[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 245 (Wednesday, December 21, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 79153]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-32599]


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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: Alaska Recreational Charter Vessel Guide and Owner Data 
Collection.
    OMB Control Number: None.
    Form Number(s): NA.
    Type of Request: Regular submission (request for a new information 
collection).
    Number of Respondents: 643.
    Average Hours Per Response: Complete survey, 90 minutes; follow-up/
non-response survey, 6 minutes.
    Burden Hours: 519.
    Needs and Uses: Numerous management measures have recently been 
proposed or implemented that affect recreational charter boat fishing 
for Pacific halibut off Alaska. On January 5, 2010, the National Marine 
Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued a final rule establishing a limited 
entry permit system for charter vessels in the guided halibut sport 
fishery in International Pacific Halibut Commission Areas 2C (Southeast 
Alaska) and 3A (Central Gulf of Alaska) (75FR554). This permit system 
is intended to address concerns about the growth of fishing capacity in 
this fishery sector, which accounts for a substantial portion of the 
overall recreational halibut catch in Alaska. On March 16, 2011, a size 
limit on Pacific halibut caught while charter boat fishing for the 2011 
fishing season was established (76FR14300). In addition, on July 22, 
2011, a Halibut Catch Sharing Plan (76FR44156) was proposed that would 
alter the way Pacific halibut is allocated between the guided sport 
(i.e., the charter sector) and the commercial halibut fishery.
    To assess the effect of regulatory restrictions (currently in place 
or potential) on charter operator and owner behavior and welfare, it is 
necessary to obtain a better general understanding of the Alaska 
recreational charter boat industry. Some information useful for this 
purpose is already collected from existing sources, such as charter 
vessel logbooks administered by Alaska Department of Fish and Game 
(ADF&G). However, information on vessel and crew characteristics, 
services offered to clients, spatial and temporal aspects of their 
operations and fishing behavior, and costs and earnings information are 
generally not available from these existing data sources and thus must 
be collected directly from the industry through voluntary survey 
efforts.
    In order to address this information gap, NMFS' Alaska Fisheries 
Science Center proposes to conduct a survey of charter vessel owners to 
collect annual cost and earnings data that will supplement logbook data 
collected by ADF&G. The proposed data collection will provide basic 
economic information about the charter sector, including revenues 
produced from different products and services provided to clients, 
fixed and variable operating costs and locations of purchases. These 
data will support improved analysis and of the effects of fisheries 
regulations on the charter fishing industry, information that is 
increasingly needed by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and 
NMFS to deal with ongoing halibut resource issues and other fishery 
management issues involving the charter industry.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
    Frequency: Annually.
    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: December 16, 2011.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2011-32599 Filed 12-20-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P