Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Gear-Marking Requirement for Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan., 29481-29482 [05-10183]
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 98 / Monday, May 23, 2005 / Notices
copies of the information collection
instrument and instructions should be
directed to Walter Ikehara (808) 927–
1805 or Walter.Ikehara@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS)requires U.S. vessels fishing for
coral reef management unit species in
the designated low-use Marine
Protected Areas and open areas, i.e.,
waters seaward of the inner boundary of
the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone in
the western Pacific region, to obtain and
carry a permit. This permit is also
required for at-sea transshipment of
coral reef management unit species. The
permit application form provides basic
information about the permit applicant,
vessel, fishing gear and method, target
species, projected fishing effort, etc., for
use by NMFS and the Western Pacific
Fishery Management Council in
determining eligibility for permit
issuance. The information is important
for understanding the nature of the
fishery and provides a link to
participants. It also aids in the
enforcement of Fishery Management
Plan measures.
II. Method of Collection
Information is submitted to NMFS, in
the form of paper permit application
forms.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0648–0463.
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Regular submission.
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations and individuals or
households.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
12.
Estimated Time Per Response: 2
hours.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 30.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to
Public: $0.
IV. Request for Comments
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether
the proposed collection of information
is necessary for the proper performance
of the functions of the agency, including
whether the information shall have
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden
(including hours and cost) of the
proposed collection of information; (c)
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and (d) ways to minimize the
burden of the collection of information
on respondents, including through the
use of automated collection techniques
VerDate jul<14>2003
16:20 May 20, 2005
Jkt 205001
or other forms of information
technology.
Comments submitted in response to
this notice will be summarized and/or
included in the request for OMB
approval of this information collection;
they also will become a matter of public
record.
Dated: May 17, 2005.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 05–10182 Filed 5–20–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Proposed Information Collection;
Comment Request; Gear-Marking
Requirement for Atlantic Large Whale
Take Reduction Plan.
National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
DOC.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Department of
Commerce, as part of its continuing
effort to reduce paperwork and
respondent burden, invites the general
public and other Federal agencies to
take this opportunity to comment on
proposed and/or continuing information
collections, as required by the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: Written comments must be
submitted on or before July 22, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments
to Diana Hynek, Departmental
Paperwork Clearance Officer,
Department of Commerce, Room 6625,
14th and Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20230 (or via the
Internet at dHynek@doc.gov).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information or
copies of the information collection
instrument and instructions should be
directed to Kristy Long (301) 713–1401
or Kristy.Long@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The purpose of this proposed
collection of information is to enable
NOAA to reduce entanglements of large
whales, especially right whales, in U.S.
commercial fishing gear. Persons setting
lobster trap/pot or gillnet gear in some
areas of the Atlantic Ocean would be
required to paint or otherwise mark
their gear with two color codes, one
color designating the type of gear, the
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
29481
other designating the area where the
gear is set depending on area. These
marking requirements would apply in
right whale critical habitats and in two
other areas where right whales are seen
on a regular basis. These areas are the
southeast U.S. observer area and the
Stellwagen Bank/Jeffreys Ledge
restricted area.
The goals of this collection of
information are to obtain more
information on where large whales are
being entangled and on what type gear
responsible for the entanglement. This
information will allow NMFS to focus
further risk reduction measures on
problem areas rather than instituting
broader measures that affect the overall
industry.
II. Method of Collection
This is a marking requirement and no
information is submitted to NOAA.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0648–0364.
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Regular submission.
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations and individuals or
households.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
4,506.
Estimated Time Per Response: 6
minutes.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 2,572.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to
Public: $27,313.
IV. Request for Comments
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether
the proposed collection of information
is necessary for the proper performance
of the functions of the agency, including
whether the information shall have
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden
(including hours and cost) of the
proposed collection of information; (c)
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and (d) ways to minimize the
burden of the collection of information
on respondents, including through the
use of automated collection techniques
or other forms of information
technology.
Comments submitted in response to
this notice will be summarized and/or
included in the request for OMB
approval of this information collection;
they also will become a matter of public
record.
E:\FR\FM\23MYN1.SGM
23MYN1
29482
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 98 / Monday, May 23, 2005 / Notices
Dated: May 17, 2005.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 05–10183 Filed 5–20–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[I.D. 051805A]
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of
Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Comprehensive Amendment for the
Fishery Ecosystem Plan
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
U.S. Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a
draft environmental impact statement
(DEIS); request for comments.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery
Management Council (Council) intends
to prepare a DEIS to assess the impacts
on the natural and human environment
of the management measures proposed
in its draft Fishery Ecosystem Plan
Comprehensive Amendment.
DATES: Written comments on the scope
of issues to be addressed in the
preliminary DEIS will be accepted
through June 30, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Comments and requests for
copies of the scoping document should
be sent to Robert K. Mahood, Executive
Director, South Atlantic Fishery
Management Council, One Southpark
Circle, Suite 306, Charleston, SC 29407–
4699, PHONE: 1–866–SAFMC–10; FAX:
843–769–4520; email:
FEPAR@safmc.net.
Kim
Iverson, Public Information Officer; toll
free 1–866–SAFMC–10 or 843–571–
4366; kim.iverson@safmc.net.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: There has
been recent interest in using ecosystembased management principles to
complement the current fishery
management regime. It is believed that
the incorporation of ecosystem-based
principles will improve upon a system
that has largely been based on singlespecies stock assessment and
management. Ecosystem principles
include the consideration of information
that has not been available in the past
when managing fish stocks, including
predator-prey interactions, the influence
of weather and climate on the biological
environment, the condition of the
habitat/environment, and the role of
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
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16:20 May 20, 2005
Jkt 205001
species diversity to ecosystem
functions.
