[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 121 (Monday, June 26, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41388-41389]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-13509]


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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; Reporting Requirements for the Ocean Salmon Fishery Off the 
Coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California

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 August 25, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to 
Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer, at [email protected]. Please 
reference OMB Control Number 0648-0433 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 Shannon Penna, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) West Coast 
Region, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle WA 98115; telephone: 562-980-
4239; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    This request is for an extension of a currently approved 
information collection.
    Ocean salmon fisheries conducted in the U.S. exclusive economic 
zone, 3-200 nautical miles off the West Coast states of Washington, 
Oregon, and California are managed by the Pacific Fishery Management 
Council (Council) and NOAA's NMFS under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (MSA). Management measures for the 
ocean salmon fisheries are set annually, consistent with the Council's 
Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The FMP provides a 
framework for managing the ocean salmon fisheries in a sustainable 
manner, as required under the MSA, through the use of conservation 
objectives, annual catch limits, and other reference points and status 
determination criteria described in the FMP. To meet these criteria, 
annual management measures, published in the Federal Register by NMFS, 
specify regulatory areas, catch restrictions, and landing restrictions 
based on the stock abundance forecasts. These catch and landing 
restrictions include area- and species-specific quotas for the 
commercial ocean salmon fishery, and generally require catch and 
landings to be reported to the appropriate state and tribal agencies to 
allow for timely and accurate accounting of the season's catch (50 CFR 
660.404 and 50 CFR 660.408(o)). The best available catch and effort 
data and projections are presented by the state fishery managers in 
telephone conference calls involving the NMFS Regional Administrator 
and representatives of the Council. However, NMFS acknowledges that 
unsafe weather or mechanical problems could prevent commercial 
fishermen from making their landings at the times and places specified, 
and the MSA requires conservation and management measures to promote 
the safety of human life at sea. Therefore, the annual management 
measures will include provisions to exempt commercial salmon fishermen 
from compliance with the landing requirements when they experience 
unsafe weather conditions or mechanical problems at sea, so long as the 
appropriate notifications are made by, for example, at-sea radio and 
cellular telephone, and information on catch and other required 
information is given, under this collection of information.
    The annual management measures will specify the contents and 
procedure of the notifications, and the entities receiving the 
notifications (e.g., U.S. Coast Guard). Absent this requirement by the 
Council, the state reporting systems would not regularly collect this 
specific type of in-season radio report. These provisions, and this 
federal collection of information, promote safety at sea and provide 
practical utility for sustainably managing the fishery, and ensure 
regulatory consistency across each state by implementing the same 
requirements in the territorial waters off each state. This information 
collection is intended to be general in scope by leaving the specifics 
of the notifications for annual determination, thus providing 
flexibility in responding to salmon management concerns in any given 
year.

II. Method of Collection

    Notifications are made by at-sea radio or cellular phone 
transmissions.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0648-0433.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission (extension of a currently 
approved collection).
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 40.
    Estimated Time per Response: 15 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 10 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0 in recordkeeping/
reporting costs.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    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

[[Page 41389]]

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 Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2023-13509 Filed 6-23-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P