[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 231 (Thursday, December 1, 2011)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 74724-74725]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-30936]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 0808041037-1687-03]
RIN 0648-AX05


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Mackerel, 
Squid, and Butterfish Fisheries; Amendment 11

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

ACTION: Final rule; effectiveness of collection-of-information 
requirements.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces approval by the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) of collection-of-information requirements in regulations 
implementing Amendment 11 to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and 
Butterfish (MSB) Fishery Management Plan (FMP). This final rule sets 
the effective date of the collection-of-information requirements.

DATES: The collection-of-information requirements in 50 CFR 648.4 and 
648.7 are effective on December 7, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Written comments regarding the burden-hour estimates or 
other aspects of the collection-of-information requirements contained 
in this final rule may be submitted to the Northeast Regional Office, 
NMFS, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930, by email to [email protected], or by fax to (202) 395-7285.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Aja Szumylo, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
(978) 281-9195.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    A final rule for Amendment 11 to the MSB FMP was published in the 
Federal Register on November 7, 2011 (76 FR 68642). Details regarding 
the measures in Amendment 11 are in the final rule and are not repeated 
here. The OMB approval of the collection-of-information requirements 
for Sec. Sec.  648.4 and 648.7 (as it relates to mackerel permit 
holders) had not been received by the date the final rule was submitted 
to the Office of the Federal Register for publication. OMB approved the 
collection-of-information requirements in the rule on November 9, 2011. 
This final rule makes the collection-of-information requirements 
effective.

Classification

    NMFS previously solicited public comments on Amendment 11, 
including this collection of information, through the rulemaking 
process. NMFS received no comments on the collection of information 
requirements. Thus, this action merely implements portions of Amendment 
11 that were previously proposed and subjected to public comment, but 
that under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) required OMB approval in 
order to become effective. OMB has now approved the collection of 
information provisions. Because the public has already had an 
opportunity to comment on these provisions, an additional public 
comment period is unnecessary.
    The AA finds good cause to waive the 30-day delayed effective date 
required by 5 U.S.C. 553 and make this rule effective upon publication. 
While the requirement to have a limited access mackerel permit is 
delayed until March 1, 2012, it is important to begin now the 
underlying administrative process in order to maximize the number of 
permit applications that can be acted upon by this deadline.
    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is 
required to respond to, and no person shall be

[[Page 74725]]

subject to penalty for failure to comply with, a collection-of-
information requirement subject to the requirements of the PRA, unless 
that collection-of-information displays a currently valid OMB control 
number. This final rule contains revisions to collection-of-information 
requirements subject to the PRA under OMB Control Numbers 0648-0601 and 
0648-0212.
    The requirements related to the limited access mackerel program 
have been approved under the MSB Amendment 10 Family of Forms (OMB 
Control No. 0648-0601). Under the approved limited access program, and 
pursuant to regulations at 50 CFR 648.4, vessel owners are required to 
submit to NMFS application materials to demonstrate their eligibility 
for a limited access permit. The public burden for the application 
requirement pertaining to the limited access program is estimated to 
average 45 minutes per application, including the time for reviewing 
instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and 
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the 
collection information.
    Only 410 vessels are expected to qualify and consequently renew 
their limited access mackerel permits via the renewal application each 
year. The renewal application is estimated to take 30 minutes on 
average to complete. Up to 30 applicants are expected to appeal the 
denial of their permit application. The appeals process is estimated to 
take an average of 2 hours to complete. Vessels that qualify for a Tier 
1 or Tier 2 mackerel permit would be required to submit documentation 
of hold volume size. The Council estimated that 74 vessels would 
qualify for either a Tier 1 or Tier 2 limited access mackerel permit. 
Tier 1 and 2 vessel owners will experience a time burden due to this 
requirement in the form of travel time to/from a certified marine 
surveyor. It is not possible to estimate a time burden associated with 
obtaining a hold volume measurement, as vessels would have to travel 
varying distances to visit certified marine surveyors. Travel time to a 
marine surveyor is not an information collection burden, so is not 
considered a response.
    Completing a replacement or upgrade application requires an 
estimated 3 hours per response. It is estimated that no more than 40 of 
410 vessels possessing these permits will request a vessel replacement 
or upgrade annually. Completion of a CPH application requires an 
estimated 30 minutes per response. It is estimated that no more than 30 
of the 410 vessels possessing these limited access permits will request 
a CPH annually.
    The regulations at 50 CFR 648.7 modify the VTR requirement for Tier 
3 mackerel vessels. All mackerel vessels are currently required to 
submit VTRs on a monthly basis; this requirement is currently approved 
under the Northeast Region Logbook Family of Forms (OMB Control No. 
0648-0212). Amendment 11 will require vessels issued a Tier 3 mackerel 
permit to submit VTRs on a weekly basis. A change request for this 
requirement has been approved by OMB. The public burden for the revised 
VTR requirement is expected to average 5 minutes for each additional 
VTR submission.
    Send comments on these burden estimates or any other aspects of 
these collections-of-information, including suggestions for reducing 
the burden, by mail to the Northeast Regional Office (see ADDRESSES), 
by email to [email protected] or by fax to (202) 395-7285.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: November 28, 2011.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-30936 Filed 11-30-11; 8:45 am]
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