Notice2024-08912
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Alaska Region Logbook and Activity Family of Forms
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 25, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 81 (Thursday, April 25, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 81 (Thursday, April 25, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31734-31735]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08912]
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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 Region Logbook and Activity Family of Forms
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 December 5, 2023 (88 FR 84305), during a 60-day
comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public
comments.
[[Page 31735]]
Agency: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
Title: Alaska Region Logbook and Activity Family of Forms.
OMB Control Number: 0648-0213.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular submission (extension of a current
information collection).
Number of Respondents: 255.
Average Hours per Response: Catcher Vessel Trawl DFL: 18 minutes;
Catcher Vessel Longline/Pot DFL: 35 minutes; Catcher/Processor
Longline/Pot DCPL: 50 minutes; Shoreside Processor Check-in/Check-out
Report: 5 minutes; Mothership Check-in/Check-out Report: 7 minutes;
Product Transfer Report: 20 minutes; Vessel Activity Report: 14
minutes.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 12,386 hours.
Needs and Uses: The National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska
Region (NMFS AKR), is requesting renewal of this currently approved
information collection that consists of paper logbooks and reports used
for management of the groundfish fisheries in the Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI) and the Gulf of Alaska,
management of the Individual Fishing Quota halibut and sablefish
fisheries, and management of the BSAI Crab Rationalization Program crab
fisheries.
One change has been made to this information collection. The text
for one data field on the Product Transfer Report form has been
clarified to include that it collects the shipper's Federal Processor
Permit number. This change is necessary to make the form consistent
with the form's instructions and with 50 CFR 679.5(g)(4)(ii), which
requires the shipper's Federal Fisheries Permit number or Federal
Processor Permit number to be included on the report. This does not
change the respondents, responses, or burden for this report.
NMFS AKR manages the groundfish and crab fisheries in the exclusive
economic zone (EEZ) of the BSAI and the groundfish fisheries of the
Gulf of Alaska under fishery management plans (FMPs) for the respective
areas. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council prepared, and NMFS
approved, the FMPs under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Regulations
implementing the FMPs appear at 50 CFR parts 679 and 680. Regulations
for the logbooks and reports in this information collection are at 50
CFR 679.5.
The information collected through the paper logbooks and reports
promotes the goals and objectives of the FMPs, the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and other applicable laws. The
collection of reliable data is essential to the effective conservation,
management, and scientific understanding of the fishery resources.
Collecting information from fishery participants is necessary to
promote successful management of groundfish, crab, Pacific halibut, and
salmon resources. A comprehensive information system that identifies
the participants and monitors their fishing activity is necessary to
enforce the management measures and prevent overfishing. An information
system is also needed to measure the consequences of management
controls. This collection supports an effective monitoring and
enforcement system with information that includes identification of the
participating vessels, operators, dealers, and processors; location of
the fishing activity; timeframes when fishing and processing is
occurring; and shipment and transfer of fishing products.
Shoreside processors, stationary floating processors, and
motherships receiving EEZ-caught fish and all vessels of the United
States harvesting EEZ fish are required to hold a Federal permit and
thus comply with reporting requirements per CFR 679.5. The data
collected are used for making in-season and inter-season management
decisions that affect the groundfish resources and the fishing industry
that uses them.
This information collection contains four components: Paper
logbooks, vessel activity reports, check-in/check-out reports, and
product transfer reports. Daily logbooks provide data about the
location and timing of fishing effort, as well as discard information
of prohibited species. NOAA Office for Law Enforcement (OLE) and the
United States Coast Guard (USCG) use logbook information during vessel
boarding and site visits to ensure conservation of groundfish,
compliance with regulations, and reporting accuracy by the fishing
industry. The logbooks are also an important source of information for
NMFS to determine where and when fishing activity occurs and the number
of sets and hauls.
Vessel activity reports provide information about fish or fish
product on board a vessel when it crosses the boundary of the EEZ off
Alaska or crosses the U.S.--Canada international boundary between
Alaska and British Columbia. NOAA OLE and USCG boarding officers use
this information to audit and separate product inventory when boarding
a vessel. Check-in/check-out reports provide information on
participation by processors and motherships in the groundfish
fisheries. The check-in/check-out information is used by NMFS in-season
managers to monitor the fishing capacity and effort in fishery
allocations and quotas. Additionally, NOAA OLE agents use this
information to track commercial business activity and ensure accurate
accountability and proper reporting is being performed.
Product transfer reports provide information on the volume of
groundfish disposed of by persons buying it from the harvesters. The
product transfer report is an important enforcement document and
provides an important check on buyer purchase reports. Information
collected on product transfer reports is used by NOAA OLE to verify the
accuracy of reported shipments through physical inspections. NOAA OLE
uses the product transfer report to monitor movement of product in and
out of the processor on a timely basis.
Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit organizations.
Frequency: Quarterly; On Occasion; Daily.
Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management 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 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 0648-0213.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-08912 Filed 4-24-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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