[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 54 (Tuesday, March 23, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 15428-15430]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-05679]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 300

[Docket No. 210224-0030]
RIN 0648-BH59


International Fisheries; Eastern Pacific Tuna Fisheries; Western 
and Central Pacific Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species; Area of 
Overlap Between the Convention Areas of the Inter-American Tropical 
Tuna Commission and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries 
Commission

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule; date of effectiveness for collection-of-information 
requirements.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces approval by the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) of revisions to collection-of-information requirements published 
in a final rule on June 22, 2020 (June 2020 Final Rule). The June 2020 
Final Rule revised the management regime for U.S. fishing vessels that 
target tunas and other highly migratory species (HMS) in the area of 
overlapping jurisdiction in the Pacific Ocean between the Inter-
American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) and the Commission for the 
Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the 
Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPFC) and revised the reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements applicable in that area. The June 2020 Final 
Rule did not include an effective date for those changes because OMB 
had not yet approved the collection-of-information revisions. This 
final rule announces OMB approval of the revisions to the collection-
of-information requirements under OMB Control Numbers 0648-0649 and 
0648-0218 and an effective date for the revisions to reporting 
requirements included in the June 2020 Final Rule.

DATES: This final rule is effective March 23, 2021. The amendment in 
instruction 7 to 50 CFR 300.218, published at 85 FR 37376 (June 22, 
2020), is effective on March 23, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Written comments regarding the burden-hour estimates or 
other aspects of the collection-of-information requirements contained 
in this final rule may be submitted to Michael D. Tosatto, Regional 
Administrator, NMFS, Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO), 1845 Wasp 
Blvd., Building 176, Honolulu, HI 96818 and to 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emily Reynolds, NMFS PIRO, 808-725-
5039.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under authority of the Western and Central 
Pacific Fisheries Convention Implementation Act (WCPFC Implementation 
Act; 16 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.) and the Tuna Conventions Act (16 U.S.C. 
951 et seq.), NMFS implemented changes in management of the area of 
overlapping jurisdiction between the IATTC and the WCPFC (overlap 
area), in accordance with WCPFC and IATTC decisions regarding the 
overlap area (June 2020 Final Rule).

Background

    The June 2020 Final Rule changes management of the overlap area so 
that all NMFS regulations implementing

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IATTC resolutions apply in the overlap area and some regulations 
implementing WCPFC decisions apply in the overlap area. The June 2020 
Final Rule revised certain recordkeeping and reporting requirements so 
that they no longer apply in the overlap area. Specifically, the 
transshipment reporting requirements at 50 CFR 300.218(b) and (d), the 
discard reporting requirements at 50 CFR 300.218(e), the net sharing 
reporting requirements at 50 CFR 300.218(f), the daily purse seine 
fishing effort reports at 50 CFR 300.218(g), and the whale shark 
reporting requirements at 50 CFR 300.218(h) no longer apply in the 
overlap area. A more detailed description of these changes can be found 
in the June 2020 Final Rule. The June 2020 Final Rule was published in 
the Federal Register on June 22, 2020 (85 FR 37376), and the associated 
regulations are found at 50 CFR part 300. Other than the changes to the 
collection-of-information requirements at 50 CFR 300.218, the 
requirements of the June 2020 Final Rule entered into effect on July 
22, 2020. On November 10, 2020, OMB approved the collection-of-
information requirements contained in the June 2020 Final Rule under 
OMB Control Numbers 0648-0649 and 0648-0218, which specified that 
certain reporting and recordkeeping requirements no longer apply in the 
overlap area. Other existing collection-of-information requirements 
under OMB Control Numbers 0648-0148, 0648-0595, and 0648-0204 continue 
to apply in the overlap area. Accordingly, this final rule announces 
the approval and effective date of the changes to the reporting 
requirements found in the regulations at 50 CFR 300.218(c), (d), (e), 
(f), (g), and (h), and reflected in OMB Control Numbers 0648-0649 and 
0648-0218.

Classification

    The Administrator, Pacific Islands Region, NMFS, has determined 
that this final rule is consistent with the WCPFC Implementation Act, 
and other applicable laws.

