[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 208 (Thursday, October 27, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66683-66684]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-27763]


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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: Protocol for Access to Tissue Specimen Samples from the 
National Marine Mammal Tissue Bank.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0468.
    Form Number(s): NA.
    Type of Request: Regular submission (revision and extension of a 
current information collection).
    Number of Respondents: 50.
    Average Hours per Response: Applications for tissue samples and 
research reports, 2 hours; submissions of tissue samples, 30 minutes.
    Burden Hours: 155.
    Needs and Uses: In 1989, the National Marine Mammal Tissue Bank 
(NMMTB) was established by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) 
Office of Protected Resources in collaboration with the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Minerals Management 
Service (MMS), and the US Geological Survey/Biological Resources 
Division (USGS/BRD). The NMMTB provides protocols, techniques, and 
physical facilities for the long-term storage of tissues from marine 
mammals. Scientists can request tissues from this repository for 
retrospective analyses to determine environmental trends of 
contaminants and other substances of interest. The NMMTB collects, 
processes, and stores tissues from specific indicator species (e.g., 
Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, Atlantic white sided dolphins, pilot 
whales, harbor porpoises), animals from mass strandings, animals that 
have been obtained incidental to commercial fisheries, animals taken 
for subsistence purposes, biopsies, and animals from unusual mortality 
events through two projects, the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding 
Response Program (MMHSRP) and the Alaska Marine Mammal Tissue Archival 
Project (AMMTAP).
    The purposes of this collection of information are: (1) To enable 
NOAA to allow the scientific community the opportunity to request 
tissue specimen samples from the NMMTB and, (2) to enable the Marine 
Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program (MMHSRP) of NOAA to 
assemble information on all specimens submitted to the Marine 
Environmental Specimen Bank (Marine ESB), which includes the NMMTB.
    A program change to this collection consists of a new web-based 
form for application for tissue samples;

[[Page 66684]]

previously, there was only a protocol for application.
    Affected Public: Not-for-profit institutions.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    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 21, 2011.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2011-27763 Filed 10-26-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P