[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 13 (Friday, January 20, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2956-2957]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-1039]


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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: Northwest Region Gear Identification Requirements.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0352.
    Form Number(s): NA.
    Type of Request: Regular submission (revision and extension of a 
current information collection).
    Number of Respondents: 946.
    Average Hours per Response: 15 minutes.
    Burden Hours: 3,798.
    Needs and Uses: This request is for revision and extension of a 
current information collection.
    The success of fisheries management programs depends significantly 
on regulatory compliance. The requirements that fishing gear be marked 
are essential to facilitate enforcement. The ability to link fishing 
gear to the vessel owner or operator is crucial to the enforcement of 
regulations issued under the authority of the Magnuson Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (MSA). The marking of fishing gear is 
also valuable in actions concerning damage, loss, and civil 
proceedings. Regulations at 50 CFR 660.219 and 660.319 specify fishing 
gear must be marked with the vessel's official number, federal permit 
or tag number, or some other specified form of identification. The 
regulations further specify how the gear is to be marked

[[Page 2957]]

(e.g., location and color). Law enforcement personnel rely on this 
information to assure compliance with fisheries management regulations. 
Gear that is not properly identified is confiscated. The identifying 
number on fishing gear is used by the National Marine Fisheries Service 
(NMFS), the United States Coast Guard (USCG), and other marine agencies 
in issuing violations, prosecutions, and other enforcement actions. 
Gear marking helps ensure that a vessel harvests fish only from its own 
traps/pots/other gear and that traps/pots/other gear are not illegally 
placed. Gear violations are more readily prosecuted when the gear is 
marked, allowing for more cost effective enforcement. Cooperating 
fishermen also use the number to report placement or occurrence of gear 
in unauthorized areas. Regulation-compliant fishermen ultimately 
benefit from this requirement, because unauthorized and illegal fishing 
is deterred and more burdensome regulations are avoided.
    Revised individual fishing quota (IFQ) trawl fishery regulations at 
50 CFR 660.140, per Final Rule 0648-AY68 (75 FR 78344) allow trawl 
allocation to be harvested with fixed gears. Thus, 20 of the limited 
entry vessels in this collection would have up to a total of 400 
additional pieces of gear to mark, adding 100 hours and $100.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    OMB Desk Officer: [email protected].
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by calling or writing Jennifer Jessup, Departmental Paperwork Clearance 
Officer, (202) 482-0336, 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: January 17, 2012.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-1039 Filed 1-19-12; 8:45 am]
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