Administrative Procedure Act (APA)

    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), there is good cause to waive prior 
notice and opportunity for public comment for this action because 
notice and comment would be unnecessary and contrary to the public 
interest. This action simply provides notice of OMB's approval of the 
changes to the reporting requirements, which were described in the 
proposed rule (84 FR 60040; November 7, 2019) and the June 2020 Final 
Rule (85 FR 37376; June 22, 2020). Thus, this action does not involve 
any further exercise of agency discretion by NMFS or OMB. Moreover, the 
public has had prior notice and the opportunity to comment on the 
collection-of-information requirements. NMFS published a proposed rule 
including some of the changes to the collection-of-information 
requirements (84 FR 60040; November 7, 2019), with comments accepted 
until November 22, 2019. No comments were received relating to the 
changes to collection-of-information requirements. The June 2020 Final 
Rule (85 FR 37376; June 22, 2020) included additional changes to the 
collection-of-information requirements. As explained in the June 2020 
Final Rule, the transshipment reporting requirements at 50 CFR 
300.218(b) and (d), the discard reporting requirements at 50 CFR 
300.218(e), the net sharing reporting requirements at 50 CFR 
300.218(f), the daily purse seine fishing effort reports at 50 CFR 
300.218(g), and the whale shark reporting requirements at 50 CFR 
300.218(h) no longer apply in the overlap area. The whale shark 
reporting requirements were described as no longer applicable in the 
overlap area under the proposed rule. However, the other requirements 
listed are changes from the proposed rule in response to comments on 
the proposed rule. In addition, the June 2020 Final Rule indicated that 
this final rule would be published to announce the effective date for 
the reporting requirements upon OMB approval of OMB Control Numbers 
0648-0649 and 0648-0218.
    Because this rule relieves a restriction by putting into effect 
changes to certain reporting requirements so that they no longer apply 
in the overlap area, it is not subject to the 30-day delayed 
effectiveness provision of the APA pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1).

Executive Order 12866

    The June 2020 Final Rule that amended the requirements at 50 CFR 
300.218 was determined to be not significant for purposes of Executive 
Order 12866. The June 2020 Final Rule removed certain regulations from 
application in the overlap area and revised certain reporting 
requirements so that they no longer apply in the overlap area. This 
final rule makes effective the revisions to reporting requirements for 
which the effective date was delayed in the June 2020 Final Rule.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Because prior notice and opportunity for public comment are not 
required for this rule by 5 U.S.C. 553, or any other law, the 
analytical requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 
et seq., are inapplicable to this particular action. However, we note 
that, as described in the proposed rule and the June 2020 Final Rule, 
an initial regulatory flexibility analysis and final regulatory 
flexibility analysis were prepared and published for the regulatory 
changes that would go into effect with this final rule. Please see 84 
FR 60040, published November 7, 2019 and 85 FR 37376, published June 
22, 2020.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This final rule contains collection-of-information requirements, 
which are subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), and which OMB 
approved under OMB Control Numbers 0648-0649 and 0648-0218. 
Specifically, the purse seine discard reporting requirements, purse 
seine net sharing reporting requirements, and purse seine daily effort 
reports at 50 CFR 300.218 no longer apply in the overlap area. The 
transshipment reporting requirements and transshipment notice 
requirements at 50 CFR 300.218 no longer apply in the overlap area to 
transshipment of fish caught in the overlap area, but continue to apply 
to fish caught in other parts of the area of application of the 
Convention on the Conservation of Highly Migratory Species in the 
Western and Central Pacific Ocean and transshipped in the overlap area. 
The purse seine whale shark encirclement reporting requirements at 50 
CFR 300.218 also no longer apply in the overlap area, but similar 
reporting requirements at 50 CFR 300.22 do apply. Because this final 
rule makes effective certain changes to reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements so that they no longer apply in the overlap area, this 
final rule would not affect the estimated public reporting burden of 
these collections. Written comments regarding the burden-hour estimates 
or other aspects of the collection-of-information requirements 
contained in this final rule may be submitted to NMFS (see ADDRESSES) 
and to 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.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is 
required to respond to, and no person shall be subject to penalty for 
failure to comply with, a collection-of-information subject to the 
requirements of the PRA, unless that collection-of-information displays 
a currently valid OMB control number. All currently approved NOAA

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collections of information may be viewed at https://www.cio.noaa.gov/services_programs/prasubs.html.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.

    Dated: March 15, 2021.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-05679 Filed 3-22-21; 8:45 am]
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