Notice2024-07239
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Individual Fishing Quotas for Pacific Halibut and Sablefish in the Alaska Fisheries
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
April 5, 2024
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 89 Issue 67 (Friday, April 5, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 67 (Friday, April 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23987-23988]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07239]
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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; Individual Fishing Quotas for Pacific Halibut and Sablefish in
the Alaska Fisheries
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 June 4, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to
Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer, at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2c62636d6d027c7e6d6c42434d4d024b435a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3b75747a7a156b697a7b55545a5a155c544d">[email protected]</span></a>. Please
reference OMB Control Number 0648-0272 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 Gabrielle Aberle, National Marine Fisheries Service, P.O. Box 21668,
Juneau, AK 99802-1668, (323) 372-0062, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#0b6c6a6979626e67676e256a696e79676e4b65646a6a256c647d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1f787e7d6d767a73737a317e7d7a6d737a5f71707e7e31787069">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Alaska Regional
Office, is requesting renewal of this currently approved information
collection that contains requirements for the Pacific Halibut and
Sablefish Individual Fishing Quota Program (IFQ Program).
Commercial halibut and sablefish fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska
and Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands are managed primarily under the IFQ
Program. The IFQ Program is managed under the authority of the Northern
Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 (16 U.S.C. 773c; Halibut Act), with respect
to Pacific halibut, and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.; Magnuson-Stevens Act), with
respect to sablefish. Regulations implementing the IFQ Program are set
forth at 50 CFR part 679.
A key objective of the IFQ Program is to support the social and
economic character of the fisheries and coastal fishing communities
where many of these fisheries are based. Participation in the IFQ
Program is limited to persons that hold quota share (QS), although
there are several very limited provisions for ``leasing'' of annual
IFQ. QS is a transferable permit that was initially issued to persons
who owned or leased vessels that made legal commercial fixed-gear
landings of Pacific halibut or sablefish in the waters off Alaska from
1988 through 1990.
NMFS annually issues eligible QS holders an IFQ fishing permit that
authorizes participation in the IFQ fisheries. Those to whom IFQ
permits are issued may harvest their annual allocation at any time
during the eight plus-month IFQ halibut and sablefish seasons.
More information on the IFQ Program is provided on the NMFS Alaska
Region website at <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/sustainable-fisheries/pacific-halibut-and-sablefish-individual-fishing-quota-ifq-program">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/sustainable-fisheries/pacific-halibut-and-sablefish-individual-fishing-quota-ifq-program</a>.
Some of the collection instruments in this information collection
are used by participants in the Western Alaska Community Development
Quota (CDQ) Program. The purpose of the CDQ Program is to provide
eligible western Alaska villages with the opportunity to participate
and invest in fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
Management Area (BSAI); to support economic development in western
Alaska; to alleviate poverty and provide economic and social benefits
for residents of western Alaska; and to achieve sustainable and
diversified local economies in western Alaska. In fitting with these
goals, NMFS allocates a portion of the annual catch limits for a
variety of commercially valuable marine species in the BSAI to the CDQ
Program. Pacific halibut is one of these species. More information on
the CDQ Program is provided on the NMFS Alaska Region website at
<a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/sustainable-fisheries/community-development-quota-cdq-program">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/sustainable-fisheries/community-development-quota-cdq-program</a>. Information collection requirements for
the CDQ Program are also approved under OMB Control Number 0648-0269.
This information collection for the IFQ Program is required to
manage commercial halibut and sablefish fishing under the Magnuson-
Stevens Act, the Halibut Act, and under 50 CFR parts 300 and 679.
This information collection contains the forms used by participants
in the IFQ Program to apply for, renew, or replace permits; transfer or
lease IFQ and QS; determine compliance with IFQ program requirements;
and designate a beneficiary for a QS holder. Two of the permit
applications are also used by participants in the CDQ Program. This
information collection also contains annual reports and other
collections submitted by telephone or other methods and that do not
have forms.
The type of information collected includes information on the
applicants, transferors, transferees, permits, IFQ or QS types and
owners, beneficiaries, vessels, business operations, medical
declarations, landings, gear types, products, and harvests and harvest
areas.
This information is used to identify and authorize participants in
the halibut and sablefish fisheries, to track and transfer quota share,
to limit transfers to authorized participants, and to monitor quota
share balances and harvest in these fisheries.
II. Method of Collection
The information is collected primarily by mail, delivery, fax,
email, telephone, or eFISH. eFISH is the NMFS Alaska
[[Page 23988]]
Region online Fisheries Information System. The forms and applications
are available as fillable pdfs on the NMFS Alaska Region website at
<a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/alaska-ifq-halibut-sablefish-and-cdq-halibut-program-fishery-applications-and-reporting">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/alaska-ifq-halibut-sablefish-and-cdq-halibut-program-fishery-applications-and-reporting</a>.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0648-0272.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Review: Regular submission (extension of a current
information collection).
Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit organizations; Not-for-profit institutions.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 3,441.
Estimated Time per Response: Application for IFQ/CDQ Hired Master
Permit, 1 hour; Application for IFQ/CDQ Registered Buyer Permit, 30
minutes; Application for Replacement of Certificates or Permits, 30
minutes; Application for Eligibility to Receive QS/IFQ by Transfer, 2
hours; QS Holder: Identification of Ownership Interest, 2 hours;
Application for Transfer of QS, 2 hours; Application for Transfer of
QS/IFQ by Self Sweep Up, 2 hours; Application for Medical Transfer of
IFQ, 1.5 hours; Application for Temporary Transfer of Halibut/Sablefish
IFQ, 2 hours; (emergency) Application for Temporary Transfer of
Halibut/Sablefish IFQ, 2 hours; Annual Report for CDQ IFQ Transfers, 40
hours; QS/IFQ Beneficiary Designation Form, 30 minutes; Appeals, 4
hours; IFQ Administrative Waiver, 6 minutes; Prior Notice of Landing,
15 minutes; IFQ Departure Report, 15 minutes; Transshipment
Authorization, 12 minutes; Dockside sales, 6 minutes; Application for a
Non-profit Corporation to be Designated as a Recreational Quota Entity,
200 hours; Application for Transfer of Quota Share To or From a
Recreational Quota Entity, 2 hours; Recreational Quota Entity Annual
Report, 40 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 11,236 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $28,225 in recordkeeping and
reporting costs.
Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary, Required to Obtain or Retain
Benefits, Mandatory.
Legal Authority: Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.; Northern Pacific Halibut Act of
1982, 16 U.S.C. 773c.
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 ICR. 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 Under Secretary for
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-07239 Filed 4-4-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on April 5, 2024.
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