Notice2026-18305
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; American Lobster-Annual Trap Transfer Program
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
September 9, 2026
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 173 (Wednesday, September 9, 2026)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 173 (Wednesday, September 9, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57318-57319]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-18305]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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; American Lobster--Annual Trap Transfer Program
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 June 11, 2026 (91 FR 35465) 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: American Lobster--Annual Trap Transfer Program.
OMB Control Number: 0648-0673.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular submission [extension of a current
information collection].
Number of Respondents: 153.
Average Hours per Response: 10 minutes.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 13 hours.
Needs and Uses: This request is for an extension of a currently
approved information collection.
The American lobster resource and fishery are cooperatively managed
by the states and NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) under
the authority of the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management
Act, according to the framework established by the Atlantic States
Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) in Amendment 3 of its Interstate
Fishery Management Plan (ISFMP). This collection of information is in
response to several addenda to Amendment 3 of the ISFMP that work to
reduce trap fishing effort through limited entry fishing and trap
allocation limit reductions. The Trap Transfer Program is intended to
foster economic flexibility for the lobster industry while reducing
fishing effort
[[Page 57319]]
on the American lobster resource. The regulations implementing the FMP
in the EEZ are specified at 50 CFR part 697.
This collection of information is being conducted to help mitigate
the economic burden of scheduled trap allocation reductions in Lobster
Conservation Management Areas 2 and 3 on Federal lobster permit holders
through the Annual Lobster Trap Transfer Program, which allows all
qualified Federal lobster permit holders to buy and sell trap
allocation from Areas 2, 3, or Outer Cape Cod. NMFS collects
application forms from Lobster permit holders who wish to transfer trap
allocation from these areas during a 2-month period (from August 1
through September 30) each year. The revised allocations resulting from
the transfers become effective for each participating lobster permit at
the start of the following Federal lobster fishing year, on May 1. Both
the seller and buyer of the traps are required to sign the application
form, date the document, and clearly show that the seller has
sufficient allocation to transfer and that the buyer has sufficient
room under the applicable trap cap.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
Frequency: Annually.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to Obtain or Retain Benefits.
Legal Authority: Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management
Act (16 U.S.C. 5101 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 0648-0673.
Sheleen Dumas,
Departmental PRA Compliance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2026-18305 Filed 9-8-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
</pre></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 9, 2026.
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.