[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 122 (Tuesday, June 27, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41597-41598]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-13651]


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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; National Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network Stranding 
and Gear Interaction Data Collection

    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 July 5, 2022 (87 FR 39806) during a 60-day comment 
period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public 
comments.
    Agency: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.
    Title: National Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network Stranding 
and Gear Interaction Data Collection.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0496.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular submission, revision and extension of 
approved collection.
    Number of Respondents: 750.
    Average Hours per Response: STSSN Stranding Report form: 15 
minutes; Gross Necropsy form (2 page version): 10 minutes; Gross 
Necropsy form (4 page version): 15 minutes; Cold Stun form and Cold 
Stun batch form: 10 minutes; Fishing Gear Identification form: 10 
minutes; Incidental Capture Intake form: 5 minutes; Entanglement form: 
15 minutes.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,682 annually.
    Needs and Uses: This is a request for revision and extension of 
collection 0648-0496 entitled ``Reporting of Sea Turtle Entanglement in 
Fishing Gear or Marine Debris''. We request to revise the name of the 
collection from ``Reporting of Sea Turtle Entanglement in Fishing Gear 
or Marine Debris'' to ``National Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage 
Network Stranding and Gear Interaction Data Collection'' and to add new 
forms to the collection to be inclusive of all forms used by Sea Turtle 
Stranding and Salvage Network (STSSN).
    NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) and the 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) share federal jurisdiction for 
the conservation and recovery of sea turtles. In accordance with the 
1977 Memorandum of Understanding between NOAA Fisheries and USFWS, 
which was reaffirmed in 2015, NOAA Fisheries serves as the lead for and 
coordinator of the STSSN. The STSSN currently responds to, and 
documents, sick, injured and dead (i.e., `stranded') sea turtles that 
are found in coastal areas under U.S. jurisdiction along the Atlantic 
Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources 
coordinates the STSSN. The Sea Turtle Disentanglement Network (STDN) is 
a part of the STSSN. The STSSN is a cooperative effort of authorized 
Federal, State, and private partners working to inform causes of 
morbidity and mortality in sea turtles by responding to and documenting 
stranded sea turtles. Information is collected in a manner sufficient 
to inform sea turtle conservation management and recovery. The STSSN 
accomplishes this through (1) collection of data in accordance with 
STSSN protocols; (2) improved understanding of causes of death and 
threats to sea turtles; (3) monitoring of stranding trends; (4) 
provision of initial aid to live stranded sea turtles; (5) provision of 
sea turtle samples/parts for conservation-relevant research; and (6) 
availability of timely data for conservation management purposes. To 
facilitate this data collection, the STSSN uses several standardized 
data collection forms. To ensure all data collected by the STSSN are in 
the same collection, we propose adding the following forms to 0648-
0496: STSSN Stranding Report form, Gross Necropsy forms (2 page and 4 
page versions), Cold Stun Event individual and batch forms, Fishing 
Gear Identification form, and Incidental Capture Intake form (currently 
approved in collection 0648-0774, expiring December 31, 2024).
    All species of sea turtle found in U.S. waters are listed as 
endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). NOAA 
Fisheries and the USFWS share federal jurisdiction for the conservation 
and recovery of sea

[[Page 41598]]

turtles. Section 4(f) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544) provides for the 
creation of Recovery Plans for endangered and threatened species and 
provides NOAA Fisheries and USFWS with authority ``to procure the 
services of appropriate public and private agencies and institutions 
and other qualified persons'' in order to implement those plans. To 
advance the conservation and recovery of listed sea turtles, each sea 
turtle recovery plan developed jointly by NOAA Fisheries and USFWS 
identifies and highlights the need to maintain an active stranding 
network. Both NOAA Fisheries and USFWS have promulgated regulations 
that provide an exception to the prohibitions on take and allow for 
coordinated response to stranded sea turtles in water and on land, 
based on their specific jurisdictional responsibility.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; Not-for-profit 
institutions; State, local, or Tribal government; Federal Government.
    Frequency: As needed as sea turtle strandings occur and are 
reported.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Collection of these data to inform causes of 
morbidity and mortality in sea turtles is necessary to fulfill 
statutory requirements of the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 
seq.).
    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 0648-0496.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2023-13651 Filed 6-26-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P