[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 242 (Tuesday, December 17, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77235-77240]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-31698]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Docket No. 021127289-2289-01, I.D. 091002E]
RIN 0648-ZB34


Financial Assistance for Research and Development Projects in the 
Gulf of Mexico and off the U.S. South Atlantic Coastal States; 
Cooperative Research Program (CRP)

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of solicitation for applications.

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SUMMARY: Subject to the availability of funds, NMFS (hereafter referred 
to as ``we'' or ``us'') announces the availability of Federal 
assistance under the Cooperative Research Program (CRP) Grant Program. 
This announcement provides guidelines, evaluations criteria and 
selection procedures for the program.
    Under the CRP program, we provide financial assistance for research 
and development projects that optimize the use of fisheries in the Gulf 
of Mexico and along the Atlantic coast involving the U.S. fishing 
industry (commercial and recreational), including fishery biology, 
resource assessment, socio-economic assessments, management and 
conservation, selected harvest methods, and fish handling and 
processing.

DATES: We must receive your application by close of business (5 p.m. 
eastern standard time) on February 18, 2003. Applications received 
after that time will not be considered for funding.

ADDRESSES: You can obtain an application package from, and send your 
completed applications to: Ellie Francisco Roche, Chief, State/Federal 
Liaison Office, Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 9721 Executive Center 
Drive, N., St. Petersburg, FL 33702. You can also obtain the 
application package from the SERO homepage at: http://
http://caldera.sero.nmfs.gov/grants/programs/">caldera.sero.nmfs.gov/grants/programs/.
    You must submit one signed original and two copies of the completed 
application (including supporting information). We will accept neither 
facsimile applications, nor electronically forwarded applications.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellie Francisco Roche, Chief, State/
Federal Liaison Office, (727)570-5324.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

A. Background

    The CRP is a competitive Federal assistance program that funds 
projects seeking to increase and improve the working relationship 
between researchers from the NMFS, state fishery agencies, 
universities, and fishermen. Congress has initiated the cooperative 
research funding to assist the NMFS to improve the confidence that both 
commercial and recreational fishermen have in the data and analyses 
performed in support of fisheries management. The CRP has as its 
principal goal to provide a means of involving commercial and 
recreational fishermen in the collection of fundamental fisheries 
information to support the development and evaluation of management and 
regulatory options.

B. Funding

    We are soliciting applications for Federal assistance pursuant to 
15 U.S.C. 713c 3(d). This document describes how you can apply for a 
grant or cooperative agreement under the CRP Grant Program and how we 
determine which applications we will fund.
    Approximately $2.0 million may be available in fiscal year (FY) 
2003 for funding projects. This amount includes possible in-house 
projects. Publication of this notice obligates neither NMFS to award 
any specific grant or cooperative agreement nor all or any parts of the 
available funds.

[[Page 77236]]

    Project proposals accepted for funding will need to be completed 
within 18 months.

C. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

    This program is described in the ``Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance'' under program number 11.454 entitled Unallied Management.

II. Funding Priorities

    Your proposal must address one of the priority areas listed below 
as they pertain to federally-managed species or species relevant to 
Federal fisheries management plans. If you select more than one 
priority, you should list first on your application the priority that 
most closely reflects the objectives of your proposal.
    Projects should focus on the greatest probability of collecting 
data that aids in recovering, maintaining, or improving the status of 
stocks upon which fisheries depend; improving the understanding of 
factors affecting recruitment success and long-term sustainability of 
fisheries; and/or generating increased values and opportunities for 
fisheries. Projects are evaluated as to the likelihood of achieving 
these objectives, with consideration of the magnitude of the eventual 
economic or social benefits that may be realized. Priority is given to 
funding projects in the subject areas listed in this section, but 
proposals in other areas are considered on a funds-available basis.

