[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 195 (Tuesday, October 9, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Page 61379]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-24784]


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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: Puget Sound Recreational Shellfish Harvesting Survey.
    OMB Control Number: None.
    Form Number(s): NA.
    Type of Request: Regular submission (request for a new information 
collection).
    Number of Respondents: 1,974
    Average Hours per Response: Initial telephone contact, 3 minutes; 
survey, 30 minutes.
    Burden Hours: 538.
    Needs and Uses: This request is for a new collection of 
information.
    The Puget Sound estuary provides one of the most valuable shellfish 
habitats in the Pacific Northwest. Shellfish are important 
economically, ecologically, and socially to the Puget Sound basin. 
While shellfish bed closures have decreased area-wide, persistent 
closures continue in certain locations, affecting local growers and 
restricting commercial and recreational harvest opportunities. The 
Puget Sound Partnership (Partnership), a Washington State agency 
established to facilitate the conservation and restoration of Puget 
Sound, has set a priority to reduce the risks of shellfish growing area 
closures and adverse effects on human health. The Partnership's Action 
Agenda, the blueprint for action to restore and protect Puget Sound, 
has set a goal for a net increase of 10,800 harvestable shellfish acres 
by 2020.
    In support of the Partnership's pursuit of this goal, the Northwest 
Fisheries Science Center is undertaking an economics research project 
to assess the behavior of individual shellfish harvesters in response 
to the opening and closing of individual shellfish beaches for human 
health reasons, and how these actions affect the value of shellfish 
harvesting. The Puget Sound Recreational Shellfish Harvesting Project 
(PSRSHP) will provide critical economic data related to recreational 
shellfish harvesting. More specifically, the PSRSHP will collect data 
needed to assess (1) the socioeconomic characteristics of recreational 
shellfish harvesting participants; (2) the economic value of access to 
Puget Sound beaches for recreational shellfish harvesting through 
statistical estimation of models; and (3) the potential changes in 
these values stemming from possible changes in management policies 
related to human health that affect the status of particular shellfish 
harvesting areas.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Frequency: One time.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    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: October 3, 2012.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-24784 Filed 10-5-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P