[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 179 (Monday, September 16, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75532-75533]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-20942]


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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; Fishing Capacity Reduction Program/Buyback Requests

    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 May 14, 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: Fishing Capacity Reduction Program/Buyback Requests.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0376.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular submission (extension of a current 
information collection).
    Number of Respondents: 200.
    Average Hours Per Response: 0.5 hours for buyback fee collection 
reports; 4 hours for buyback annual reports.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 930 hours.
    Needs and Uses: This request is for extension of a currently 
approved information collection.
    The Sustainable Fisheries Act (SFA) amended the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) to provide for voluntary 
reduction of excess fishing capacity through fishing capacity reduction 
(buyback) programs. Excess fishing capacity decreases fisheries 
earnings, complicates fishery management, and imperils fishery 
conservation. The statutory objective of a program is ``to obtain the 
maximum sustained reduction in fishing capacity at the least cost and 
in a minimum period of time.'' Buybacks pay fishermen either to: (1) 
Surrender their fishing permits; or (2) both surrender their permits 
and either scrap their fishing vessels or restrict vessel title to 
prevent fishing. Buybacks

[[Page 75533]]

can involve either a Federal or State fishery. Buybacks can be funded 
via a long-term loan from the Federal government to the fishery 
(industry-funded buybacks), to be repaid by the industry by post-
buyback landing fees, or funded from appropriations (non-industry 
funded) or other non-loan sources of funds. Programs involving 
industry-financed loans are authorized by section 1111 of title XI of 
the Merchant Marine Act, 1936.
    NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) established programs 
to reduce excess fishing capacity by paying fishermen to surrender 
their vessels/permits. The information collected by NMFS involves the 
submission of buyback requests by industry, submission of bids, 
referenda of fishery participants and reporting of collection of fees 
to repay buyback loans. For buybacks involving State-managed fisheries, 
the State may be involved in developing the buyback plan and complying 
with other information requirements. NMFS requests information from 
participating buyback participants to track repayments of the loans as 
well as ensure accurate management and monitoring of the loans. The 
fees for recordkeeping and reporting requirements at 50 CFR parts 
600.1013 through 600.1017 form the basis for the collection of 
information.
    Information collections associated with loan creation were removed 
from the 2021 renewal because no new loans are anticipated moving 
forward, but the Federal Register notice published on May 14, 2024 (89 
FR 41947) included the burden for these removed activities. That error 
has been corrected in this notice.
    Affected Public: Businesses.
    Frequency: Monthly and annually.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to Obtain or Retain Benefits.
    Legal Authority: Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Reauthorization Act, Public Law 104-297 section 312(b)-(e).
    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 0648-0376.

Sheleen Dumas,
Departmental PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-20942 Filed 9-13-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P