A. Commercial Finfish

    There are several priorities within this general category that 
relate to the collection of catch, effort, size frequency, bycatch, and 
detailed data on fishing area by vessels in the commercial fisheries 
for finfish species. The following general categories are identified in 
priority order:
    1. Monitor the effects of closed Marine Protected Areas. Research 
is needed to identify methods to measure the response of marine 
resource to changes in regulations for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). 
(a) Projects are needed to thoroughly assess the impacts of times/area 
closures in the Southeast Region that have been designated to protect 
finfish spawning aggregations and/or concentrations of sub-legal fish. 
(b) Projects to collect fine-scale data for catch-effort are needed to 
help refine the definition (spatial and temporal) of MPAs. (c) Projects 
should include use of fishermen's knowledge about critical habitat for 
the range of species harvested. An example is the large MPA intended to 
protect small swordfish and other highly migratory species off the US 
southeastern coast.
    2. Characterize the total catch (from all fleets affecting the 
stocks), including catch composition and disposition of the catch. (a) 
Projects are needed to collect detailed information on the composition 
and disposition of bycatch and discards. (b) Investigations are needed 
to determine more efficient and effective methods to record catches 
more accurately and on a real-time basis during the actual fishing 
(e.g. electronic logbooks). (c) Projects are needed to develop methods 
to increase the amount of at-sea observation with the application of 
imaging systems. (d) Projects are needed to fully utilize scientific 
observers on-board vessels as a means of collecting detailed catch, 
effort and disposition data. In cases where vessel space does not 
permit adding an observer, it might be possible to designate the 
captain or a crew member as the responsible individual on-board for 
recording these data. Projects need to evaluate the type of training 
and equipment that are required to assure that scientifically reliable 
data are collected. (e) Data collection projects are needed to 
determine the effects of increasing size limits or reducing possession 
limits on discard rates. If discard mortalities are high, such 
management measures might counteract the intended conservation benefits 
to the stock. Discard mortality rates currently used in assessments are 
generally based on small numbers of observations or are unknown. 
Research is needed to develop estimates of discard mortality rates as a 
function of size, gear, area, season and depth of fishing is needed to 
improve the basis for estimating the conservation benefits or losses 
associated with size limits for a wide range of stocks. (f) Data 
collection projects are needed to help improve the information on life 
history and biological investigations on commercial finfish species are 
needed. Improved information about the age-structure of the catch (both 
retained and discarded) based on otolith or other hard-part age 
readings provide an improved basis for monitoring the stock's 
resilience to fishing. Improved information on the reproductive 
characteristics of the stock provides a basis for refining estimates of 
long-term potential productivity of the stock. Collection of biological 
specimens from the catch is necessary for improving our understanding 
of the life history characteristics that influence the stock's 
resilience to fishing and potential for production. Research activities 
which provide life history biological specimens are encouraged.
    3. Monitoring stock abundance through study-fleet applications. 
This type of cooperative research requires long-term commitment in 
terms of funding and application. (a) The objective is to develop a 
consistent sampling methodology that will permit tracking relative 
abundance of a fishery resource across time. The initial step for such 
applications is the development of sampling designs and protocols to be 
applied by the fleet, including intercalibration studies between 
vessels, if needed. (b) Projects are needed to develop methods to 
determine the appropriate sampling designs and pilot studies are 
needed. An example is the potential development of a recruitment index 
for swordfish, sampling in regions with high abundance of Young of the 
Year, generally in the areas that are now closed to longlining in the 
Gulf and along the southeastern US coast.
    4. Projects to develop and test gear and fishing strategy 
modifications to reduce or eliminate unintended catch are needed.
    5. Fishing capacity investigations. There appears to be a wide-
spread mismatch between the current capacity of the regional fishing 
fleets and the productivity of the stocks. Cooperative research into 
methods to optimize capacity to better match the long-term potential 
productivity of the regional stocks is needed. A number of 
possibilities ranging from Individual Quota Systems to Vessel Capacity 
Control programs could be considered. It was noted that there are 
likely regional/fishery differences that would require different 
approaches.

B. Caribbean Fisheries

    Orientation meetings have recently been conducted between the 
Caribbean Fisheries Management Council and the fishing industry. These 
meetings focused upon closing fisheries in portions of the Exclusive 
Economic Zone (EEZ) by establishing additional Marine Protected Areas 
(MPAs). It was evident that representatives from the Caribbean were 
clearly in touch with concerns expressed by user groups from their 
region and were attuned to potentials for cooperative research. Two 
areas, (1) habitat and fisheries and (2) corals, were identified as 
principal research topics.
    1. Habitat and fisheries. (a) Research and data collection to 
estimate the social and economic impacts that are related to closures 
of MPAs are a high priority. Currently the Caribbean has five seasonal 
closures in the EEZ for spawning aggregates of fish and one no-

