[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 202 (Friday, October 20, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72431-72432]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-23250]


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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; Basic Requirements for Special Exception Permits and 
Authorizations To Take, Import, and Export Marine Mammals, Threatened 
and Endangered Species, and for Maintaining a Captive Marine Mammal 
Inventory Under Section 104 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the 
Fur Seal Act, and/or Section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act

    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 June 28, 2023, during a 60-day comment period. This 
notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
    Agency: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.

[[Page 72432]]

    Title: Basic Requirements for Special Exception Permits and 
Authorizations to Take, Import, and Export Marine Mammals, Threatened 
and Endangered Species, and for Maintaining a Captive Marine Mammal 
Inventory Under section 104 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the 
Fur Seal Act, and/or section 10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species Act.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0084.
    Form Number(s): NOAA FORMs 89-880, 89-881, and 89-882.
    Type of Request: Regular submission (extension of a current 
information collection).
    Number of Respondents: 423.
    Average Hours per Response: The estimated average amount of time it 
takes to complete each information collection instrument is as follows. 
Scientific research and enhancement permit applications, 50 hours; 
public display permit applications, 50 hours; protected species parts 
applications, 20 hours; photography permit applications, 10 hours; 
General Authorization Letters of Intent, 10 hours; major permit 
modification requests, 35 hours; minor permit modification requests, 3 
hours; scientific research permit reports, 12 hours; scientific 
research parts only permit reports, 8 hours; General Authorization 
reports, 8 hours; public display permit reports, 2 hours; photography 
permit reports, 2 hours; public display inventory reporting, 2 hours; 
and general record keeping, 2 hours per each type.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 6,568.
    Needs and Uses: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), 
Office of Protected Resources, Permits and Conservation Division is 
proposing an extension of the currently approved information collection 
OMB Control Number 0648-0084. The information collection request (IRC) 
is under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), the 
Fur Seal Act (FSA), and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This 
information collection applies to certain protected species for which 
NMFS is responsible: cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) and 
pinnipeds (seals and sea lions); and, for ESA scientific research and 
enhancement permits: smalltooth sawfish, sea turtles (in water), 
sturgeon (Atlantic and shortnose), and certain foreign ESA-listed 
species. This information collection may be used for future ESA-listed 
species.
    The MMPA, FSA, and ESA prohibit ``take'' (e.g., to harass or harm), 
import, and export of marine mammals and endangered and threatened 
species, with limited exceptions. Pursuant to section 104 of the MMPA 
and section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA, individuals, business or other for-
profit organizations, not-for-profit institutions, and government 
agencies may obtain special exception permits to take, import, or 
export marine mammals or endangered or threatened species for 
scientific research or enhancement purposes. Section 104 of the MMPA 
also provides for Letters of Confirmation under a General Authorization 
for scientific research; permits for commercial and educational 
photography of marine mammals; and permits for capture and/or import of 
marine mammals for public display.
    Persons or institutions seeking to take, import, or export 
protected species must apply for a permit or authorization and 
demonstrate the statutory and regulatory requirements are met. The 
regulations pertaining to permits and associated reporting under the 
MMPA and FSA are at 50 CFR part 216; the regulations for permit 
requirements under the ESA are at 50 CFR part 222. The required 
information in this collection is used by NMFS to make the 
determinations required by the MMPA, FSA, ESA, and their implementing 
regulations prior to issuing a permit or authorization; to establish 
appropriate conditions; to evaluate the impacts on protected species; 
and, to ensure compliance with the Acts.
    Information required includes the name, affiliation, contact 
information and qualifications of the applicant and others listed on 
the application; the purpose of the request; the species, age, sex, and 
number of animals; the proposed methods and mitigation to minimize 
impacts to the species; a description of the impacts to the species and 
environment; and the requested time frame of the permit. Permit and 
authorization holders must submit reports on the activities they carry 
out.
    The MMPA requires NMFS to maintain an inventory of marine mammals 
in public display facilities and for those facilities to report certain 
information to NMFS via the National Inventory of Marine Mammals 
(NIMM). The NIMM forms include an institutional contact form, a marine 
mammal data sheet (MMDS), and a transfer/transport notification form. 
Inventory information required by the MMPA includes the animal's name 
or other identification; sex; birth date; date animal enters and leaves 
a collection; source of the animal (e.g., stranding); where an animal 
is transferred or transported; and date and cause of death (when 
determined). Exporting facilities must provide documentation to NMFS 
that the recipient facility meets standards comparable to those 
required in the United States. The NIMM forms facilitate compliance 
with MMPA reporting requirements and allow NMFS to keep NIMM up to 
date. Based on public comment on the previous PRA notice, we simplified 
the blank MMDS to only include information necessary for reporting a 
birth, release, or death, and included definitions for the fields on 
the MMDS. We are not proposing any changes to the MMDS or the other 
NIMM forms at this time.
    NMFS had originally proposed to provide additional guidance to 
improve the reasonableness of our applicant's take estimates and the 
accuracy of their subsequent reporting. However, we are no longer 
proposing those changes due to resource limitations at this time. We 
plan to work on developing additional take guidance for permit 
applicants as time and resources allow.
    Affected Public: Individuals; Business or other for-profit 
organizations; Not-for-profit institutions; State, Local, or Tribal 
government; Federal government.
    Frequency: Permit applications, once every five or ten years; 
permit reports, annually or more frequently if incidents occur; 
amendments and modifications to permits, as frequently as requested by 
permit holders; public display inventory reporting, 15 days prior to 
transporting or transferring marine mammals and 30 days after the date 
of birth or death of a marine mammal.
    Respondent's Obligation: Public display forms are mandatory; permit 
applications are required to receive a permit.
    Legal Authority: MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), FSA (16 U.S.C. 1151 
et seq.), and ESA (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 0648-0084.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2023-23250 Filed 10-19-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P