[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 185 (Tuesday, September 28, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53640-53641]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-20989]


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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; Economic Surveys of Specific U.S. Commercial Fisheries

AGENCY: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites 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. The 
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment 
preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed 
information collection must be received on or before November 29, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to 
Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer, at [email protected]. Please 
reference OMB Control Number 0648-0773 in the subject line of your 
comments. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise 
sensitive or protected information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed 
to Dr. Joe Terry, Office of Science and Technology, 1315 East-West 
Hwy., Bldg. SSMC3, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3282, (858) 454 -2547, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    This request is for a revision and extension of a currently 
approved collection.
    The Office of Science and Technology is sponsoring the collection. 
Economic surveys will be conducted in selected commercial fisheries for 
the East Coast, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, West Coast, Hawaii, and the 
U.S. Pacific Islands territories.
    The requested information will include different components of 
operating costs/expenditures, earnings, employment, ownership, vessel 
characteristics, effort/gear descriptors, employment, and demographic 
information for the various types of fishing vessels operating in the 
16 U.S. commercial fisheries or groups of fisheries listed below.

1. West Coast Limited Entry Groundfish Fixed Gear Fisheries
2. West Coast Open Access Groundfish, Non-tribal Salmon, Crab, and 
Shrimp Fisheries
3. American Samoa Longline Fishery
4. Hawaii Pelagic Longline Fishery
5. Hawaii Small Boat Fishery
6. American Samoa Small Boat Fishery
7. American Samoa, Guam, and The Commonwealth of The Northern Mariana 
Islands Small Boat-Based Fisheries
8. Mariana Archipelago Small Boat Fleet
9. USVI F Small-Scale Commercial Fisheries
10. Puerto Rico Small-Scale Commercial Fisheries
11. Gulf of Mexico Inshore Shrimp Fishery
12. U.S. South Atlantic Region Golden Crab Fishery
13. West Coast Coastal Pelagic Fishery
14. West Coast Swordfish Fishery
15. West Coast North Pacific Albacore Fishery
16. Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Fisheries

    A variety of laws, Executive Orders (EOs), and NOAA Fisheries 
strategies and policies include requirements for economic data and the 
analyses they support. When met adequately, those requirements allow 
better-informed conservation and management decisions on the use of 
living marine resources and marine habitat in federally managed 
fisheries. Obtaining these data improves the ability of NOAA Fisheries 
and the Regional Fishery Management Councils (Councils) to monitor, 
explain and predict changes in the economic performance and impacts of 
federally managed commercial fisheries. Measures of economic 
performance include costs, earnings, and profitability (net revenue); 
productivity and economic efficiency; capacity; economic stability; the 
level and distribution of net economic benefits to society; and market 
power. The economic impacts include sector, community or region-
specific, and national employment, sales, value-added, and income 
impacts. Economic data are required to support more than a cursory 
effort to comply with or support the following laws, EOs, and NOAA 
Fisheries strategies and policies:

1. The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA)

[[Page 53641]]

2. The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA)
3. The Endangered Species Act (ESA)
4. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
5. The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)
6. E.O. 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review)
7. E.O. 13771 (Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs)
8. E.O. 12898 (Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in 
Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations)
9. E.O. 13840 (Ocean Policy to Advance the Economic, Security, and 
Environmental Interests of the United States).
10. The NOAA Fisheries Guidelines for Economic Reviews of Regulatory 
Actions
11. The NOAA Fisheries Strategic Plan 2019-2022 (Strategic Plan)
12. The NOAA Fisheries Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management (EBFM) Road 
Map
13. The NOAA Fisheries National Bycatch Reduction Strategy
14. NOAA's Catch Share Policy

    Data collections will focus each year on a different set of the 16 
commercial fisheries or groups of fisheries. This cycle of data 
collection will facilitate economic data being available and updated 
for all those commercial fisheries.
    There will be an effort to coordinate the data collections in order 
to reduce the additional burden for those who participate in multiple 
fisheries. To further reduce the burden, the requested information for 
a specific fishery will be limited to that which is not available from 
other sources. Participation in these data collections will be 
voluntary.
    The proposed revisions to the information collection will: (a) Add 
an information collection for Northeast and Mid-Atlantic fisheries; (b) 
increase the burden hours to account for that addition information 
collection: (c) make minor changes to the survey forms that primarily 
provide flexibility with respect to when NMFS will conduct each of the 
16 information collections; and (d) extend it for three years. Though 
the information collection was recently renewed, an extension is 
requested at this time as no additional changes to the collection are 
anticipated before the current expiration date.

II. Method of Collection

    The information will be collected by mail, internet, phone, and in-
person interviews. In general, respondents will receive a mailed copy 
of the survey instrument in advance of a phone or in-person interview. 
Where feasible, survey respondents will have the option to respond to 
an on-line survey. If phone and in-person interviews are not feasible 
or not desired by the potential respondents, the information will be 
collected by mail or internet.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0648-0773.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission (extension and revision of a 
currently approved collection).
    Affected Public: Individuals or households and business or other 
for-profit organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,655.
    Estimated Time per Response: NWFSC: West Coast Limited Entry 
Groundfish Fixed Gear Fisheries Economic Data Collection: 3 hours.
    NWFSC: West Coast Open Access Groundfish, Non-tribal Salmon, Crab, 
and Shrimp Fisheries Economic Data Collection: 3 hours.
    PIFSC: American Samoa Longline Fishery Economic Data Collection: 1 
hour.
    PIFSC: Hawaii Pelagic Longline Fishery Economic Data Collection: 1 
hour.
    PIFSC: Hawaii Small Boat Fishery Economic Data Collection: 45 
minutes.
    PIFSC: American Samoa Small Boat Fishery Economic Data Collection: 
45 minutes.
    PIFSC: American Samoa, Guam, and The Commonwealth of The Northern 
Mariana Islands Small Boat-Based Fisheries Economic Data Collection (an 
add-on to a creel survey): 10 minutes.
    PIFSC: Mariana Archipelago Small Boat Fleet Economic Data 
Collection: 45 minutes.
    SEFSC: USVI F Small-Scale Commercial Fisheries Economic Data 
Collection: 15 minutes.
    SEFSC: Puerto Rico Small-Scale Commercial Fisheries Economic Data 
Collection: 1 hour.
    SEFSC: Gulf of Mexico Inshore Shrimp Fishery Economic Data 
Collection: 28 minutes.
    SEFSC: U.S. South Atlantic Region Golden Crab Fishery Economic Data 
Collection: 30 minutes.
    SWFSC: West Coast Coastal Pelagic Fishery Economic Data Collection: 
3 hours.
    SWFSC: West Coast Swordfish Fishery Economic Data Collection: 30 
minutes.
    SWFSC: West Coast North Pacific Albacore Fishery Economic Data 
Collection: 1 hour.
    NEFSC: Northeast Commercial Fishing Business Economic Data 
Collection: 1 hour.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,756.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: 0.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act.

IV. Request for Comments

    We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau 
to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is 
necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether 
the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy 
of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed 
collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the reporting burden 
on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request 
to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, phone 
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in 
your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including 
your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available 
at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your 
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2021-20989 Filed 9-27-21; 8:45 am]
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