[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 187 (Wednesday, September 26, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 48596]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-20851]


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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: Limits of Acceptable Change Study surveys in the Northeast 
Reserves and Culebra Island, Puerto Rico.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-xxxx.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular (request for a new information 
collection).
    Number of Respondents: 4,273.
    Average Hours per Response: Commercial fishers and water operators, 
30 minutes; recreational boaters and visitors, 10 minutes.
    Burden Hours: 777.
    Needs and Uses: The Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP), 
developed under the authority of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 
2000, is responsible for programs intended to enhance the conservation 
of coral reefs. We intend to use the information collected through this 
instrument for conducting a characterization project utilizing a limits 
of acceptable change (LAC) framework that encompasses the Puerto Rico 
Northeast Marine Corridor (NMC) as a continuous management area, 
addressing the following subjects across the area and within individual 
natural reserves to create the information base required to promote 
effective management: Biophysical conditions, social conditions, 
stakeholder identification, stakeholder uses and use patterns, 
stakeholder knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs, and stakeholder and 
resource use conflicts. The study will build on past work conducted 
with stakeholders on natural resources and social indicators in the 
region, developing a social conditions baseline. Social conditions will 
be characterized via a series of stakeholder participation protocols, 
which will result in stakeholder identification, use and use patterns, 
knowledge, attitudes, and belief, and use conflicts. It will engage the 
four, main NMC stakeholders: Commercial fishers; commercial water 
operators; recreational boaters, and visitors. All commercial fishers 
and commercial water operators in the region will be surveyed with an 
in-person questionnaire. Recreational boaters will be reached by 
sending out an internet/email survey questionnaire sent to all vessel 
registrants. Visitors in the NMC will be surveyed using an intercept 
survey administered twice a month at a ferry location and via self-
administered surveys disseminated by commercial water operators. It is 
expected that these multi-pronged approaches will provide the 
information necessary to complete a stakeholder characterization for 
the NMC that can be applied to evaluate LAC conditions and trends.
    Affected Public: Business or other for profit organizations; 
individuals or households.
    Frequency: One time.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    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: September 20, 2018.
Sarah Brabson,
NOAA PRA Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2018-20851 Filed 9-25-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-JS-P