[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 102 (Friday, May 28, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 28786]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11313]


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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 Gear 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 25, 2021, (86 FR 6873) during a 60-day 
comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public 
comments.
    Agency: National Marine Fisheries Service.
    Title: West Coast Region Gear Identification Requirements.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0352.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Extension of a current information collection.
    Number of Respondents: 942.
    Average Hours per Response: 15 minutes per marking.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 848.
    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 requirements that fishing gear be marked 
are essential to facilitate enforcement. The ability to link fishing 
gear 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. The marking of fishing gear is also 
valuable in actions concerning damage, loss, and civil proceedings. The 
regulations specify that fishing gear must be marked with the vessel's 
official number, Federal permit or tag number, or some other specified 
form of identification. The regulations further specify how the gear is 
to be marked (e.g., location and color). Law enforcement personnel rely 
on gear marking information to assure compliance with fisheries 
management regulations. Gear that is not properly identified is 
confiscated. Gear violations are more readily prosecuted when the gear 
is marked, and this allows for more cost-effective enforcement. Gear 
marking helps ensure that a vessel harvests fish only from its own 
traps/pots/other gear and the gear are not illegally placed. 
Cooperating fishermen also use the gear marking numbers to report 
suspicious or non-compliant activities that they observe, and to report 
placement or occurrence of gear in unauthorized areas. The identifying 
number on fishing gear 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: Every 5 years.
    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 0648-0352.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2021-11313 Filed 5-27-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P