[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 88 (Monday, May 6, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37178-37179]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-09800]


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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; Northeast Region Observer Providers Requirements

    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 31, 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: Northeast Region Observer Providers Requirements.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0546.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular submission (extension and revision of a 
currently approved information collection).
    Number of Respondents: 626.
    Average Hours per Response: Response time varies between 10 minutes 
to 10 hours depending on the information collection.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 6,475.
    Needs and Uses: Under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (Magnuson-Steven Act), the Secretary of Commerce 
(Secretary) has the responsibility for the conservation and management 
of marine fishery resources. Much of this responsibility has been 
delegated to the NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Under 
this stewardship role, the Secretary was given certain regulatory 
authorities to ensure the most beneficial uses of these resources. One 
of the regulatory steps taken to carry out the conservation and 
management objectives is to collect data from users of the resource.
    Regulations at 50 CFR 648.11(g) require observer service providers 
to comply with specific requirements in order to operate as an approved 
provider in the Atlantic sea scallop (scallop) fishery. Observer 
service providers must comply with the following requirements: submit 
applications for approval as an observer service provider; formally 
request observer training by the Northeast Fisheries Observer Program 
(NEFOP); submit observer deployment reports and biological samples; 
give notification of whether a vessel must carry an observer within 24 
hours of the vessel owner's notification of a prospective trip; 
maintain an updated contact list of all observers that includes the 
observer identification number; observer's name mailing address, email 
address, phone numbers, homeports or fisheries/trip types assigned, and 
whether or not the observer is ``in service.'' The regulations also 
require observer service providers submit any outreach materials, such 
as informational pamphlets, payment notification, and descriptions of 
observer duties as well as all contracts between the service provider 
and entities requiring observer services for review to NMFS/NEFOP. 
Observer service providers also have the option to respond to 
application denials, and submit a rebuttal in response to a pending 
removal from the list of approved observer providers. During the 60-day 
comment period for this renewal NMFS approved an additional observer 
service provider, increasing the number of providers from three to 
four. The additional burden hours necessary to accommodate the 
additional provider are reflected in the updated total burden hours.
    Regulations at Sec.  648.11(k)(2) require that limited access, 
limited access general category individual fishing quota, and Northern 
Gulf of Maine scallop vessels notify NMFS prior to the beginning of a 
scallop trip to facilitate the deployment of at-sea observers. 
Previously, vessels either called or emailed to notify NMFS of an 
upcoming scallop trip. NMFS has added a new method for notification 
called the Pre-Trip Notification System (PTNS). The integration of the 
scallop notification requirement into the PTNS helps standardize 
observer operations between fisheries and modernize reporting systems. 
The PTNS is a mobile-friendly website that is more sophisticated and 
flexible than the aging interactive voice response technology. The 
change to the PTNS does not affect determination of scallop coverage 
rates or the compensation analysis. There are no changes to the 
requirements vessels must abide by if selected to carry an observer, 
such as equal accommodations, a harassment-free

[[Page 37179]]

environment, and other safety requirements. This change is not expected 
to impact the burden response time, but NOAA will continue to monitor 
use of this new tool, and will update the collection if it results in 
any burden changes at our next renewal. There will still be an email 
and a phone option for vessels to notify. These requirements allow 
NMFS/NEFOP to effectively administer the scallop observer program.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organization.
    Frequency: Weekly
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to Obtain Benefits.
    Legal Authority: Magnuson-Steven Act
    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 0648-0546.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-09800 Filed 5-3-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P