[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 223 (Wednesday, November 18, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73462-73463]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-25418]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Survey To Collect Economic Data From Recreational Anglers 
Along the Atlantic Coast

    The Department of Commerce will submit the following information 
collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite the 
general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and 
continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of 
our information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the 
Federal Register on April 02, 2020, during a 60-day comment period. 
This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
    Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.
    Title: Survey To Collect Economic Data From Recreational Anglers 
Along the Atlantic Coast.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0783.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular, revision of currently approved 
information collection.

[[Page 73463]]

    Number of Respondents: 442.
    Average Hours per Response: 0.23.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 102.10.
    Needs and Uses: This request is for a revision to a currently 
approved information collection. The objective of the original data 
collection effort under OMB Control Number 0648-0783 was to assess how 
changes in saltwater recreational fishing regulations affect angler 
effort, angler welfare, fishing mortality, and future stock levels. 
That data collection effort focused on anglers who fished for Atlantic 
cod and haddock off the Atlantic coast from Maine to Massachusetts. 
Under this revised information collection request, the objective 
remains the same, but a new survey will be added with the focus on 
anglers who fish for summer flounder and black sea bass in the North 
Atlantic coastal states of New York and New Jersey.
    Data collected from this survey will improve our ability to 
understand and predict how changes in management options and 
regulations may change fishing mortality and the number of trips 
anglers take for summer flounder and black sea bass. This data will 
allow fisheries managers to conduct updated and improved analysis of 
the socio-economic effects of proposed changes in fishing regulations 
to recreational anglers and to coastal communities. The recreational 
fishing community and regional fisheries management councils have 
requested more species-specific socio-economic studies of recreational 
fishing that can be used in the analysis of fisheries policies. This 
survey will address that stated need for more species-specific studies. 
In addition, the survey data will provide the foundation for a 
Management Strategy Evaluation designed to assess the added economic 
value to anglers associated with minimizing summer flounder discards. 
This work will be conducted as part of the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries 
Management Council's Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management 
process.
    The survey population consists of those anglers who fish in 
saltwater in the North Atlantic coastal states of New York and New 
Jersey and who possess a license to fish. A sample of anglers will be 
drawn from both state fishing license frames. The survey will be 
conducted using both mail and email to contact anglers and invite them 
to take the survey online. Anglers not responding to the online survey 
will receive a paper survey in the mail.
    Affected Public: Individuals.
    Frequency: The NARFS II will be a cross-sectional survey asking 
anglers to respond once to a single questionnaire.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act.
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view the Department of 
Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of 
this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 
Find this particular information collection by selecting ``Currently 
under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search 
function and entering either the title of the collection or the OMB 
Control Number 0648-0783.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2020-25418 Filed 11-17-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P