[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 60 (Thursday, March 28, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11752-11753]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-05920]


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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: Specified Fishing Agreements for U.S. Territorial Catch, 
Effort and Allocation Limits.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0689.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular (extension of a current collection of 
information).
    Number of Respondents: 5.
    Average Hours per Response: 6 hours per agreement; 2 hours per 
appeal.
    Burden Hours: 32 (estimating one appeal per year).
    Needs and Uses: The Fishery Ecosystem Plan (FEP) for Pelagic 
Fisheries of the Western Pacific contains a process that allows NOAA's 
National

[[Page 11753]]

Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to implement catch and/or fishing 
effort limits for management unit species (MUS) caught by pelagic 
fisheries in the American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands (hereinafter, the U.S. territories). The 
process also allows NMFS to authorize the government of each U.S. 
territory to allocate a specific amount of MUS to a U.S. fishing vessel 
permitted under the FEP through a specified fishing agreement, not to 
exceed the amount made available for allocation by NMFS. Funds provided 
by U.S. fishing vessels through a specified fishing agreement are 
deposited into the Western Pacific Sustainable Fisheries Fund (SFF) to 
support fisheries development projects listed in a marine conservation 
plan of a U.S. territory submitted to and approved by the Secretary of 
Commerce.
    Data gathered under a specified fishing agreement will include the 
identity of fishing vessels subject to the agreement, the amount 
(weight) of MUS or fishing effort to which the agreement applies, and 
the amount of monetary contributions that fishing vessel, subject to 
the agreement, will deposit into the SFF, if applicable. Additionally, 
specified fishing agreements must be signed by an authorized official 
of the U.S. territory or designated representative, and be signed by 
each vessel owner or designated representative. There is no form for an 
agreement.
    NMFS will use the data collected to determine vessel eligibility, 
and ensure the amount of MUS or fishing effort available for allocation 
to a U.S. fishing vessel is consistent with the Pelagic FEP, the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and other 
applicable laws, and the conservation needs of the stock.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; business or other for-
profit organizations; State or Territorial government.
    Frequency: Annual.
    Respondent's Obligation: To submit a complete specified fishing 
agreement that includes the information set forth in federal 
regulations at 50 CFR 665.819.
    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.

Sheleen Dumas,
Departmental Lead PRA Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, 
Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2019-05920 Filed 3-27-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P