[[Page 77237]]

take zone consisting of an annual closure. The size of these areas is 
not as vast as areas established on the mainland, but for the size of 
the fishing grounds in the Caribbean, they are significant. Although 
research has been conducted on the biological impacts of several no-
take zones, little or no research has been done to estimate the impacts 
on the fishing communities and the economics of these fisheries. (b) 
Although research has been done by scientists, research should focus on 
industry being utilized as a conduit to take scientists to locations 
for study. The commercial sector can avail the scientific community 
tremendous assistance in generating information and knowledge about 
area closure times and spawning areas. (c) Enormous potential exists 
for cooperative research between industry and the scientific community. 
Significant research of closed areas can be effectively achieved by 
incorporating commercial fishermen with scientific investigations. 
Commercial fishermen could also assist the scientific community to 
locate areas of recruitment. (d) Projects are also needed to 
investigate the benefits of rotating MPAs (either temporal or spatial). 
Once an area is closed, it remains closed forever, but research is 
needed to determine the biological and socioeconomic benefits of 
alternating MPAs between open and closed.
    2. Corals. (a) Research is needed to determine the impact on coral 
reefs from both commercial and recreational fishing activity. Industry 
participation is needed to research the impacts of gear on coral reefs. 
(b) Research is needed to determine the impacts to coral resulting from 
recreational fishing activities. Overall the information on 
recreational fishing activities on coral reefs is sparse, even though 
there are approximately 60,000 recreational vessels in the Caribbean. 
Research should focus on diving, recreational boating and anchoring on 
coral reefs.

C. Recreational and Charter Fishery

    1. Socioeconomic research. (a) Research needs to be performed to 
determine the numbers of recreational fishermen and related trips need 
to be accurately defined. (b) Data needs to be collected to expand the 
information base for the socioeconomic characteristics or the 
recreational and charter boat industries. (c) In addition to data 
collection activities, research needs to be done to investigate the 
potential economic impacts and costs associated with recreational 
fishing.
    2. Research on Management Alternatives. (a) Research into the 
effects of seasonal closures or MPAs on the recreational and charter 
boat industries are a priority. (b) Investigations should include 
benefits and costs to the stocks, as well as socioeconomic benefits/
costs to participants in the fishery. (c) One key element is research 
into the potential impact of closures and/or MPAs to improve spawning 
stocks. The biological impact of such management alternatives should be 
more clearly understood regarding impact to spawning stocks. (d) 
Another key question is the potential impacts of closures on the 
recruitment of stocks that are important for recreational and charter 
boat industries. (e) Research is also needed to determine the potential 
of bag and size limits on species that are important to recreational 
and charter boat industries. Emphasis of the research should be on 
looking at alternatives to size limits. (f) Bycatch post-release 
mortality closely relates to alternative management measures and 
research is needed to adequately measure these mortality rates. At-sea 
observers on recreational and charter boat trips are a possible means 
of performing this type of research and should be considered for this 
research topic.
    3. Catch/Effort Data. Data collection projects are needed to 
improve the data on catch and effort from the private recreational 
fishermen. Research is needed to determine whether and at what level an 
increase in the numbers of intercept interviews are needed to improve 
better resolution in the estimates of the catch and effort for the 
private recreational fishery.
    4. Habitat research. (a) Research is needed to evaluate the 
effectiveness of artificial reefs, what can artificial reefs do for the 
fishing community, and estimate associated impacts. (b) Research is 
needed to determine the impacts and effects of harmful algal blooms 
such as red tide on recreational and charter boat fisheries. (c) 
Investigations are needed into requirements for essential fisheries 
habitat for certain species - gag group, goliath grouper and sharks.
    1. Social and economic impact of fluctuations in domestic shrimp 
values. (a) Research is needed on the effects on the domestic shrimp 
fishery by high quantities of imports from foreign countries. (b) 
Research is also needed to investigate the social and economic impacts. 
This type of research should include impacts on communities, both local 
fishery-dependent areas and the industry as a whole.
    2. Identifying non-trawlable areas. Research is needed to 
investigate how habitat enhancements of non-trawlable areas could 
benefit shrimp fisheries. For example, artificial reefs could be an 
important method to improve certain fisheries. Such research could 
include investigations to determine if enhancements could increase 
habitat for juvenile fish, i.e. red snapper, and not only sub-adult and 
adult species.
    3. Quantification of effort. Research is needed to continue recent 
effort to improve and better quantitate fishing effort. Such research 
needs to incorporate the conditions and recommendations negotiated with 
the shrimp industry. Areas of concern are insurance for at-sea 
observers, acceptable gear and protecting confidential data that are 
collected by the projects.
    4. BRD testing protocols. Research needs to be continued to develop 
more efficient methods to certify finfish reduction devices. It would 
be beneficial for the shrimp industry if certification protocol that is 
more desirable for both the resource and the user could be developed.
    5. Quantification of bycatch rates. Research is needed to expand 
existing methods of extrapolating trawl bycatch data for a broad range 
of conditions and fishing grounds. Use of scientific fishery observers 
should be expanded to collect bycatch information for a wide a range of 
fishing area and conditions as possible.

