[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 96 (Monday, May 19, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28762-28763]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-11518]



[[Page 28762]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R7-FHC-2014-N085; FF07CAMM00.FX.FR133707MT000]


Information Collection Request Sent to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for Approval; Marine Mammal Marking, Tagging, and 
Reporting Certificates, and Registration of Certain Dead Marine Mammal 
Hard Parts

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) have sent an Information 
Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for review and approval. We summarize 
the ICR below and describe the nature of the collection and the 
estimated burden and cost. This information collection is scheduled to 
expire on May 31, 2014. We may not conduct or sponsor and a person is 
not required to respond to a collection of information unless it 
displays a currently valid OMB control number. However, under OMB 
regulations, we may continue to conduct or sponsor this information 
collection while it is pending at OMB.

DATES: You must submit comments on or before June 18, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments and suggestions on this information 
collection to the Desk Officer for the Department of the Interior at 
OMB-OIRA at (202) 395-5806 (fax) or [email protected] 
(email). Please provide a copy of your comments to the Service 
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, MS 2042-PDM, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203 
(mail), or [email protected] (email). Please include ``1018-0066'' in 
the subject line of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this ICR, contact Hope Grey at [email protected] (email) or 703-
358-2482 (telephone). You may review the ICR online at http://www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to review Department of the 
Interior collections under review by OMB.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Information Collection Request

    OMB Control Number: 1018-0066.
    Title: Marine Mammal Marking, Tagging, and Reporting Certificates, 
and Registration of Certain Dead Marine Mammal Hard Parts, 50 CFR 
18.23(f) and 50 CFR 18.26.
    Service Form Number(s): 3-2406, 3-2414, 3-2415, and 3-2416.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Description of Respondents: Individuals and households.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                    Completion
                                                     Number of       Number of       time per      Total annual
                    Activity                        respondents      responses       response      burden hours
                                                                                     (minutes)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3-2406 (Beach-found)............................             300             300              15              75
3-2414 (Polar bear).............................              25              60              15              15
3-2415 (Walrus).................................             100             500              15             125
3-2416 (Sea otter)..............................              75           1,280              15             320
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................             500           2,140  ..............             535
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Abstract: Under section 101(b) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act 
of 1972 (MMPA), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361-1407), Alaska Natives 
residing in Alaska and dwelling on the coast of the North Pacific or 
Arctic Oceans may harvest polar bears, northern sea otters, and Pacific 
walruses for subsistence or handicraft purposes. Section 109(i) of the 
MMPA authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to prescribe marking, 
tagging, and reporting regulations applicable to the Alaska Native 
subsistence and handicraft take.
    On behalf of the Secretary, we implemented regulations at 50 CFR 
18.23(f) for Alaska Natives harvesting polar bears, northern sea 
otters, and Pacific walruses. These regulations enable us to gather 
data on the Alaska Native subsistence and handicraft harvest and on the 
biology of polar bears, northern sea otters, and Pacific walruses in 
Alaska to determine what effect such take may be having on these 
populations. The regulations also provide us with a means of monitoring 
the disposition of the harvest to ensure that any commercial use of 
products created from these species meets the criteria set forth in 
section 101(b) of the MMPA. We use three forms to collect the 
information: FWS Form 3-2414 (Polar Bear Tagging Certificates), FWS 
Form 3-2415 (Walrus Tagging Certificates), and FWS Form 3-2416 (Sea 
Otter Tagging Certificates). The information we collect includes, but 
is not limited to:
     Date of kill.
     Sex of the animal.
     Kill location.
     Age of the animal (i.e., adult, subadult, cub, or pup).
     Form of transportation used to make the kill of polar 
bears.
     Amount of time (i.e., hours/days hunted) spent hunting 
polar bears.
     Type of take (live-killed or beach-found) for walrus.
     Number of otters present in and number of otters harvested 
from pod.
     Condition of the polar bear and whether or not bear cubs 
were present.
     Name of the hunter or possessor of the specified parts at 
the time of marking, tagging, and reporting.
    We are proposing to use FWS Form 3-2406 (Registration of Certain 
Dead Marine Mammal Hard Parts) to record the collection of bones, 
teeth, or ivory of dead marine mammals by non-Native and Natives not 
eligible to harvest marine mammals under the MMPA. It is legal to 
collect such parts from a beach or from land within a quarter of a mile 
of the ocean (50 CFR 18.26). The information we collect will include, 
but is not limited to:
     Date and location found.
     Age, sex, and size of the animal.
     Tag numbers.
     Name, address, phone number, and birthdate of the 
collector.

Comment Received and Our Response

    Comments: On November 8, 2013, we published in the Federal Register 
(78 FR 67184) a notice of our intent to request that OMB renew approval 
for this information collection. In that notice, we solicited comments 
for 60 days, ending on January 7, 2014. We received one comment. The 
commenter objected to the killing of polar bears in general, but did 
not address the information collection requirements. We did not make 
any changes to our requirements.

[[Page 28763]]

    The regulations at 50 CFR 18.23(a) reaffirm the exemption for 
Alaska Natives, which allows for the taking (harvest) of marine mammals 
(including polar bears) by any Indian, Aleut, or Eskimo who resides in 
Alaska and who dwells on the coast of the North Pacific Ocean or the 
Arctic Ocean, subject to the restrictions contained in section 18.23, 
if such taking is:
    (1) For subsistence purposes; or
    (2) For purposes of creating and selling authentic native articles 
or handicraft and clothing; and
    (3) In either of the above cases, not accomplished in a wasteful 
manner.

Request for Public Comments

    We again invite comments concerning this information collection on:
     Whether or not the collection of information is necessary, 
including whether or not the information will have practical utility;
     The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this 
collection of information;
     Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on respondents.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. Before including your address, phone number, email 
address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you 
should be aware that your entire comment, including your personal 
identifying information, may be made publicly available at any time. 
While you can ask OMB in your comment to withhold your personal 
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that it 
will be done.

    Dated: May 14, 2014.
Tina A. Campbell,
Chief, Division of Policy and Directives Management, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-11518 Filed 5-16-14; 8:45 am]
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