[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 206 (Tuesday, October 25, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 66034]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-27548]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of 
information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. Chapter 35).
    Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
    Title: Highly Migratory Species Vessel Logbooks and Cost-Earnings 
Data Reports.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0371.
    Form Number(s): 88-191.
    Type of Request: Regular submission (extension of a current 
information collection).
    Number of Respondents: 10,216.
    Average Hours per Response: Trip reports, 12 minutes; trip reports 
without fishing, 2 minutes; cost-earnings and annual summary reports, 
30 minutes.
    Burden Hours: 36,189.
    Needs and Uses: This request is for extension of a current 
information collection.
    Under the provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) 
is responsible for management of the Nation's marine fisheries. In 
addition, NMFS must comply with the United States' obligations under 
the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of 1975 (16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.), 
which implements the International Commission for the Conservation of 
Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) recommendations. NMFS collects information via 
vessel logbooks to monitor the U.S. catch of Atlantic swordfish, 
sharks, billfish, and tunas in relation to the quotas, thereby ensuring 
that the United States complies with its domestic and international 
obligations. HMS logbooks are verified using observer data that is 
collected under OMB Control No. 0648-0593 (Observer Programs' 
Information That Can Be Gathered Only Through Questions). In addition 
to HMS fisheries, the HMS logbook is also used to report catches of 
dolphin and wahoo by commercial and charter/headboat fisheries. The HMS 
logbooks collect data on incidental species, including sea turtles, 
which is necessary to evaluate the fisheries in terms of bycatch and 
encounters with protected species. For both directed and incidentally 
caught species, the information supplied through vessel logbooks also 
provides the catch and effort data on a per set or per trip level of 
resolution. These data are necessary to assess the status of highly 
migratory species, dolphin, and wahoo in each fishery. International 
stock assessments for tunas, swordfish, billfish, and some species of 
sharks are conducted and presented to the International Commission for 
the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) periodically and provide, in 
part, the basis for ICCAT management recommendations which become 
binding on member nations. Domestic stock assessments for most species 
of sharks and for dolphin and wahoo are used as the basis of managing 
these species. Supplementary information on fishing costs and earnings 
has been collected via this vessel logbook program. This economic 
information enables NMFS to assess the economic impacts of regulatory 
programs on small businesses and fishing communities, consistent with 
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Executive Order 12866, 
the Regulatory Flexibility Act, and other domestic laws.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
    Frequency: Annually and on occasion.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    OMB Desk Officer: [email protected].
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by calling or writing Diana Hynek, Departmental Paperwork Clearance 
Officer, (202) 482-0266, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at 
[email protected]).
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to [email protected].

    Dated: October 20, 2011.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2011-27548 Filed 10-24-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P