III. How to Apply

    To apply for grants or cooperative agreements, you must follow the 
instructions in this document.

A. Eligibility

    Eligible applicants include institutions of higher education, other 
nonprofits, commercial organizations, state governments, and private 
citizens. Federal agencies or institutions are not eligible. Foreign 
governments, organizations under the jurisdiction of foreign 
governments, and international organizations are excluded for purposes 
of their solicitation since the objective of the CRP is to optimize 
research and development benefits from U.S. marine fishery resources.

B. Duration and Terms of Funding

    We will award grants or cooperative agreements for a maximum period 
of up to 18 months. For the extent of substantial involvement, see 
Section III. D. The award period depends upon the duration of funding 
requested in the applications, the decision of the NMFS selecting 
official on the amount of funding, the results of post-selection 
negotiations between the applicant and NOAA officials, and pre-award 
review

[[Page 77238]]

of the application by NOAA and Department of Commerce (DOC) officials.

C. Cost Sharing

    Cost-sharing is not required for the CRP. Applications must provide 
the total budget necessary to accomplish the project, including 
contributions and/or donations. Because 15 U.S.C. 713c 3(c)(4)(B) 
provides that the amount of Federal funding must be at least 50 percent 
of the estimated cost of the project, the total costs shown in the 
proposal will be evaluated for appropriateness according to the 
administrative rules, including 15 CFR 14.23 and 15 CFR 24.24, as 
appropriate. If an applicant chooses to cost-share, and if that 
application is selected for funding, the applicant is bound by the 
percentage of the cost share reflected in the grant or cooperative 
agreement award. Note: Costs incurred in either the development of a 
project or the financial assistance application, or time expended in 
any subsequent discussions or negotiations prior to the award, are 
neither reimbursable nor recognizable as part of the recipient's cost 
share.

D. Application Format and Requirements

    The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements for 
Grants and Cooperative Agreements contained in the Federal Register 
notice of October 1, 2001 (66 FR 49917), as amended by the Federal 
Register notice published on October 30, 2002 (67 FR 66109), is 
applicable to this solicitation. Your application must be complete and 
must follow the format described in the CRP Application Package. 
Applicants should contact the NMFS Southeast Regional Office for a copy 
of this solicitation's CRP Application Package (see ADDRESSES). You may 
also obtain the application package from the SERO Home Page at: ttp//
http://caldera.sero.nmfs.gov/grants/programs/">caldera.sero.nmfs.gov/grants/programs/.
    Project applications must identify the principal participants, and 
include copies of any agreements describing the specific tasks to be 
performed by participants. Project applications should give a clear 
presentation of the proposed work, the methods for carrying out the 
project, its relevance to managing and enhancing the use of Gulf of 
Mexico and Atlantic fishery resources, and cost estimates as they 
relate to specific aspects of the project. Budgets must include a 
detailed breakdown, by category of expenditures, with appropriate 
justification for both the Federal and non-Federal shares. The budget 
must include estimates of the time and cost to the government required 
of the SEFSC partner. The cost of the SEFSC partner is not to be 
included as part of the project cost, but should be included as a 
separate budget item.
    Applications should exhibit familiarity with related work that is 
completed or ongoing. Proposals should state whether the research 
applies to the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic or North Atlantic for 
highly migratory species or multiple areas. Successful applicants are 
required to collect and manage data in accordance with standardized 
procedures and format approved or specified by NMFS and to participate 
with NMFS in specific cooperative activities that are determined by 
consultations between NMFS and successful applicants before project 
grants are awarded. All data collected as part of an awarded grant must 
be provided to the National Marine Fisheries Service/Southeast 
Fisheries Science Center. Data must be edited and specified as accurate 
by the Principal Investigator.
    All applicants must either be a commercial or recreational 
fisherman or have a written agreement that the proposed research 
includes a commercial or recreational fisherman or fishermen.
    All applicants must include a written agreement with a person 
employed by the Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) that will 
act as a partner in the proposed research project. The SEFSC partner 
will assist the applicant to develop a design for the project to assure 
that the outcome will provide suitable, scientific data and results to 
support needed fisheries management information.
    Applications must be one-sided and unbound. All incomplete 
applications are returned to the applicant. Three copies (one original 
and two copies) of each application are required and should be 
submitted to the NMFS Southeast Regional Office, State/Federal Liaison 
Office (see ADDRESSES).

