[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 106 (Friday, June 2, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36280-36281]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-11803]


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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; Gear-Marking Requirements for Atlantic Large Whale Take 
Reduction Plan

    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 February 13, 2023 (88 FR 9252) during a 60-day 
comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public 
comments.
    Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Department of Commerce.
    Title: Gear-Marking Requirements for Atlantic Large Whale Take 
Reduction Plan.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0364.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular (extension of a current information 
collection).
    Number of Respondents: 3,970.
    Average Hours per Response: Each mark requires approximately 6.7-
8.6 minutes of time.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 222,391.
    Needs and Uses: In 1996, pursuant to section 118 of the MMPA, the 
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) established and convened an 
Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team (Team) to assist in the 
development of the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (Plan). 
Throughout this process, the Team has provided NMFS with recommended 
measures designed to reduce mortality and serious injury to North 
Atlantic right (Eubalaena glacialis), humpback (Megaptera 
novaeangliae), minke (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), and fin 
(Balaenoptera physalus) whales from incidental interactions with 
commercial fishing gear. To gather information on where entanglements 
are occurring and what type of gear is involved, the Team developed 
gear marking requirements. As a result, any person setting trap/pot or 
gillnet gear to fish commercially in some areas of the Atlantic Ocean 
are required to paint or otherwise mark their gear with specific color 
codes, designating the type of gear and area where it is set, in 
addition to specific buoy marking requirements.
    NMFS is continuing the gear marking regulations amended in the 2021 
rule for the Northeast Region Trap/Pot Management Area (northeast 
region) commercial trap/pot fisheries because increased gear marking 
continues to be necessary to improve our understanding of where 
entanglement incidents occur (RIN 648-BJ09). The gear modifications 
required by the rule became effective May 1, 2022, which is at the 
start of the American lobster/Jonah crab fishing year.
    The continuation of this data collection allows for improved 
information on entanglement origins that will further enable NMFS to 
reduce injuries and deaths of large whales, especially North Atlantic 
right whales, due to incidental entanglement in United States 
commercial fishing gear. In order to develop fair and effective 
management measures, the Team requires comprehensive data on when, 
where, and how fixed gear vessels fish, and where whales become 
entangled in fishing gear.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit organizations.
    Frequency: All gear must be marked and maintained so marks are 
visible. On average, gear is replaced every 5-6 years, at which time 
the new gear must be marked.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Marine Mammal Protection Act, Endangered Species 
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

[[Page 36281]]

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 0648-0364.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2023-11803 Filed 6-1-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P