[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 233 (Monday, December 5, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75873-75874]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-31094]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; West Coast 
Groundfish Trawl Economic Data Collection

AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on 
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before February 3, 
2012.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Diana Hynek, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th 
and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet 
at [email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should 
be directed to Erin Steiner, (206) 860-3202 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    This request is for a revision of a currently approved information 
collection.
    This information collection is needed in order to meet the 
monitoring requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA). In 
particular, the Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) needs 
economic data on all harvesters, first receivers, shorebased 
processors, catcher processors, and motherships participating in the 
West Coast groundfish trawl fishery.
    The currently approved collection covers collection of data for the 
2009,

[[Page 75874]]

2010, and 2011 operating years. Data from the 2009 and 2010 operating 
years provides information on the economic condition of the fishery 
prior to the implementation of catch share management in January 2011, 
and has been collected by the NWFSC. Data for the 2011 operating year, 
which will provide information on the first year of operation under the 
catch share regime, will be collected from all catcher vessels 
registered to a limited entry trawl endorsed permit, catcher processors 
registered to catcher processor permits, and motherships registered to 
mothership permits, first receivers, and shorebased processors that 
received round or head-and-gutted individual fishing quota (IFQ) 
groundfish or whiting from a first receiver.
    Based on review of the completed economic data collection (EDC) 
forms submitted for the 2009 and 2010 operating years as well as 
discussions with survey respondents, the NWFSC seeks to modify the four 
forms which are used in this information collection. These 
modifications clarify instructions, make the requests for information 
more consistent with the accounting/bookkeeping systems used by survey 
recipients, and continue to facilitate meeting MSA requirements for 
evaluation of the economic effect of catch share management on the West 
Coast groundfish limited entry trawl fishery.
    As stated in 50 CFR 660.114, the EDC forms due on September 1, 2012 
will provide data for the 2011 operating year.
    The definition of the survey population is different for 2011 data, 
to account for differences between the requirements for the baseline 
collection and ongoing collections as defined in the regulations. To 
capture vessel improvements and repairs to vessels that did not harvest 
any groundfish or were operated by lessees, in the 2011 data 
collection, as well as to collect more complete information about 
shoreside operations that do not process fish, completion of each form 
in its entirety will be required for all owners of vessels registered 
to a limited entry trawl endorsed permit, a mothership permit, or a 
catcher processor permit, owners of a first receiver site license, and 
owners or lessees of a shorebased processor that received round or 
headed-and-gutted IFQ species groundfish or whiting from a first 
receiver. This is in contrast to the 2009 and 2010 data collection 
which allowed entities that did not harvest or process any groundfish 
to complete only the first four pages of the forms.
    Other minor modifications to the catcher vessel forms include 
asking for information about lease dates of the vessel, and the 
addition of several expense categories based on feedback from the 2009 
and 2010 data collections. The first receiver and shorebased processor 
form was modified to better align with accounting practices and to 
clarify the information required for reporting fish purchases. There 
were no other changes to the mothership or catcher processors forms.

II. Method of Collection

    Forms may be submitted via mail or electronically.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0648-0618.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission (revision of a currently 
approved collection).
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 247.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 8 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,976.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0 in recordkeeping/
reporting costs.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

    Dated: November 29, 2011.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2011-31094 Filed 12-2-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P