E. Indirect Costs

    The total dollar amount of the indirect costs awarded under this 
program will not exceed the indirect cost rate negotiated and approved 
by a cognizant Federal agency prior to the proposed effective date of 
the award or 25 percent of the Federal share of the total proposed 
direct costs dollar amount in the application, whichever is less. A 
copy of the current, approved, negotiated Indirect Cost Agreement with 
the Federal Government must be included with the application.

IV. Screening, Evaluation, and Selection Procedures

A. Initial Screening of Applications

    When we receive applications we will screen them to ensure that 
they were received by the deadline date (see DATES); include SF 424 
signed and dated by an authorized representative; were submitted by an 
eligible applicant, either a commercial or recreational fisherman or 
contains a written agreement with a commercial or recreational 
fisherman; includes a written agreement with an SEFSC partner; address 
one of the funding priorities for federally managed species; and 
include a budget, statement of work, and milestones, and identify the 
principal investigator. We do not have to screen applications before 
the submission deadline in order to identify deficiencies that would 
cause your application to be rejected so that you would have an 
opportunity to correct them. However, should we do so and provide you 
information about deficiencies, or should you independently decide it 
is desirable to do so, you may correct any deficiencies in your 
application before the deadline. After the deadline, the application 
must remain as submitted; no changes can be made to it. If your 
application does not conform to these requirements and the deadline for 
submission has passed, the application will be returned without further 
consideration.

B. Evaluations of Proposed Projects

    1. Technical evaluation. Application responsive to this 
solicitation will be evaluated by three or more appropriate private and 
public sector experts to determine their technical merit. These 
reviewers will provide individual evaluations of the proposals. No 
consensus advice will be given. These reviewers provide comments and 
assign scores to the applications based on the following criteria, with 
the weights shown in parentheses:
    a. Does the proposal have a clearly stated goals(s) with associated 
objectives that meet the needs outlined in the project narrative? ( 30 
points maximum)
    b. Does the proposal clearly identify and describe, in the project 
outline and statement of work, scientific methodologies and analytical 
procedures that will adequately address project goals and objectives? 
(30 points maximum)
    c. Do the principal investigators provide a realistic timetable to 
enable full accomplishment of all aspects of the research? (20 points 
maximum)
    d. How effective are the proposed methods in enabling the principal

[[Page 77239]]

investigators to maintain stewardship of the project performance, 
finances, cooperative relationships, and reporting requirements? (10 
points maximum)
    e. Does the budget appropriately allocate and justify costs? (10 
points maximum)
    2. Scientific Panel. Applications together with the technical 
reviewers' comments and scores are presented to a Scientific Panel 
composed of NMFS scientific experts. This panel provides comments and 
rates each proposal as either ``Recommended for Funding'' or ``Not 
Recommended for Funding'' based on merits of the science, the necessity 
of the information that would be gained by the project, and the 
likelihood of assisting industry or fisheries management.
    3. CRP Panel. Proposals that are ``Recommended for Funding'' by the 
Scientific Panel are presented to a panel of non-NOAA Fishery experts 
known as the CRP Panel. Each member of the Panel individually considers 
if needs of the Agency are addressed in each proposal, if the project 
assists industry, and if the project addresses issues that are 
important to regional fisheries management. The individuals on the 
Panel provide comments and rate each of these proposals as either 
``Recommended for Funding'' or ``Not Recommended for Funding.'' No 
consensus advice will be given by the Panel. The Program Manager ranks 
the proposals in the order of preferred funding based on the number of 
Panel members recommending the proposal for funding.
    4. Science Center Director. The ranked proposals are provided to 
the Science Center Director, who is the selecting official, in the 
order of preferred funding, based on the number of Panel members 
recommending the proposal for funding. If there are ties in the 
rankings, those ties will be distinguished by the peer review score. 
The Science Center Director also receives the Panel members' individual 
comments, and comments from the Scientific Panel for projects it rated 
as ``Recommended for Funding.
    The Science Center Director, in the consultation with the Regional 
Administrator, determines the projects to be recommended for funding. 
Though rarely used, the Science Center Director has an option to make a 
selection that falls outside the CRP Panel's order of preferred funding 
on the following grounds: for geographic diversity, if not enough 
projects have addressed a priority, or because of duplication with 
other funded grants within NOAA. The Science Center Director will 
justify in writing any such selection.
    The exact amount of funds awarded, the final scope of activities, 
the project duration, and specific NMFS cooperative involvement with 
the activities of each project are determined in pre-award negotiations 
between the applicant, the NOAA Grants Office and the NMFS Program 
Office. Projects must not be initiated by recipients until a signed 
award is received from the NOAA Grants Office. Successful applications 
generally are recommended within 210 days from the date of publication 
of this notice. The earliest start date of awards average 90 days after 
each project is selected and after all NMFS/applicant negotiations of 
cooperative activities have been completed. The earliest start date of 
awards is about 300 days after the date of publication of this notice. 
Applicants should consider this selection and processing time in 
developing requested start dates for their applications. Unsuccessful 
applications will be returned to the applicant.

