[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 172 (Thursday, September 7, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42359-42361]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-18934]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R5-FR-2017-N106; FF05F24400-167-FXFR13350500000; OMB Control 
Number 1018-0127]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Horseshoe Crab and 
Cooperative Fish Tagging Programs

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) are proposing to renew an 
information collection with revisions.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
November 6, 2017.

[[Page 42360]]


ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the information collection request 
(ICR) by mail to the Service Information Collection Clearance Officer, 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: BPHC, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls 
Church, VA 22041-3803 (mail); or by email to [email protected]. Please 
reference OMB Control Number 1018-0127 in the subject line of your 
comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this ICR, contact Madonna L. Baucum, Service Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, by email at [email protected], or by 
telephone at (703) 358-2503.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, we provide the general public and other Federal agencies 
with an opportunity to comment on new, proposed, revised, and 
continuing collections of information. This helps us assess the impact 
of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. It also helps the public understand our information 
collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired 
format.
    We are soliciting comments on the proposed ICR that is described 
below. We are especially interested in public comment addressing the 
following issues: (1) Is the collection necessary to the proper 
functions of the Service; (2) will this information be processed and 
used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) 
how might the Service enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (5) how might the Service minimize the 
burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use 
of information technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request 
to OMB to approve this ICR. 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 us in your comment to withhold your 
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
    Abstract: The Maryland Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office (MDFWCO) 
will collect information on fishes captured by the public. Tag 
information provided by the public will be used to estimate 
recreational and commercial harvest rates, estimate natural mortality 
rates, and evaluate migratory patterns, length and age frequencies, and 
effectiveness of current regulations.
    Horseshoe crabs play a vital role commercially, biomedically, and 
ecologically along the Atlantic coast. Horseshoe crabs are commercially 
harvested and used as bait in eel and conch fisheries. Biomedical 
companies along the coast also collect and bleed horseshoe crabs at 
their facilities. Limulus amebocyte lysate, derived from crab blood, is 
used by pharmaceutical companies to test sterility of products. 
Finally, migratory shorebirds also depend on the eggs of horseshoe 
crabs to refuel on their migrations from South America to the Arctic. 
One bird in particular, the rufa red knot (Calidris canutus rufa), 
feeds primarily on horseshoe crab eggs during its stopover. Effective 
January 12, 2015, the rufa red knot was listed as threatened under the 
Endangered Species Act (79 FR 73706; December 11, 2014).
    In 1998, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), a 
management organization with representatives from each State on the 
Atlantic Coast, developed a horseshoe crab management plan. The ASMFC 
plan and its subsequent addenda established mandatory State-by-State 
harvest quotas, and created the 1,500-square-mile Carl N. Shuster, Jr., 
Horseshoe Crab Sanctuary off the mouth of Delaware Bay.
    Restrictive measures have been taken in recent years, but 
populations are increasing slowly. Because horseshoe crabs do not breed 
until they are 9 years or older, it may take some time before the 
population measurably increases. Federal and State agencies, 
universities, and biomedical companies participate in a Horseshoe Crab 
Cooperative Tagging Program. The Service's MDFWCO maintains the 
information collected under this program and uses it to evaluate 
migratory patterns, survival, and abundance of horseshoe crabs.
    Agencies that tag and release the crabs complete FWS Form 3-2311 
(Horseshoe Crab Tagging) and provide the Service with:
     Organization name.
     Contact person name.
     Tag number.
     Sex of crab.
     Prosomal width.
     Capture site, latitude, longitude, waterbody, State, and 
date.
    Members of the public who recover tagged crabs provide the 
following information using FWS Form 3-2310 (Horseshoe Crab Recapture 
Report):
     Tag number.
     Whether or not tag was removed.
     Whether the tag was circular or square.
     Condition of crab.
     Date captured/found.
     Crab fate.
     Finder type.
     Capture method.
     Capture location.
     Reporter information.
     Comments.
    At the request of the public participant reporting the tagged crab, 
we send data pertaining to the tagging program and tag and release 
information on the horseshoe crab that was found or captured.
    We propose a revision to this existing collection of information to 
include four forms currently in use which are used by the Service:
     Form 3-2493, ``American Shad Recapture Report'';
     Form 3-2494, ``Snakehead Recapture Report'';
     Form 3-2495, ``Striped Bass Recapture Report''; and,
     Form 3-2496, ``Sturgeon Recapture Report.''
    Fish will be tagged with an external tag containing a toll-free 
number that is housed at MDFWCO. Members of the public reporting a tag 
will be asked a series of questions pertaining to the fish that they 
are referencing. This data will be used by fisheries managers 
throughout the east coast and mid-Atlantic region, depending on 
species.
    Currently the species that are tagged are Striped Bass (Morone 
saxatilis), Atlantic (Acipenser oxyrinchus) and Shortnose Sturgeon 
(Acipenser brevirostrum), Northern Snakehead (Channa argus), and 
American Shad (Alosa sapidissima). Striped Bass are cooperatively 
managed by federal and state agencies through the Atlantic States 
Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). The ASMFC uses fish tag return 
data to conduct stock assessments for Striped Bass. The database and 
collection is housed within MDFWCO, while the tagging is conducted by 
state agencies participating in Striped Bass management. Without this 
data collection Striped Bass management would likely suffer from a lack 
of quality data.
    Sturgeon are tagged by federal, state, and university biologists, 
and NGO's along the U.S. east coast and into Canada, and throughout the 
U.S. and Canada. Local populations of Atlantic sturgeon have been 
listed as either threatened or endangered since 2012

