[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 45 (Friday, March 6, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13140-13142]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-04596]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Proposed Information Collection; Greater Atlantic Region, 
Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan Data Collection

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 May 5, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Adrienne Thomas, PRA Officer, 
NOAA, 151 Patton Avenue, Room 159, Asheville, NC 28801 (or via the 
internet at [email protected]). All comments received are part of the

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public record. Comments will generally be posted without change. All 
Personally Identifiable Information (for example, name and address) 
voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do 
not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or 
protected information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should 
be directed to Cynthia Ferrio, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries 
Office, 55 Great Republic Dr., Gloucester, MA 01930, (978) 281-9180, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    This request is for a revision and extension of a current 
information collection.
    Under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, 
the Secretary of Commerce has the responsibility for the conservation 
and management of marine fishery resources. Much of this responsibility 
has been delegated to NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). 
NMFS manages the Atlantic sea scallop (scallop) fishery through a set 
of regulations that limit catch of scallops and fishing vessel 
activity. In addition, regulations limit catch of certain other species 
of fish in order to minimize bycatch and bycatch mortality (bycatch is 
the catch and discard of species that are not targeted in the scallop 
fishery). Finally, the regulations control vessel permitting and the 
exchange of effort and quota allocations between vessels.
    In order to effectively manage these resources, track fishing 
effort and catch, and to allow vessel owners to exchange fishing trips 
and quota, NMFS must collect information through the reporting 
requirements included in this renewal. This renewal contains the 
following information collections: Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) 
requirements; Access area trip exchange application procedures; 
Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) transfers; Cost recovery; and IFQ sector 
program.

Access Area Trip Exchange Application

    The one-for-one access area trip exchange program provides 
flexibility to scallop vessels about where they may fish. Participants 
need to send an access area trip exchange application to NMFS with the 
following information: Vessel name and permit number, owner name and 
signature, specification of the areas involved in the exchange. Both 
vessels involved in the exchange are required to submit forms for cross 
verification. This measure is expected to provide flexibility to 
vessels regarding which areas to fish, thereby reducing the possibility 
of revenue loss to those vessels that are unable to access some distant 
areas due to vessel capacity constraints.

IFQ Transfers

    IFQ permit holders can temporarily and/or permanently transfer 
individual fishing quota from one IFQ vessel to another. Quota 
transfers are requested through the submission of transfer 
applications. Required information includes vessel information, quota 
transfer information, and authorizing signatures from both parties. The 
IFQ transfer program is entirely optional, and provides greater 
flexibility for IFQ permit holders by enabling them to increase their 
vessel's IFQ or for individuals to lease or sell IFQ if they choose not 
to fish the allocation.

Cost Recovery

    Section 304(d)(2) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) requires an IFQ 
cost recovery plan to recover management and enforcement costs for IFQ 
fisheries. The FMP includes an IFQ cost recovery program, whereby NMFS 
will collect up to 3% of ex-vessel value of landed product to cover 
actual costs directly related to enforcement and management of the IFQ 
program. IFQ permit holders are required to submit a cost recovery 
payment annually via a pre-existing Federal payment system called 
www.pay.gov, which is also currently used by the Alaska Region and the 
Southeast Region. Information submitted via the internet would require 
the user to establish an online account, including personal and 
financial information. This requirement is necessary in order to comply 
with the provisions of the MSA and to collect payments from individuals 
that have been granted an allocation to a public resource.

IFQ Sector Program

    The FMP contains provisions that authorize allocation of a portion 
of the overall IFQ fishery total allowable catch (TAC) to a self-
selected group of IFQ permit holders (sector), provided the sector 
provides adequate information describing the formation of the sector 
and its intended plan of operations. Individuals or other entities 
(corporations, cooperatives, etc.) proposing a sector are required to 
submit a Sector Allocation Proposal and Operations Plan. Any person may 
submit a Sector Allocation Proposal for a group of limited access 
general category scallop vessels to the Council, at least 1 year in 
advance of the start of a sector, and request that the Sector be 
implemented through a framework procedure specified at Sec.  648.55. A 
group that wants to form a Sector and receive an allocation is required 
to submit a legally binding Operations Plan to the Council and the 
Regional Administrator. The operations plan must be agreed upon and 
signed by all members of the sector and, if approved, would constitute 
a contract. This information is necessary to describe the proposed 
sector and the proposed rules under which the sector would operate. 
This information is used to determine whether this sector would 
maintain consistency with the goals and objectives of the FMP.

VMS Requirements

    Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) requirements are now collected under 
the approved OMB Control No. 0648-0202 and are being removed from 0648-
0491.

II. Method of Collection

    Participants will submit paper applications by mail, facsimile, or 
email.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0648-0491.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission (revision and extension of a 
currently approved collection).
    Affected Public: Businesses and other for-profit organizations are 
primarily affected.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 647.
    Estimated Time per Response: Cost recovery, 2 hours; Sector 
proposals, 150 hours; Sector operations plans, 100 hours; IFQ transfer 
application 35 hours; Access area trip exchange, 45 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 980.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $23,932.

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

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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,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2020-04596 Filed 3-5-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P