V. Administrative Requirements

A. Your Obligations as an Applicant

    You must:
    1. Meet all application requirements and provide all information 
necessary for the evaluation of the proposal, including one signed 
original and nine signed copies of the application.
    2. Be available to respond to questions during the review and 
evaluation of the proposal(s).

B. Your Obligations as a Successful Applicant (Recipient)

    If you are selected to receive a grant award for a project, you 
must:
    1. Manage the day-to-day operations of the project, be responsible 
for the performance of all activities for which funds are granted, and 
be responsible for the satisfaction of all administrative and 
managerial conditions imposed by the award.
    2. Keep records sufficient to document any costs incurred under the 
award, and allow access to these records for audit and examination by 
the Secretary of Commerce, the Comptroller General of the United 
States, or their authorized representatives; and submit financial 
status reports (SF 269) to NOAA Grants in accordance with the award 
conditions.
    3. Submit semiannual project status reports on the use of funds and 
progress of the project to us within 30 days after the end of each 6-
month period. You will submit these reports to the individual 
identified as the NMFS Program Officer in the funding agreement.
    4. Submit a final report within 90 days after completion of each 
project to the NMFS Program Officer. The final report must describe the 
project and include an evaluation of the work you performed and the 
results and benefits in sufficient detail to enable us to assess the 
success of the completed project.
    5. Submit all data collected as part of the project to the SEFSC 
partner. Project data must be edited and verified as accurate by the 
applicant prior to being submitted to the SEFSC. Data must be submitted 
in the agreed upon format.
    6. In addition to the final report, we request that you submit any 
publications printed with grant funds (such as manuals, surveys, etc.) 
to the NMFS Program Office for dissemination to the public.

C. Other Requirements of Recipients

    If a grant is made that specifically requires the collection of 
information from the public, there will be a delay to allow NMFS to 
obtain the required Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) approval prior to the 
start of the collection. This approval process takes a minimum of 4 
months. Information on the PRA process can be found at the following 
Web site address: www.rdc.noaa.gov@pra.
    Applications under this program are subject to the provisions of 
Executive Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal 
Programs.
    Prior notice and an opportunity for public comments are not 
required by the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553a(2)) or any 
other law for this notice concerning grants, benefits, and contracts. 
Therefore, a regulatory flexibility analysis is not required for 
purposes of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).
    This action has been determined to be not significant for purposed 
of Executive Order 12866.
    Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no person is required 
to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty for failure 
to comply with a collection of information requirements subject to the 
Paperwork Reduction Act, unless that collection displays a currently 
valid OMB control number.
    This notice contains collection-of-information requirements subject 
to the Paperwork Reduction Act. The use of Standard Forms 424, SF-LLL, 
SF-424B, and SF-269 have been approved by OMB under the respective 
control numbers 0348-0043, 0348-0040, 0348-0046 and 0348-0039. Public 
reporting burden for the latter collections of information is estimated 
to average 4 hours for an application, 1 hour for a semi-annual report, 
and 1 hour for a

[[Page 77240]]

final report. These estimates include the time for reviewing 
instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and 
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the 
collection of information. Send comments regarding these burden 
estimates or any other aspect of these collection of information, 
including suggestions for reducing this burden to Ellie Francisco Roche 
(see ADDRESSES).

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 713c-3(d)

    Dated: December 9, 2002.
Rebecca Lent,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 02-31698 Filed 12-16-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S