheries: Charter.
OMB Control Number: 0648-0575.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular submission (extension of a current
information collection).
Number of Respondents: 560.
Average Hours per Response: Application for Annual Registration of
CHPs: 15 minutes; Application for Military CHP: 30 minutes; Application
for Transfer of CHP: 2 hours; Application for Transfer (Lease) Between
IFQ and GAF: 1.5 hours; GAF Landing Report: 5 minutes; GAF Permit Log:
2 minutes; ADF&G Saltwater Sport Fishing Charter Trip Logbook: 4
minutes; and Appeals: 4 hours.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 3,876 hours.
Needs and Uses: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS),
Alaska Region, is requesting extension of a currently approved
information collection for the Pacific halibut charter fishery off
Alaska.
Management of and regulations for Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus
stenolepis) in Alaska are developed on the international, Federal, and
state levels by the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC),
the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, the NMFS Alaska Region,
and the State of Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G). The IPHC
and NMFS manage fishing for Pacific halibut through regulations
established under authority of the Convention between the United States
Halibut Fishery of the Northern Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea, the
Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 (16 U.S.C. 773), and section
303(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
(16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).
NMFS manages the charter halibut fishery off Alaska under the
Charter Halibut Limited Access Program (CHLAP; 75 FR 554, January 5,
2010) and the Pacific Halibut Catch Sharing Plan (CSP; 78 FR 75844,
December 12, 2013). This information collection is necessary for NMFS
to manage and administer the charter halibut fishery under the CHLAP
and the CSP. Regulations that implement this information collection are
at 50 CFR 300 subpart E and 50 CFR 679.5(l)(7). Information on the
CHLAP and the CSP is on the NMFS Alaska Region website at <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/resources-fishing/sport-halibut-fishing-alaska">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/resources-fishing/sport-halibut-fishing-alaska</a>.
The CHLAP established new Federal Charter Halibut Permits (CHPs)
for operators in the sport charter halibut fishery in IPHC regulatory
Areas 2C (Southeast Alaska) and 3A (Central Gulf of Alaska). All
charter halibut vessel operators in Areas 2C and 3A with clients on
board must have a valid CHP on board during every charter vessel
fishing trip. As the period to obtain a CHP, other than a military CHP
or community CHP, ended in 2010, CHPs may now only be obtained through
transfer. This information collection contains the applications used to
annually register CHPs, to apply for new military CHPs, and to transfer
CHPs. The application for a community CHP is approved under OMB Control
Number 0648-0665. Information collected by these applications includes
permit holder information or applicant information, and depending on
the form, may include CHP identification, CHP ownership information and
affiliation, a survey question on the use of the CHP, and transaction
information for transfer of a CHP.
The CSP authorizes annual transfers of commercial halibut
individual fishing quota (IFQ) as guided angler fish (GAF) to qualified
CHP holders for harvest by charter vessel anglers in Area 2C or 3A. GAF
enables CHP holders to lease a limited amount of IFQ from commercial
quota shareholders to allow charter vessel anglers to harvest halibut
in addition to, or instead of, the halibut harvested under the daily
bag limit for charter anglers.
This information collection includes the application used to
transfer Area 2C or 3A commercial halibut IFQ to a CHP holder for use
as GAF or for the CHP holder to return unused GAF to the IFQ permit
holder from which it was obtained. Information collected by this
application includes permit holder information, IFQ permit information,
CHP information, GAF permit information, and transaction information.
NMFS, on approving the transfer of IFQ to GAF, issues a GAF permit,
which authorizes the holder to allow charter vessel anglers to retain
GAF halibut caught in the IPHC regulatory area specified on the permit.
This information collection also includes the GAF landing report
and the GAF permit log. The GAF landing report is submitted by GAF
permit holders and collects information on each GAF halibut retained by
an angler on a charter vessel fishing trip in Area 2C or 3A. The GAF
permit log is printed on the back of each GAF permit and is used by the
permit holder to record the GAF landing report confirmation number and
information on GAF halibut after a trip in which GAF halibut were
retained.
If a GAF permit holder is unable to submit the GAF landings report
electronically due to hardware, software, or internet failure for a
period longer than the required reporting time, or a correction must be
made to information already submitted, the
[[Page 13694]]
permit holder must contact NOAA OLE by telephone. This information
collection is revised to include a form for the non-electronic (manual)
GAF landing report. This form will help streamline the submission of
manual landing information for GAF permit holders and NOAA Office for
Law Enforcement, and help ensure the correct information is submitted
on time. The time and cost burden for the manual GAF landing report
form remains the same as the previous estimates for the GAF landing
report because the estimates allow for differences needed to complete
and submit the report.
This information collection includes the logbook reporting
requirements for the charter halibut fishery. The charter halibut
sector in Areas 2C and 3A is managed to charter catch limits
established under the CSP. Charter operators are required to record all
halibut caught and kept by charter vessel anglers in the ADF&G
Saltwater Charter Logbook. Logbook reporting is the basis for
estimating annual charter harvests of halibut relative to the charter
catch limits.
Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit organizations.
Frequency: Annually; As needed.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to Obtain or Retain Benefits,
Mandatory.
Legal Authority: The Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 (16
U.S.C. 773c); Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
(16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).
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 0648-0575.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-03747 Filed 2-22-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on February 23, 2024.
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.