[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 180 (Tuesday, September 19, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64411-64412]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-20279]


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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; Alaska Crab Arbitration

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 20, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to 
Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer, at [email protected]. Please 
reference OMB Control Number 0648-0516 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. Telephone 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 for the Arbitration System for the Crab Rationalization 
Program.
    The Crab Rationalization Program allocates Bering Sea and Aleutian 
Islands (BSAI) crab resources among

[[Page 64412]]

harvesters, processors, and coastal communities. Under the Crab 
Rationalization Program, eligible License Limitation Program license 
holders were issued crab quota shares (QS), which are long term shares, 
based on their qualifying license histories. The QS yield annual 
individual fishing quota (IFQ) that is an exclusive harvest privilege 
for a portion of the total allowable catch. Processor quota shares 
(PQS) are long term shares issued to processors. The PQS yield annual 
individual processor quota (IPQ) that is an exclusive privilege to 
receive, for processing, a portion of the crab harvested with Class A 
IFQ.
    This information collection for the Arbitration System is necessary 
for NMFS to manage the Crab Rationalization Program crab fisheries in 
the BSAI. This information collection is implemented under the Crab 
Rationalization Program and required by regulations at 50 CFR 680.20. 
NMFS requires that harvesters and processors abide by an Arbitration 
System established to stabilize prices and negotiations during the crab 
harvest season. The Arbitration System is necessary to reduce 
contention in price negotiations. The information collected is 
necessary for NMFS to verify the membership of the arbitration 
organizations and maintain the Arbitration System.
    The Arbitration System was designed to fairly and equitably resolve 
price, delivery terms, performance standards, and other disputes in the 
event that IFQ and IPQ holders are unable to reach agreement on 
arbitration proceedings. The Arbitration System is also designed to 
minimize the potential for antitrust violations. The Arbitration System 
includes a provision for open negotiations among IPQ and IFQ holders, 
as well as various negotiation approaches, including a share matching 
approach, a lengthy season approach where parties may postpone binding 
arbitration until during the season, and a binding arbitration 
procedure to resolve price disputes between an IPQ holder and eligible 
IFQ holders. The Arbitration System also provides for dissemination of 
market information to facilitate negotiations, coordination of matching 
Class A IFQ held by harvesters to IPQ held by processors, and the 
opportunity to use the binding arbitration process to resolve terms of 
price and delivery. Certain aspects of the Arbitration System are 
required of catcher vessel owners who hold QS/IFQ and PQS/IPQ holders 
and operate regardless of whether participants in the fishery actually 
initiate binding arbitration in order to resolve terms of price or 
delivery.
    This information collection contains five components of the 
Arbitration System that are submitted to NMFS. Four are submitted 
annually: the Annual Arbitration Organization Report, the Market 
Report, the Non-binding Price Formula Report, and the Cost Allocation 
Agreement. The Contract Arbitrator Report is submitted if any 
arbitrations occur within a fishery.
    The Annual Arbitration Organization Report is compiled by each of 
the two arbitration organizations; one organization represents the 
processors, and the second represents the harvesters. This report 
includes information on the arbitration organization and its management 
personnel, the crab QS fisheries to which the report applies, the 
ownership interest and the QS/IFQ or PQS/IPQ held by each member; and 
the arbitration process.
    The Cost Allocation Agreement provides combined shared arbitration 
accounting costs. Federal regulations for the Crab Rationalization 
Program require that the crab arbitration costs are shared equally 
between IPQ holders and Class A IFQ holders--processors pay half and 
fishermen pay half.
    The arbitration organizations use contracted parties to meet the 
requirements of the Market Report, Nonbinding Price Formula Report, and 
Contractor Arbitrator Report.
    The Non-binding Price Formula Report is a pre-season report that is 
designed to serve as a starting point for negotiations between 
fishermen and processors, or as a starting point for an arbitrator in 
evaluating offers in an arbitration process. This report documents how 
each formula was developed.
    The Market Report provides an analysis of the market for products 
of a specific crab fishery and reports on activities occurring within 
three months prior to its generation. The purpose of this report is to 
provide background information on each crab fishery, the products 
generated by each fishery, and position of those products in the 
marketplace; discuss the historical division of wholesale revenue; and 
provide the methods for predicting wholesale prices before the fishery 
occurs.
    The Contract Arbitrator Report documents arbitration proceedings if 
they occur within a fishery.

II. Method of Collection

    The information is submitted by email, mail, delivery, or fax.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0648-0516.
    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.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 2.
    Estimated Time Per Response: Annual Arbitration Organization 
Report: 6 hours; Cost Allocation Agreement: 16 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 28 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $177,015 in recordkeeping 
and reporting costs.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).

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. 2023-20279 Filed 9-18-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P