Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; International Dolphin Conservation Program

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 202 (Wednesday, October 21, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 202 (Wednesday, October 21, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66545-66546]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-21485]


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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; International Dolphin Conservation 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 May 18, 2026, during a 60-day comment period. This 
notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.

[[Page 66546]]

    Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.
    Title: International Dolphin Conservation Program.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0387.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular submission [revision and extension of a 
current information collection].
    Number of Respondents: 223 respondents.
    Average Hours per Response: Transit Waiver: 30 minutes, Vessel 
Permit Application: 35 minutes, Vessel Operator Permit Application: 10 
minutes, Vessel Departure Notification: 10 minutes, Permit Operator 
Notification Changes: 10 minutes, Modified Net Notification: 10 
minutes, Experimental Fishing Permit Applications and Reports: 10 
hours, Dolphin Mortality Limit Request: 30 minutes, Vessel Register 
Annual Notification: 33 minutes, Notification Prior to Transfer of 
Vessel to Foreign Registry and Flag: 5 minutes, Documentary Evidence 
Requests by Administrator: 30 minutes, Notification of Purse Seine 
Closure Period: 12 minutes, Force Majeure Exemption Request: 1 hour, 
Application for IMO number and Exemption Application: 30 minutes, Sunk 
Status Request: 5 minutes, and Aging Fleet Request: 10 minutes.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 111 hours.
    Needs and Uses: This request is for the revision and extension of 
OMB Control Number: 0648-0387, sponsored by NOAA's National Marine 
Fisheries Service (NMFS) West Coast Region (WCR). This collection is 
being revised to remove five (5) of the twenty-one (21) information 
collections under OMB Control Number: 0648-0387 that were recently 
added to Control Number 0648-0335, which is sponsored by the NMFS 
Office of International Affairs, Trade, and Commerce (IATC). The 
purpose of this revision is to more accurately reflect how the 
information is being managed. The remaining sixteen (16) information 
collections are being renewed without modification.
    The sixteen unmodified collections of information comply with the 
requirements of the International Dolphin Conservation Program Act 
(IDCPA), 16 U.S.C. 1414. The IDCPA amended the Marine Mammal Protection 
Act (MMPA), 16 U.S.C. Ch. 31, and the Dolphin Protection Consumer 
Information Act (DPCIA), 16 U.S.C. 1385. The IDCPA and the DPCIA 
authorize the Secretary of Commerce to promulgate regulations that, 
inter alia, implement the dolphin-safe labeling standard in the United 
States by the collection of documents on the dolphin-safe status of 
tuna import shipments and domestic tuna product processing; by allowing 
documentary requests to allow for an effective tracking and 
verification program; and by verifying that tuna was not harvested by a 
nation under embargo or otherwise prohibited from exporting tuna to the 
United States.
    The IDCPA allows entry of yellowfin tuna into the United States, 
under specific conditions, from nations in the International Dolphin 
Conservation Program that would otherwise be under embargo. The IDCPA 
also allows U.S. fishing vessels to participate in the yellowfin tuna 
fishery in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean (ETP) on terms equivalent 
with the vessels of other nations. NOAA collects information to verify 
these conditions are met and that allows tracking and verification of 
``dolphin-safe'' and ``non-dolphin safe'' tuna products from catch 
through the U.S. market.
    This collection of information also complies with the requirements 
of the Tuna Conventions Act (TCA), 16 U.S.C. 951 et seq., which was 
amended by the ``Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing 
Enforcement Act of 2015'' (Pub. L. 114-81). The TCA gives the Secretary 
of Commerce the authority to enact regulations to fulfill the 
requirement that all member States maintain and provide to the Inter-
American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) a list of vessels flagged by 
the member State and (1) authorized by the member State to be used for 
fishing for tuna and tuna-like species in the IATTC Convention Area, or 
(2) authorized by other States to be used for fishing for tuna and 
tuna-like species in their areas of jurisdiction in the IATTC Area, and 
to maintain and provide for each vessel on that list certain 
information on its characteristics and its owner and operator. The TCA 
also gives the Secretary of Commerce authority to implement fishery 
management resolutions of the IATTC.
    The information is used by NMFS, the United States Coast Guard 
(USGC), and the IATTC to monitor the size and composition of the vessel 
fleets in the IATTC Convention Area for compliance and scientific-
related purposes. Knowing such information as the number of vessels, 
the details of the vessels and their ownership, and the types of gear 
employed enables effective monitoring of vessel activity for 
enforcement and assessment purposes. NMFS also uses this information 
for the purposes of managing the U.S. purse seine fleet capacity in the 
IATTC Convention Area.
    This collection includes permit applications, notifications, 
reports, and certifications that provide information on vessel 
characteristics and operations in the ETP, documentary evidence 
requests, and certain other information necessary to implement the 
IDCPA.
    The five information collections being removed from 0648-0387 that 
were added to 0648-0335 ``Tuna Tracking and Verification Program'' (90 
FR 21752, May 21, 2025), also comply with requirements of the IDCPA and 
DPCIA. They include vessel arrival notifications, tuna tracking forms, 
tuna product receiving and processing reports, and documents/
certifications that provide information on vessel characteristics and 
operations in the ETP, the origin of tuna and tuna products, and chain 
of custody recordkeeping requirements.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Respondent's Obligation: The information collections under this OMB 
Control Number have a respondent obligation that can be voluntary or 
required to obtain benefits based on each individual action.
    Legal Authority: The International Dolphin Conservation Program Act 
(IDCPA), 16 U.S.C. 1414 and The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), 16 
U.S.C. Ch. 31.
    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 0648-0387.

Sheleen Dumas,
Departmental PRA Compliance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2026-21485 Filed 10-20-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P


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