[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 124 (Thursday, June 27, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53588-53589]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-14117]


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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 Gear 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, Commerce.
    Title: West Coast Region Gear Identification Requirements.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0352.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular Submission [Extension of a current 
information collection].
    Number of Respondents: 942.
    Average Hours per Response: 15 minutes per marking.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 848.
    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 
requirements that fishing gear be marked are essential to facilitate 
enforcement. The ability to link fishing gear 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. The marking of fishing gear is also valuable in actions concerning 
damage, loss, and civil proceedings. The regulations specify that 
fishing gear must be marked with the vessel's official number, Federal 
permit or tag number, or some other specified form of identification. 
The regulations further specify how the gear is to be marked (e.g., 
location and color). Law enforcement personnel rely on gear marking 
information to assure compliance with fisheries management regulations. 
Gear that is not properly identified is confiscated. Gear violations 
are more readily prosecuted when the gear is marked, and this allows 
for more cost-effective enforcement. Gear marking helps ensure that a 
vessel harvests fish only from its own traps/pots/other gear and the 
gear are not illegally placed. Cooperating fishermen also use the gear 
marking numbers to report suspicious or non-compliant activities that 
they observe, and to report placement or occurrence of gear in 
unauthorized areas. The identifying number on fishing gear 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: Every 5 years.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Fixed-gear marking requirements are set forth in 
the regulations implementing the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fisheries 
Management Plan at 50 CFR 660.219 and 660.319.
    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

[[Page 53589]]

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 
0648-0352.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-14117 Filed 6-26-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P