[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 67 (Friday, April 9, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18517-18518]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-07349]


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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; Alaska Region Logbook and Activity Family of Forms

    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 December 1, 2020 (85 FR 77176) 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: Alaska Region Logbook and Activity Family of Forms.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0213.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular submission (extension of a current 
information collection).
    Number of Respondents: 282.
    Average Hours per Response: Catcher Vessel Trawl Daily Fishing 
Logbook (DFL): 18 minutes; Catcher Vessel Longline/Pot DFL: 35 minutes; 
Catcher/Processor Longline/Pot Daily Cumulative Production Logbook: 50 
minutes; Shoreside Processor Check-in/Check-out Report: 5 minutes; 
Mothership Check-in/Check-out Report: 7 minutes; Product Transfer 
Report: 20 minutes; Vessel Activity Report: 14 minutes.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 13,517 hours.
    Needs and Uses: NMFS, Alaska Region (NMFS AKR), is requesting 
renewal of this currently approved information collection that consists 
of paper logbooks and reports that are used for management of the 
groundfish fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management 
Area (BSAI) and the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), management of the Individual 
Fishing Quota halibut and sablefish fisheries, and management of the 
BSAI Crab Rationalization Program crab fisheries.
    NMFS AKR manages the groundfish and crab fisheries in the exclusive 
economic zone (EEZ) of the BSAI and the groundfish fisheries of the GOA 
under fishery management plans (FMPs) for the respective areas. The 
North Pacific Fishery Management Council prepared, and NMFS approved, 
the FMPs under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Regulations 
implementing the FMPs appear at 50 CFR parts 679 and 680. Regulations 
for the logbooks and reports in this information collection are at 50 
CFR 679.5.
    The information collected through the paper logbooks and reports 
promotes the goals and objectives of the fishery management plans, the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and other 
applicable laws. The collection of reliable data is essential to the 
effective conservation, management, and scientific understanding of the 
fishery resources.
    Collecting information from fishery participants is necessary to 
promote successful management of groundfish, crab, Pacific halibut, and 
salmon resources. A comprehensive information system that identifies 
the participants and monitors their fishing activity is necessary to 
enforce the management measures and prevent overfishing. An information 
system is also needed to measure the consequences of management 
controls. This collection supports an effective monitoring and 
enforcement system with information that includes identification of the 
participating vessels, operators, dealers, and processors; location of 
the fishing activity; timeframes when fishing and processing is 
occurring; and shipment and transfer of fishing products.
    All vessels of the United States harvesting EEZ fish and shoreside 
processors, stationary floating processors, and motherships receiving 
EEZ-caught fish are required to hold a Federal permit and thus comply 
with reporting requirements per CFR 679.5. The data collected are used 
for making in-season and inter-season management decisions that affect 
the groundfish resources and the fishing industry that uses them.
    This information collection contains four components: Paper 
logbooks, vessel activity reports, check-in/check-out reports, and 
product transfer reports.
     Daily logbooks provide data about the location and timing 
of fishing effort, as well as discard information of prohibited 
species. NOAA Office for Law Enforcement (OLE) and the United States 
Coast Guard (USCG) use logbook information during vessel boardings and 
site visits to ensure conservation of groundfish, compliance with 
regulations, and reporting accuracy by the fishing industry. The 
logbooks are also an important source of information for NMFS to 
determine where and when fishing activity occurs and the number of sets 
and hauls.
     A vessel activity report provides information about fish 
or fish product on board a vessel when it crosses the boundary of the 
EEZ off Alaska or crosses the U.S.-Canada international boundary 
between Alaska and British Columbia. NOAA OLE and USCG boarding 
officers use this information to audit and separate product inventory 
when boarding a vessel. Without the requirement to submit this prior to 
crossing, vessel operators may be more inclined to illegally fish in 
Federal waters and claim retained product was harvested from foreign or 
international waters.
     Check-in/check-out reports provide information on 
participation by processors and motherships in the groundfish 
fisheries. The check-in/

[[Page 18518]]

check-out information is used by NMFS in-season managers to monitor the 
fishing capacity and effort in fishery allocations and quotas. 
Additionally, NOAA OLE agents use this information to track commercial 
business activity and ensure accurate accountability and proper 
reporting is being performed.
     Product transfer reports (PTRs) provide information on the 
volume of groundfish disposed of by persons buying it from the 
harvesters. The PTR is an important enforcement document and provides 
an important check on buyer purchase reports. Information collected on 
PTRs is used by NOAA OLE to verify the accuracy of reported shipments 
through physical inspections. NOAA OLE uses the PTR to monitor movement 
of product in and out of the processor on a timely basis.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit organizations.
    Frequency: Quarterly; On Occasion; Daily.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).
    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 0648-0213.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2021-07349 Filed 4-8-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P