[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 124 (Thursday, June 27, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 53590]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-14036]


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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; West Coast Region Vessel Identification 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 April 2, 2024 during a 60-day comment period. This 
notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
    Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.
    Title: West Coast Region Vessel Identification Requirements.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0355.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular submission (extension of a currently 
approved collection).
    Number of Respondents: 1,007.
    Average Hours per Response: 45 minutes.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 151 (annualized over five years).
    Needs and Uses: This request is for extension of a currently 
approved information collection. The success of fisheries management 
programs depends significantly on regulatory compliance. The vessel 
identification requirement is essential to facilitate enforcement. The 
ability to link fishing (or other activity) to the vessel owner or 
operator is crucial to enforcement of regulations issued under the 
authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act. A vessel's official number is required to be displayed on the port 
and starboard sides of the deckhouse or hull, and on a weather deck. It 
identifies each vessel and should be visible at distances at sea and in 
the air. Law enforcement personnel rely on vessel marking information 
to assure compliance with fisheries management regulations. Vessels 
that qualify for particular fisheries are also readily identified, and 
this allows for more cost-effective enforcement. Cooperating fishermen 
also use the vessel numbers to report suspicious or non-compliant 
activities that they observe in unauthorized areas. The identifying 
number on fishing vessels is used by the National Marine Fisheries 
Service (NMFS), the United States Coast Guard (USCG), and other marine 
agencies in issuing regulations, prosecutions, and other enforcement 
actions necessary to support sustainable fisheries behaviors as 
intended in regulations. Regulation-compliant fishermen ultimately 
benefit from these requirements, as unauthorized and illegal fishing is 
deterred, and more burdensome regulations are avoided.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
    Frequency: SFD staff consulted with various groundfish vessel 
captains participating in various groundfish pot, longline, midwater 
trawl, bottom trawl fisheries, and determined that gear and vessel 
markings have a five-year life span.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: 50 CFR 660.12.
    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 0648-0355.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-14036 Filed 6-26-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P