[[Page 42361]]

and shortnose populations since 1973. The information collected 
provides data on tag retention and sturgeon movement along the east 
coast. The data is also used to address some of the management and 
research needs identified by the ASMFC Amendment 1 to the Atlantic 
Sturgeon Fishery Management Plan.
    Northern Snakehead is an invasive species found in many watersheds 
throughout the mid-Atlantic region. It has been firmly established in 
the Potomac River since at least 2004. Federal and state biologists 
within the Potomac River watershed have been tasked with managing the 
impacts of Northern Snakehead. Tagging of Northern Snakehead is used to 
learn more about the species so that control efforts can be better 
informed. Tagging is also used to estimate population sizes to monitor 
fluctuations in population size. Recreational and commercial fishers 
reporting tags provide information on catch rates and migration 
patterns as well.
    American Shad are tagged by the NY Department of Environmental 
Conservation (NYDEC) and they retain all fish tagging information. The 
public reports tags to MDFWCO, who provides information on tag returns 
to NYDEC. Tag return data are used to monitor migration and abundance 
of shad along the Atlantic Coast.
    Data collected across these tagging programs is similar in nature, 
including: Tag number, date of capture, waterbody of capture, capture 
method, fish length, fish weight, fish fate (whether released or 
killed), fisher type (i.e., commercial, recreational, etc.). In 
addition, if the tag reporter desires more information on their tagged 
fish or wants the modest reward that comes with reporting a tag, we ask 
their address so that we can mail them the information.
    Title of Collection: Horseshoe Crab and Cooperative Fish Tagging 
Programs.
    OMB Control Number: 1018-0127.
    Form Number: FWS Forms 3-2310, 3-2311, and 3-2493 through 3-2496.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Respondents include Federal and State 
agencies, universities, and biomedical companies who conduct tagging 
and members of the general public provide recapture information.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 1,987.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 3,656.
    Estimated Completion Time per Response: Varies from 5 minutes to 95 
hours, depending on activity.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 2,682 (rounded).
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: Respondents will provide information on 
occasion, upon tagging or upon encounter with a tagged crab or fish.
    Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.
    An agency 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.
    The authority for this action is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

    Dated: August 31, 2017.
Madonna L. Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-18934 Filed 9-6-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P