[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 73 (Monday, April 15, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26133-26134]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07898]


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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; Socioeconomics of Coral Reef Conservation

    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 January 5, 2024, 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: Socioeconomics of Coral Reef Conservation.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0646.

[[Page 26134]]

    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Revision and extension of a current information 
collection.
    Number of Respondents: 9,840.
    Average Hours per Response: 20 minutes (0.33 hours).
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,093 hours.
    Needs and Uses: This request is for revision and extension to an 
approved collection of information, OMB Control Number 0648-0646, under 
the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., and implementing 
regulations at 5 CFR part 1320. This previously-approved information 
collection assists NOAA in the administration of the National Coral 
Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP), which was established by the NOAA 
Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) under the authority of the Coral 
Reef Conservation Act of 2000, 16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq. This act 
authorizes CRCP to, among other things, conserve and restore the 
condition of United States coral reef ecosystems and enhance public 
awareness, understanding, and appreciation of coral reefs and coral 
reef ecosystems and their ecological and socioeconomic value. In 
accordance with its mission goals, NOAA developed a survey to track 
relevant information regarding each jurisdiction's population, social 
and economic structure, the benefits of coral reefs and related 
habitats, the impacts of society on coral reefs, and the impacts of 
coral management on communities. The survey is repeated in each 
jurisdiction every five to seven years in order to provide longitudinal 
data and information for managers to effectively conserve coral reefs 
for current and future generations.
    The purpose of this information collection is to obtain human 
dimensions information from residents in the seven United States (U.S.) 
jurisdictions containing coral reefs: Florida, U.S. Virgin Islands 
(USVI), Puerto Rico, Hawai`i, American Samoa, Guam, and the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Specifically, NOAA 
is seeking information on the behaviors and activities related to coral 
reefs, as well as information on perceptions of coral reef conditions 
and attitudes toward specific reef conservation activities. Each survey 
has a core set of questions that are asked across all jurisdictions to 
allow for information to be tracked over time and across jurisdictions. 
To account for geographical, cultural and linguistic differences 
between jurisdictions, the survey questions include items that are 
specific to the local context and developed based on jurisdictional 
partner feedback.
    We intend to use the information collected through this instrument 
for research purposes, as well as for measuring and improving the 
results of our reef protection programs. Because many of our efforts to 
protect reefs rely on education and changing attitudes toward reef 
protection, the information collected will allow CRCP to ensure that 
programs are designed appropriately at the start, future program 
evaluation efforts are as successful as possible, and outreach efforts 
are targeting the intended recipients with useful information.
    No survey question concept or theory has changed since the first 
hybrid-generic clearance of this information collect request in 2021. 
However, NOAA sought feedback from survey administration teams and 
jurisdictional partners in American Samoa (2021), Puerto Rico (2022), 
and Guam (2023), as well as during preparation for survey 
administration in the CNMI (2024) and the USVI (2025). Responses came 
primarily from state and local natural resource management agencies, 
fisheries management councils and NGOs. In addition, NOAA adjusted each 
of the jurisdictional surveys based on respondents' feedback to the 
instrument. This feedback resulted in non-substantive survey instrument 
revisions that reduce question complexity, reduce respondent burden, 
simplify terminology for translation into other languages, improve 
clarity, and maintain consistent formatting.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Frequency: Every 5-7 years.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000.
    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 0648-0646.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-07898 Filed 4-12-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-P