[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 122 (Tuesday, June 27, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41599-41600]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-13652]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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; American Fisheries Act Permits

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

ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 28, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to 
Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer, at [email protected]. Please 
reference OMB Control Number 0648-0393 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 Gabrielle Aberle, National Marine Fisheries Service, P.O. Box 21668, 
Juneau, AK 99802-1668, or 907-586-7356.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Alaska Regional 
Office, is requesting extension of a currently approved information 
collection that contains applications for permits and transfers 
necessary for NMFS to manage the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) 
pollock fishery under the American Fisheries Act (AFA).
    NMFS manages the BSAI pollock fishery under the authority of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 
1801 et seq.) and AFA (16 U.S.C. 1851). The regulations implementing 
the AFA Program are at 50 CFR part 679, subpart F. The reporting 
requirements at 50 CFR part 679 form the basis for this collection of 
information.
    The AFA was signed into law in October 1998. The purpose of the AFA 
was to tighten U.S. ownership standards that had been exploited under 
the Anti-reflagging Act, and to provide the BSAI pollock fleet the 
opportunity to conduct their fishery in a more rational manner while 
protecting non-AFA participants in the other fisheries. The AFA 
established sector allocations in the BSAI pollock fishery, determined 
eligible vessels and processors, allowed the formation of cooperatives, 
set limits on the participation of AFA vessels in other fisheries, and 
imposed special catch weighing and monitoring requirements on AFA 
vessels.
    Any vessel used to engage in directed fishing for a non-western 
Alaska community development quota (non-CDQ) allocation of pollock in 
the Bering Sea and any shoreside processor, stationary floating 
processor, or mothership that receives pollock harvested in a non-CDQ 
directed pollock fishery in the Bering Sea must have a valid AFA permit 
on board the vessel or at the facility location at all times while non-
CDQ pollock is being harvested or processed.
    Permanent AFA permits (AFA catcher vessel, AFA catcher/processor, 
AFA mothership, and AFA inshore processor) for the BSAI pollock fishery 
had a one-time application deadline of December 1, 2000, and were 
issued with an indefinite expiration date. Therefore, except for 
participants that require annual or replacement permits, all AFA 
entities required to have a permit are already permitted.

[[Page 41600]]

    The type of information collected in this collection includes 
information on the applicants, transferors, transferees, permits, 
vessels, and Chinook salmon PSC transfer data. This information 
collection contains the following AFA permitting and transfer 
requirements:
     The AFA Permit: Rebuilt, Replacement, or Removed Vessel 
Application is submitted by an owner of an AFA vessel to notify NMFS 
the vessel has been rebuilt; to request an AFA permit for a replacement 
catcher vessel, catcher/processor, or mothership; or to request removal 
of an AFA catcher vessel that is a member of an inshore cooperative and 
assign its catch history to another vessel or vessels in the same 
cooperative.
     The Application for AFA Inshore Catcher Vessel Cooperative 
Permit is submitted annually by each AFA inshore catcher vessel 
cooperative to obtain an AFA Inshore Catcher Vessel Cooperative Permit 
and identify the vessels and processors that will be participating in 
the BSAI pollock fishery prior to the start of each fishing year.
     The AFA Inshore Vessel Contract Fishing Notification is 
submitted by an AFA inshore cooperative that intends to contract with a 
non-member vessel to harvest a portion of the cooperative's annual 
pollock allocation to notify NMFS of vessels that might be reporting 
with an alternative cooperative ID.
     The Application for Approval as an Entity to Receive 
Transferable Chinook Salmon Prohibited Species Catch (PSC) Allocation 
is submitted by an entity representing the catcher/processor sector or 
the mothership sector to request approval to receive transferable 
Chinook salmon PSC allocations on behalf of members of the sector. Once 
approved, an entity is not required to reapply for or renew its status. 
Entities sometimes submit amendments to update contact and other 
information related to the entity and its members.
     The Application for Transfer of Bering Sea Chinook Salmon 
PSC Allocations is submitted by an authorized representative of the 
catcher/processor sector, the mothership sector, an inshore 
cooperative, or a CDQ group to transfer Chinook salmon PSC allocations 
to another entity's account.

II. Method of Collection

    The information is collected primarily by mail, fax, and delivery. 
The Application for Transfer of Bering Sea Chinook Salmon PSC 
Allocations and the Application for Approval as an Entity to Receive 
Transferable Chinook Salmon PSC Allocation may be submitted online 
through eFISH on the NMFS Alaska Region website at https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/webapps/efish/login. The applications are 
available as fillable PDFs on the NMFS Alaska Region website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/american-fisheries-act-pollock-applications-and-forms.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0648-0393.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission (extension of a current 
information collection).
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit organizations; Not-for-profit institutions.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 27.
    Estimated Time per Response: AFA Permit: Rebuilt, Replacement, or 
Removed Vessel Application, 1 hour; Application for Transfer of Bering 
Sea Chinook Salmon PSC Allocations, 1 hour; Application for AFA Inshore 
Catcher Vessel Cooperative Permit, 2 hours; AFA Inshore Vessel Contract 
Fishing Notification, 4 hours; Application for Approval as an Entity to 
Receive Transferable Chinook Salmon PSC Allocation, 8 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 251 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $420 in recordkeeping and 
reporting costs.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to Obtain or Retain Benefits.
    Legal Authority: Magnuson-Stevens Fishery and Conservation Act; 
American Fisheries 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 Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2023-13652 Filed 6-26-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P