[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 7, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38109-38110]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-09841]


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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; Applications and Reports for Registration as an Agent or 
Tanner

    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 24, 2024, during a 60-day comment period. 
This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
    Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Commerce.
    Title: Applications and Reports for Registration as an Agent or 
Tanner.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0179.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular submission, extension of a current 
information collection.
    Number of Respondents: 25.
    Average Hours per Response: 2 hours for an application and 2 hours 
for a report.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 50 hours.
    Needs and Uses: This is a request for extension of an approved 
information collection. The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) (16 
U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) mandates the protection and conservation of marine 
mammals and makes the taking, killing or serious injury of marine 
mammals, except under permit or exemption, a violation of the Act. An 
exemption is provided for Alaskan natives to take marine mammals if the 
taking is for subsistence or for creating and selling authentic native 
articles of handicraft and clothing. Possession of marine mammals and 
marine mammal parts by other than Alaskan natives is therefore 
prohibited (exception, 50 CFR 216.26: beach found non-Endangered 
Species Act (ESA) teeth or bones that have been registered with NOAA's 
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)). As native handicrafts are 
allowed by the MMPA to enter interstate commerce, an exemption is also 
needed to allow non-natives to handle the skins or other marine mammal 
produce, whether to tan the pinniped hide or to act as an agent for the 
native to sell his handicraft products. The information is necessary 
for law enforcement purposes to ensure that only Alaska Indians, 
Aleuts, or Eskimos are submitting marine mammal hides or parts for 
tanning.
    The information required by 50 CFR 216.23 is of two types. 
Applications: Information is required to identify the applicant as a 
tanner/agent in order to preclude prosecution under the MMPA and to 
determine that he/she has an acceptable record keeping program to 
accurately account for those marine mammal products received. This 
information serves as a deterrent for those individuals who might use 
this registration program for entering prohibited marine mammal 
products into interstate commerce. Reports: Information is also needed 
annually to evaluate the agent/tanner's activities during the year, and 
his/her procedures for bookkeeping and yearly inventory to assure NMFS, 
the Marine Mammal Commission, and the general public that prohibited 
marine mammal products were not being transshipped through registered 
agents.
    The reporting requirements are: report in writing to the Assistant 
Administrator for Fisheries, NMFS, any changes in the facts stated in 
Registrant's applications for this Certificate of Registration within 
30 days of such change; maintain current records of each transaction 
authorized stating the marine mammals or marine mammal parts or 
products involved, from whom received, any processing accomplished, to 
whom returned, and the date of each such transaction. These records 
shall be kept separate and apart from other records maintained in the 
ordinary course of business and shall be retrained for not less than 
three years; and annually, during the month of January, send certified 
copies of such records (annual report) to the Assistant Administrator 
for Fisheries.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations; state, 
local or tribal governments.
    Frequency: Annually and on occasion.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: U.S. Code: 16 U.S.C. 1361; Marine Mammal 
Protection 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.

[[Page 38110]]

    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 0648-0179.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-09841 Filed 5-6-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P