[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 39 (Friday, February 27, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 10666]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-04145]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


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 Chinook Salmon Economic Data Report (EDR).
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0633.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular (extension of a currently approved 
information collection).
    Number of Respondents: 133.
    Average Hours per Response: 40 hours for Compensated Transfer 
Report; 4 hours each for Vessel Fuel Survey, Vessel Master Survey; and 
Chinook EDR Verification/Audit.
    Burden Hours: 1,168.
    Needs and Uses: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Alaska 
Region manages the groundfish fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone 
off Alaska. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) 
prepared the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea 
and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP) under the authority of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, 16 U.S.C. 
1801 et seq. (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The FMP is implemented under 
regulations at 50 CFR part 679.
    NMFS manages the Bering Sea pollock fishery under the American 
Fisheries Act (AFA) (16 U.S.C. 1851). The AFA ``rationalized'' the 
Bering Sea pollock fishery in part by allowing for the formation and 
management of fishery cooperatives. AFA fishing vessels harvest pollock 
using pelagic (mid-water) trawl gear, which consists of large nets 
towed through the water by the vessel. At times, Chinook salmon and 
pollock occur in the same locations in the Bering Sea. Consequently, 
Chinook salmon are incidentally caught in the nets as pollock is 
harvested. This incidental catch is called bycatch and is also called 
prohibited species catch (PSC). Chinook Salmon are defined as a 
prohibited species because they are caught by a vessel issued a Federal 
Fisheries Permit under Sec.  679.4(b) while fishing for groundfish 
(pollock) in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI) 
or Gulf of Alaska.
    In December 2009, the Council recommended that NMFS implement the 
Chinook Salmon Economic Data Report (Chinook Salmon EDR) to evaluate 
the effectiveness of Chinook salmon bycatch management measures for the 
Bering Sea pollock fishery that were implemented under Amendment 91 to 
the BSAI FMP (75 FR 53026, August 30, 2010).
    The Chinook EDR Program provides information to the analysts and 
the Council for determining the effectiveness of the Incentive Plan 
Agreement (IPA). The Chinook EDR Program evaluates the effectiveness of 
the IPA incentives, the PSC limits, and the performance standard in 
terms of minimizing salmon bycatch in times of high and low levels of 
salmon abundance, and evaluates how Amendment 91 affects where, when, 
and how pollock fishing and salmon bycatch occur. The data collection 
program also provides data for NMFS and the Council to study and verify 
conclusions drawn by industry in the IPA annual reports.
    Affected Public:
    Frequency:
    Respondent's Obligation:
    This information collection request may be viewed at reginfo.gov. 
Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce collections 
currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to [email protected] or fax to (202) 395-5806.

    Dated: February 24, 2015.
Sarah Brabson,
NOAA PRA Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-04145 Filed 2-26-15; 8:45 am]
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