[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 75 (Wednesday, April 21, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 20664]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-08271]


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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; North Pacific Observer Program Safety and Security Survey

    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 November 23, 2020 (85 FR 74694) during a 60-day 
comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public 
comments.
    Agency: National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
    Title: North Pacific Observer Program Safety and Security Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0759.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular submission [extension of a current 
information collection].
    Number of Respondents: 300.
    Average Hours Per Response: 10 minutes.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 50.
    Needs and Uses: NMFS certified observers are a vital part of 
fisheries management. Observers are deployed to collect fisheries data 
in the field; observers often deploy to vessels and work alongside 
fishers for weeks and months at a time. The work environment observers 
find themselves in can be challenging, especially if the observer finds 
themselves a target for victim type violations such as sexual 
harassment, intimidation, or even assault. NOAA Fisheries' Office of 
Law Enforcement prioritizes investigations into allegations of sexual 
harassment, hostile work environment, assault and other complaints 
which may affect observers individually. However, it is difficult for a 
person to disclose if they have been a victim of a crime, and law 
enforcement cannot respond if no complaint is submitted. The true 
number of observers who have experienced victim type crimes is unknown, 
and the reasons why they do not report is also unclear. More 
information is needed to understand how many observers per year 
experience victim type crimes, and why they chose not to report to law 
enforcement.
    The survey will also investigate the reasons that prevented 
observers from reporting these violations. The results of the survey 
will provide the Office of Law Enforcement a better understanding of 
how often observers are victimized, which will enable them to 
reallocate resources as needed, conduct more training for observers to 
ensure they know how to report, conduct training to ensure people 
understand what constitutes a victim crime, and to increase awareness 
of potential victimizations. Additionally, the survey results will help 
law enforcement understand the barriers to disclosure, so enforcement 
may begin to address these impediments so they no longer prevent 
observers from disclosure.
    Affected Public: Federal Government.
    Frequency: Annual.
    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 0648-0759.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2021-08271 Filed 4-20-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P