[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 122 (Tuesday, June 25, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29848-29849]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-13484]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; West Coast 
Region Federal Fisheries Permits--Northwest

AGENCY: 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 of 1995.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before August 26, 2019.

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 Jahnava Duryea at (916) 930-3725 or via email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    This request is for a revision and extension of a currently 
approved information collection.
    The Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1801) provides that the 
Secretary of Commerce is responsible for the conservation and 
management of marine fisheries resources in the Exclusive Economic Zone 
(EEZ), 3-200 nautical miles off the United States (U.S.) coastline. 
NOAA Fisheries, Northwest Region manages the Pacific Coast Groundfish 
Fishery in the EEZ off Washington, Oregon, and California under the 
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan. The regulations 
implementing the Pacific Groundfish Fishery require that those vessels 
participating in the limited entry fishery to be registered to a valid 
limited entry permit. Participation in the fishery and access to a 
limited entry permit has been restricted to control the overall harvest 
capacity.
    NOAA Fisheries seeks comment on the extension of permit information 
collections required for: (1) Renewal and transfer of Pacific Coast 
Groundfish limited entry permits (LEPs); (2) implementation of certain 
provisions of the sablefish permit stacking program as provided for at 
50 CFR 660.231 and 660.25; and (3) issuing and fulfilling the terms and 
conditions of certain exempted fishing permits (EFPs).
    The regulations implementing the limited entry program are found at 
50 CFR part 660, subpart G.
    Also, NOAA Fisheries requires an information collection to 
implement certain aspects of the sablefish permit stacking program 
which prevents excessive fleet consolidation. As part of the annual 
renewal process, NOAA Fisheries requires a corporation or partnership 
that owns or holds (as vessel owner) a sablefish endorsed permit to 
provide a complete ownership interest form listing all individuals with 
ownership interest in the entity. Similarly, any sablefish endorsed 
permit transfer involving registration of a business entity requires an 
ownership interest form if either the permit owner or vessel owner is a 
corporation or partnership. This information is used to determine if 
individuals own or hold sablefish permits in excess of the limit of 
three permits. Also, for transfer requests made during the sablefish 
primary season (April 1st through October 31st), the permit owner is 
required to report the remaining tier pounds not yet harvested on the 
sablefish endorsed permit at the time of transfer.
    Applicants for an EFP must submit written information that allows 
NOAA Fisheries and the Pacific Fishery Management Council to evaluate 
the proposed exempted fishing project activities and weigh the benefits 
and costs of the proposed activities. The Council makes a 
recommendation on each EFP application and for successful applicants, 
NOAA Fisheries issues the EFP which contains terms and conditions for 
the project including various reporting requirements. The information 
included in an application is specified at 50 CFR 600.745(b)(2) and the 
Council Operating Procedure #19. Permit holders are required to file 
preseason harvest plans, interim and/or final summary reports on the 
results of the project, and in some cases individual vessels and other 
permit holders are required to provide data reports (i.e., logbooks 
and/or catch reports). The results of EFPs are commonly used to explore 
ways to reduce effort on depressed stocks, encourage innovation and 
efficiency in the fishery, provide access to constrained stocks by 
directly measuring the bycatch associated with

[[Page 29849]]

such strategies, and evaluate/revise current and proposed management 
measures.
    Letters of Authorization (LOAs) and Exempted Educational Activity 
Authorizations (EEAAs) were historically collected under OMB control 
number 0648-0309. To reduce burden estimates, National Marine Fisheries 
Service (NMFS) Headquarters proposed to move LOAs and EEAAs to their 
respective region's permit family-of-forms collections.
    NMFS may grant exemptions from fishery regulations for educational 
or other activities (e.g., using non-regulation gear). An EEAA is a 
permit issued by the Regional Office to accredited educational 
institutions that authorize, for educational purposes, the target or 
incidental harvest of species managed under a fisheries management plan 
or fishery regulations that would otherwise be prohibited. EEAAs are 
generally of limited scope and duration and authorize the take of the 
amount of fish necessary to demonstrate the lesson. Researchers are 
requested to submit reports of their scientific research activity after 
its completion.
    LOAs are required under Section 101(a)(5)(A) of the Marine Mammal 
Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972 for the incidental take of marine mammals 
during fisheries surveys and related research activities conducted by 
the Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC), NMFS. Management of 
certain marine mammals falls under the jurisdiction of the NMFS under 
the MMPA and Endangered Species Act (ESA) and mechanisms exist under 
both the MMPA and ESA to assess the effect of incidental takings and to 
authorize appropriate levels of take.

II. Method of Collection

    Renewal forms are mailed to all permit owners, which they must 
submit by mail or in person. Ownership interest forms and permit 
transfer forms are available from the region's website but must be 
submitted to NOAA Fisheries by mail or in person. Applications for an 
EFP must be submitted in a written format. The EFP data reports may be 
submitted in person, faxed, submitted by telephone or emailed by the 
monitor, plant manager, vessel owner, or operator to NOAA Fisheries or 
the states of Washington, Oregon, or California.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0648-0203.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission (revision and extension of a 
currently approved collection).
    Affected Public: Non-profit institutions; State, local, or tribal 
government; business or other for-profit organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 539.
    Estimated Time per Response: Permit renewals: 20 minutes; Permit 
transfers: 30 minutes; Sablefish ownership interest form: 10 minutes; 
EFP Applications: 32 hours; EFP Trip Notifications: 2 minutes; EFP 
Harvest Plans: 16 hours; EFP Data Reports: 2 hours; EFP Summary 
Reports: Interim report, 4 hours; final report, 20 hours; Letters of 
Authorization: 6 hours; Exempted Educational Activities Authorizations, 
6 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 2,011 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $56,468.

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.

Sheleen Dumas,
Departmental Lead PRA Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, 
Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2019-13484 Filed 6-24-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P