[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 101 (Thursday, May 27, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 28576]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11201]



[[Page 28576]]

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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; West Coast Region Vessel Identification Requirements

    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 January 22, 2021, during a 60-day comment period. 
This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
    Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
    Title: West Coast Region Vessel Identification Requirements.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0355.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular submission (extension of a currently 
approved collection).
    Number of Respondents: 1,007.
    Average Hours per Response: 45 minutes.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 151.
    Needs and Uses: This request is for extension of a currently 
approved information collection.
    The success of fisheries management programs depends significantly 
on regulatory compliance. The vessel identification requirement is 
essential to facilitate enforcement. The ability to link fishing (or 
other activity) to the vessel owner or operator is crucial to 
enforcement of regulations issued under the authority of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. A vessel's official 
number is required to be displayed on the port and starboard sides of 
the deckhouse or hull, and on a weather deck. It identifies each vessel 
and should be visible at distances at sea and in the air. Law 
enforcement personnel rely on vessel marking information to assure 
compliance with fisheries management regulations. Vessels that qualify 
for particular fisheries are also readily identified, and this allows 
for more cost-effective enforcement. Cooperating fishermen also use the 
vessel numbers to report suspicious or non-compliant activities that 
they observe in unauthorized areas. The identifying number on fishing 
vessels is used by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the 
United States Coast Guard (USCG), and other marine agencies in issuing 
regulations, prosecutions, and other enforcement actions necessary to 
support sustainable fisheries behaviors as intended in regulations. 
Regulation-compliant fishermen ultimately benefit from these 
requirements, as unauthorized and illegal fishing is deterred, and more 
burdensome regulations are avoided.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
    Frequency: SFD staff consulted with various groundfish vessel 
captains participating in various groundfish pot, longline, midwater 
trawl, bottom trawl fisheries, and determined that gear and vessel 
markings have a five-year life span.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: 50 CFR 660.12.
    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 0648-0355.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2021-11201 Filed 5-26-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P