[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 237 (Tuesday, December 11, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63629-63630]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-26752]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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: Greater Atlantic Region Surfclam and Ocean Quahog ITQ 
Administration.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0240.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular (extension of a currently approved 
information collection).
    Number of Respondents: 177.
    Average Hours per Response:: ITQ permit application form, review of 
a pre-filled form for renewing entities, ITQ transfer form, 5 minutes 
each; 1 hour to complete the ITQ ownership form for new applicants and 
30 minutes for the application to shuck surfclams and ocean quahogs at 
sea. The requirements under the PSP protocol are based on the number of 
vessels that land surfclams or ocean quahogs and the number of trips 
taken into the area, with a total estimated annual burden of 3 hours 
per vessel.
    Burden Hours: 2,473.
    Needs and Uses: This request is for an extension of a currently 
approved collection associated with the Atlantic surfclam and ocean 
quahog fisheries. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Greater 
Atlantic Region manages these fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone 
(EEZ) of the Northeastern United States through the Atlantic Surfclam 
and Ocean Quahog Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The Mid-Atlantic 
Fishery Management Council prepared the FMP pursuant to the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). 
The regulations implementing the FMP are specified at 50 CFR part 648.
    The recordkeeping and reporting requirements at Sec. Sec.  648.74, 
648.75, and 648.76 form the basis for this collection of information. 
We request information from surfclam and ocean quahog individual 
transferable quota (ITQ) permit holders to issue ITQ permits and to 
process and track requests from permit holders to transfer quota share 
or cage tags. We also request information from surfclam and ocean 
quahog ITQ permit holders to track and properly account for surfclam 
and ocean quahog harvest shucked at sea. Because there is not a 
standard conversion factor for estimating unshucked product from 
shucked product, NMFS requires vessels that shuck product at sea to 
carry on board the vessel a NMFS-approved observer to certify the 
amount of these clams harvested. This information, upon receipt, 
results in an efficient and accurate database for management and 
monitoring of fisheries of the Northeastern U.S. EEZ.
    Georges Bank has been closed to the harvest of surfclams and ocean 
quahogs since 1990 due to red tide blooms that cause paralytic 
shellfish poisoning (PSP). We reopened a portion of the Georges Bank 
Closed Area starting in 2012 under certain conditions. We request 
information from surfclam and ocean quahog ITQ permit holders who fish 
in the reopened area to ensure compliance with the Protocol for Onboard 
Screening and Dockside Testing in Molluscan Shellfish. The U.S. Food 
and Drug Administration, the commercial fishing industry, and NMFS 
developed the PSP protocol to test and verify that clams harvested from 
Georges Bank continue to be safe for human consumption. The National 
Shellfish Sanitation Program adopted the PSP protocol at the October 
2011 Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations; 
individuals or households.
    Frequency: Annually and on occasion.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    This information collection request may be viewed at reginfo.gov. 
Follow the instructions to view Department of

[[Page 63630]]

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: December 5, 2018.
Sarah Brabson,
NOAA PRA Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2018-26752 Filed 12-10-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P