[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 201 (Monday, October 19, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63201-63202]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-26468]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Greater 
Atlantic Region Logbook Family of Forms

AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on 
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before December 18, 
2015.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th 
and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet 
at [email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should 
be directed to James St.Cyr, (978) 281-9369 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    This request is for an extension of a currently approved 
information collection.
    Under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, 
the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) has the responsibility for the 
conservation and management of marine fishery resources. Much of this 
responsibility has been delegated to the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/National Marine Fisheries Service 
(NMFS). Under this stewardship role, the Secretary was given certain 
regulatory authorities to ensure the most beneficial uses of these 
resources. One of the regulatory steps taken to carry out the 
conservation and management objectives is to collect data from users of 
the resource. Thus, as regional Fishery Management Councils develop 
specific Fishery Management Plans (FMP), the Secretary has promulgated 
rules for the issuance and use of a vessel Interactive Voice Response 
(IVR) system, a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) and vessel logbooks 
(VTR) to obtain fishery-dependent data to monitor, evaluate, and 
enforce fishery regulations.
    Fishing vessels permitted to participate in Federally-permitted 
fisheries in the Northeast are required to submit logbooks containing 
catch and effort information about their fishing trips. Participants in 
the herring, tilefish and red crab fisheries are also required to make 
weekly reports on their catch through IVR. In addition, vessels fishing 
under a days-at sea (DAS) management system can use the IVR system to 
request a DAS credit when they have canceled a trip for unforeseen 
circumstances. The information submitted is needed for the management 
of the fisheries.

II. Method of Collection

    Most information is submitted on paper forms, although some vessels 
are utilizing an electronic vessel trip reporting system (EVTR). The 
IVR system is used by vessel owners to provide supplemental information 
related to specific activities such as harvesting research set-aside 
quota species, conducting exempted fishing activities, or declaring a 
block of days out of the fishery. In the herring and tilefish fisheries 
vessel owners or operators must provide weekly catch information to an 
IVR system. In the NE Multispecies fishery, vessel owners or operators 
must declare catch and discards of groundfish species of concern 
through VMS for all trips.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0648-0212.
    Form Number: NOAA Forms 88-30 and 88-40.

[[Page 63202]]

    Type of Review: Regular submission (extension of a current 
information collection).
    Affected Public: Business and other for-profit organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 4,346.
    Estimated Time per Response: 5 minutes per Fishing Vessel Trip 
Report page (FVTR); 12.5 minutes per response for the Shellfish Log; 4 
minutes for a herring or red crab report to the IVR system; 2 minutes 
for a tilefish report to the IVR system; 30 seconds for voluntary 
additional halibut information; and 5 minutes for each DAS credit 
request.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 12,228.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $43,012.00.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

    Dated: September 14, 2015.
Sarah Brabson,
NOAA PRA Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-26468 Filed 10-16-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P