[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 244 (Tuesday, December 20, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 92789-92790]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-30594]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Southeast 
Region Permit Family of Forms

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), 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 (PRA) of 1995.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before February 21, 
2017.

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 Adam Bailey, NMFS Southeast Regional Office (SERO), 263 
13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, phone: 727-824-5305, or 
email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    This request is for a renewal with revisions to the existing 
reporting requirements approved under the Office of Management and 
Budget's (OMB) Control Number 0648-0205, Southeast Region Permit Family 
of Forms. The SERO Permits Office administers Federal fishing permits 
in the United States (U.S.) exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the 
Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico (Gulf), and South Atlantic under the 
authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 1801. The SERO Permits Office 
also proposes to revise parts of the current collection-of-information 
approved under OMB Control Number 0648-0205.
    The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Southeast Region 
manages the U.S. Federal fisheries in the Caribbean, Gulf, and South 
Atlantic under the fishery management plans (FMPs) for each region. The 
regional fishery management councils prepared the FMPs pursuant to the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act. The regulations implementing the FMPs, including 
those that have reporting requirements, are at 50 CFR part 622.
    The recordkeeping and reporting requirements at 50 CFR part 622 
form the basis for this collection of information. The NMFS Southeast 
Region requests information from fishery participants. This 
information, upon receipt, results in an increasingly more efficient 
and accurate database for management and monitoring of the Federal 
fisheries in the Caribbean, Gulf, and South Atlantic.
    The SERO Permits Office proposes to revise the collection-of-
information approved under OMB Control Number 0648-0205. NMFS proposes 
to revise the Federal permit applications for Vessels Fishing in the 
EEZ (Vessel EEZ), Harvest of Aquacultured Live Rock in the EEZ, Vessels 
Fishing for Wreckfish in the South Atlantic States (Wreckfish), and the 
Annual Dealer permit.
    The purpose of revising certain Southeast Region permit application 
forms is to better comply with National Standard 4 (NS4) of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) and the 
Small Business Administration's regulations implementing the RFA, 
Executive Order 12898, and the ``fairness and equitable distribution'' 
provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, including NS4 and section 
303(b)(6).
    The SERO Permits Office also proposes to split the single 
application form, Federal Permit Application for the Harvest of 
Aquacultured Live Rock, into two application forms, Federal Permit 
Application for New Permit for the Harvest of Aquacultured Live Rock 
(Aquacultured Live Rock New Permit) and Federal Permit Application to 
Renew Permit for the Harvest of Aquacultured Live Rock (Aquacultured 
Live Rock Permit Renewal).
    The Aquacultured Live Rock New Permit includes the collection of 
data previously collected via a separate form, Aquaculture Site 
Evaluation Report, among other revisions. The proposed revisions to 
establish the Aquacultured Live Rock New Permit application do not 
affect the time burden for applicants for new sites or new permit 
holders, but should clarify the application process for most applicants 
of new sites. The application form for the Aquacultured Live Rock 
Permit Renewal does not include the Aquaculture Site Evaluation Report; 
however, the Aquacultured Live

[[Page 92790]]

Rock Permit Renewal form does include other clarifying revisions. NMFS 
does not anticipate these revisions to both forms will materially 
change the time burden to the applicants.
    The proposed revisions to the specified application forms are 
administrative and generally divide existing data fields into smaller 
parts to gather information that is more specific. NMFS intends the 
revisions to make the requested information clearer and easier to 
understand, and therefore, applications may require less time to 
complete in some cases. Additionally, NMFS removed some data fields 
that were collecting less meaningful data. NMFS estimates that the 
proposed revisions would not change the annual number of respondents or 
responses, or annual costs to affected permit applicants from estimates 
in the currently approved collection. Across the application forms, 
NMFS estimates these revisions would increase the overall time burden.
    In addition to the proposed revisions above, NMFS also increases 
its estimated time burden for the Vessel Permit Transfers and 
Notarizations form and the Annual Landings Report for Gulf of Mexico 
Shrimp form to more accurately account for the time required to 
complete these forms.

II. Method of Collection

    Respondents complete applications on paper forms, and then can 
either mail or bring applications to the SERO Permits Office. Online 
application renewals are currently available only for some of the 
permits included on the Federal Permit Application for Vessels Fishing 
in the Exclusive Economic Zone. The SERO Permits Office can mail 
applications and instructions or they can be downloaded from the SERO 
Permits Office Web site at sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/permits.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0648-0205.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission (revision and extension of a 
current information collection).
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 13,909.
    Estimated Time per Response:
     Dealer Permit Application, 30 minutes;
     Vessel EEZ Permit Application, including Golden Tilefish 
Endorsement and Smoothhound Shark Permit, 40 minutes;
     Wreckfish Permit Application, 40 minutes;
     Vessel Operator Card Application for Dolphin/Wahoo or Rock 
Shrimp, 21 minutes;
     Fishing in Colombian Treaty Waters Vessel Permit 
Application, 30 minutes;
     Golden Crab Permittee Zone Transit Notification, 12 
minutes;
     Notifications of Authorization for Retrieval of Lost or 
Stolen Traps (golden crab, reef fish, snapper-grouper, spiny lobster), 
13 minutes;
     Vessel Permit Transfers and Notarizations, 10 minutes;
     Annual Landings Report for Gulf of Mexico Shrimp, 20 
minutes;
     International Maritime Organization (IMO) Number 
Registration, 30 minutes;
     Aquacultured Live Rock Permitting and Reporting--New 
Permit--Deposit Harvest Report, 15 minutes; Notice of Intent to 
Harvest, 5 minutes; Site Evaluation Report, 20 minutes; Federal Permit 
Application, including Site Evaluation Report, 50 minutes; and
     Aquacultured Live Rock Permitting and Reporting--Renew 
Permit--Deposit Harvest Report, 15 minutes; Notice of Intent to 
Harvest, 5 minutes; Federal Permit Application, 30 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 7,940.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $483,828 in recordkeeping or 
reporting costs.

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: December 15, 2016.
Sarah Brabson,
NOAA PRA Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2016-30594 Filed 12-19-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P