With the Habitat Plan as a
cornerstone, the South Atlantic Fishery
Management Council (Council) is
developing an ecosystem-based
approach to resource management. In
doing so, the Council is initiating
development of a comprehensive
resource document that will present
fishery and resource information for
fisheries in the South Atlantic Bight
ecosystem. This document, here referred
to as the Fishery Ecosystem Plan (FEP),
will build upon the detailed habitat
information described in the Council’s
1998 Habitat Plan for the South
Atlantic. The FEP will describe the
detailed ecological and socioeconomic
information regarding southeast
fisheries from an ecosystem perspective.
Information will include the delineation
of the geographical extent of the
ecosystems, descriptions of species life
histories, and the development of a
conceptual model of the food web.
Based upon the information
developed in the FEP, the Council plans
to establish a process to incorporate
ecosystem information obtained through
the FEP (and future FEP updates) into
the current policy-making and
management process. The proposed
system calls for the initial development
of a FEP as described above, in addition
to the implementation of a 5-year
system-wide evaluation cycle. The FEP
will be reviewed, amended, and
updated every five years with new
scientific knowledge about ecosystem
interactions. Concurrent with the
development of the FEP will be a
determination if new regulations should
be incorporated into the current
management system. If needed, existing
fishery management plans (FMPs) will
be amended through a FEP
Comprehensive Amendment and in
accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act.
In determining the actions to be taken
in the initial FEP Comprehensive
Amendment, the Council is adopting
several recommendations from an
Ecosystem Principles Advisory Panel
1999 report to Congress. The report
outlined eight basic principles that
should be contained in a FEP. Included
in these are delineation of geographical
extents of ecosystems that occur within
the Council’s authority, development of
a conceptual model of the food web, and
calculation of total removals from an
ecosystem as a function of fisheryrelated actions. Using these eight
principles as guidance, the Council is
considering the following actions in the
initial FEP Comprehensive
Amendment/DEIS:
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
1. In order to calculate and
characterize total removals from the
ecosystem as a consequence of fisheryrelated actions (i.e., landings, discards,
bycatch), the Council is considering
requiring a permit to fish for, harvest, or
possess any resource in the EEZ for all
recreational and commercial fishermen.
Other alternatives to calculate and
characterize total removals being
considered include: Replace the current
Snapper/Grouper and Mackerel paper
logbook programs by implementing the
use of electronic logbooks and
implement the Atlantic Coastal
Cooperative Statistics Program’s
(ACCSP) modules. These modules
provide the minimum data elements to
be collected by all ACCSP partners
conducting data collection programs.
2. The following three actions are
being considered in order to comply
with the Essential Fish Habitat (EFH)
final rule (published at 67 FR 2343,
January 17, 2002):
a. Refine existing EFH and Essential
Fish Habitat-Habitat Areas of Particular
Concern (EFH-HAPCs) as necessary;
b. Identify new EFH and/or EFHHAPCs as necessary;
c. Implement measures to reduce
impacts of fishing and non-fishing
impacts on EFH and EFH-HAPCs as
necessary.
3. Establishment of deep water coral
HAPCs, with possible gear limitations in
the newly protected areas, is being
considered.
4. For enforcement and data
collection purposes, requiring Vessel
Monitoring Systems (VMS) on
commercial, for-hire, and/or private
recreational vessels is being considered.
5. The Council is considering
amending the Mackerel FMP (as part of
the Comprehensive FEP Amendment)
with the following ten actions:
a. Add little tunny, bonita, false
albacore, greater barracuda, and blackfin
tuna to the fishery management unit;
b. Revert to utilizing a control rule in
place of a quota-based management
system;
c. Modifications to the mackerel
framework;
d. Implement a permit to include all
fisheries with an endorsement for
mackerel;
e. Add new qualifications for king
mackerel.
f. Prohibit the sale of recreationally
caught coastal migratory pelagics;
g. Implement a standardized bycatch
reporting protocol;
h. Modify the current bag, size, and
trip limits;
i. Implement a moratorium and
limited-entry for Spanish mackerel; and
j. Modify the king mackerel
management boundaries.
E:\FR\FM\23MYN1.SGM
23MYN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 98 (Monday, May 23, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29481-29482]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-10183]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Gear-Marking
Requirement for Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan.
AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), DOC.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before July 22, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Diana Hynek, Departmental
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6625, 14th
and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet
at dHynek@doc.gov).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should
be directed to Kristy Long (301) 713-1401 or Kristy.Long@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The purpose of this proposed collection of information is to enable
NOAA to reduce entanglements of large whales, especially right whales,
in U.S. commercial fishing gear. Persons setting lobster trap/pot or
gillnet gear in some areas of the Atlantic Ocean would be required to
paint or otherwise mark their gear with two color codes, one color
designating the type of gear, the other designating the area where the
gear is set depending on area. These marking requirements would apply
in right whale critical habitats and in two other areas where right
whales are seen on a regular basis. These areas are the southeast U.S.
observer area and the Stellwagen Bank/Jeffreys Ledge restricted area.
The goals of this collection of information are to obtain more
information on where large whales are being entangled and on what type
gear responsible for the entanglement. This information will allow NMFS
to focus further risk reduction measures on problem areas rather than
instituting broader measures that affect the overall industry.
II. Method of Collection
This is a marking requirement and no information is submitted to
NOAA.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0648-0364.
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Regular submission.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations and
individuals or households.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 4,506.
Estimated Time Per Response: 6 minutes.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 2,572.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $27,313.
IV. Request for Comments
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information;
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of
automated collection techniques or other forms of information
technology.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.
[[Page 29482]]
Dated: May 17, 2005.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 05-10183 Filed 5-20-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
