Notice2024-09800
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Northeast Region Observer Providers Requirements
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
May 6, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 88 (Monday, May 6, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 88 (Monday, May 6, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37178-37179]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-09800]
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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; Northeast Region Observer Providers Requirements
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 January 31, 2024, during a 60-day comment period.
This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
Agency: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
Title: Northeast Region Observer Providers Requirements.
OMB Control Number: 0648-0546.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular submission (extension and revision of a
currently approved information collection).
Number of Respondents: 626.
Average Hours per Response: Response time varies between 10 minutes
to 10 hours depending on the information collection.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 6,475.
Needs and Uses: Under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (Magnuson-Steven Act), the Secretary of Commerce
(Secretary) has the responsibility for the conservation and management
of marine fishery resources. Much of this responsibility has been
delegated to the NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Under
this stewardship role, the Secretary was given certain regulatory
authorities to ensure the most beneficial uses of these resources. One
of the regulatory steps taken to carry out the conservation and
management objectives is to collect data from users of the resource.
Regulations at 50 CFR 648.11(g) require observer service providers
to comply with specific requirements in order to operate as an approved
provider in the Atlantic sea scallop (scallop) fishery. Observer
service providers must comply with the following requirements: submit
applications for approval as an observer service provider; formally
request observer training by the Northeast Fisheries Observer Program
(NEFOP); submit observer deployment reports and biological samples;
give notification of whether a vessel must carry an observer within 24
hours of the vessel owner's notification of a prospective trip;
maintain an updated contact list of all observers that includes the
observer identification number; observer's name mailing address, email
address, phone numbers, homeports or fisheries/trip types assigned, and
whether or not the observer is ``in service.'' The regulations also
require observer service providers submit any outreach materials, such
as informational pamphlets, payment notification, and descriptions of
observer duties as well as all contracts between the service provider
and entities requiring observer services for review to NMFS/NEFOP.
Observer service providers also have the option to respond to
application denials, and submit a rebuttal in response to a pending
removal from the list of approved observer providers. During the 60-day
comment period for this renewal NMFS approved an additional observer
service provider, increasing the number of providers from three to
four. The additional burden hours necessary to accommodate the
additional provider are reflected in the updated total burden hours.
Regulations at Sec. 648.11(k)(2) require that limited access,
limited access general category individual fishing quota, and Northern
Gulf of Maine scallop vessels notify NMFS prior to the beginning of a
scallop trip to facilitate the deployment of at-sea observers.
Previously, vessels either called or emailed to notify NMFS of an
upcoming scallop trip. NMFS has added a new method for notification
called the Pre-Trip Notification System (PTNS). The integration of the
scallop notification requirement into the PTNS helps standardize
observer operations between fisheries and modernize reporting systems.
The PTNS is a mobile-friendly website that is more sophisticated and
flexible than the aging interactive voice response technology. The
change to the PTNS does not affect determination of scallop coverage
rates or the compensation analysis. There are no changes to the
requirements vessels must abide by if selected to carry an observer,
such as equal accommodations, a harassment-free
[[Page 37179]]
environment, and other safety requirements. This change is not expected
to impact the burden response time, but NOAA will continue to monitor
use of this new tool, and will update the collection if it results in
any burden changes at our next renewal. There will still be an email
and a phone option for vessels to notify. These requirements allow
NMFS/NEFOP to effectively administer the scallop observer program.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organization.
Frequency: Weekly
Respondent's Obligation: Required to Obtain Benefits.
Legal Authority: Magnuson-Steven 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 0648-0546.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-09800 Filed 5-3-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on May 6, 2024.
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