Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Haddock Bycatch Notification of Landing, 36119-36120 [05-12263]
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 119 / Wednesday, June 22, 2005 / Notices
relevant Native American whaling
organization about strikes on and catch
of whales. Anyone retrieving a dead
whale is also required to report.
Captains must place a distinctive
permanent identification mark on any
harpoon, lance, or explosive dart used,
and must also provide information on
the mark and self-identification
information. The relevant Native
American whaling organization receives
the reports, compiles them, and submits
the information to NOAA.
The information is used to monitor
the hunt and to ensure that quotas are
not exceeded. The information is also
provided to the International Whaling
Commission, which uses it to monitor
compliance with its requirements.
II. Method of Collection
Reports may be made by phone or fax.
Information on equipment marks must
be made in writing. No form is used.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0648–0311.
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Regular submission.
Affected Public: Individuals or
households; State, local, or tribal
governments.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
52.
Estimated Time Per Response: 30
minutes for reports on whales struck or
on recovery of dead whales; 5 minutes
for providing the relevant Native
American whaling organization with
information on the mark and selfidentification information; 5 minutes for
marking gear; and 5 hours for the
relevant Native American whaling
organization to consolidate and submit
reports.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 48.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to
Public: $100.
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
VerDate jul<14>2003
21:12 Jun 21, 2005
Jkt 205001
included in the request for OMB
approval of this information collection;
they also will become a matter of public
record.
Dated: June 16, 2005.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 05–12262 Filed 6–21–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Proposed Information Collection;
Comment Request; Haddock Bycatch
Notification of Landing
National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
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 August 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 Brian R. Hooker, Fishery
Policy Analyst, Sustainable Fisheries
Division, One Blackburn Drive,
Gloucester, MA 01930, 978–281–9220.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS) Northeast Region manages
Northeast (NE) multispecies and herring
fisheries of the Exclusive Economic
Zone (EEZ) of the Northeastern United
States through the NE Multispecies and
Herring Fishery Management Plans
(FMPs). The New England Fishery
Management Council prepared the
FMPs pursuant to the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (Magnuson Act). The
regulations implementing the FMPs are
specified under 50 CFR 648.80 and
648.200
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
36119
The recordkeeping and reporting
requirements at § 648.80(d)(9) and (e)(8)
form the basis for this collection of
information. NMFS Northeast Region
requests information from Category 1
herring vessel owners/operators in order
to facilitate enforcement of haddock
possession limits and monitor the
bycatch of haddock in the herring
fishery. The failure to collect
information on Category 1 herring vessel
activity or collecting it less frequently
could undermine efforts to facilitate
enforcement. This information is
important in determining the impact of
herring vessel operations on groundfish
fishing mortality. The information is a
prior notification of landing submitted
through a vessel monitoring system
(VMS). The cost of operation and
installation of the VMS for Category 1
herring vessels is accounted for under
OMB Control Number 0648–0404. This
information, upon receipt, results in an
increasingly more efficient and accurate
database for management and
monitoring of fisheries of the
Northeastern U.S. EEZ.
II. Method of Collection
Information is collected electronically
through the vessel’s VMS.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0648–0525.
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Regular submission.
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
105.
Estimated Time Per Response: 5
minutes.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 56.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to
Public: $335.
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
E:\FR\FM\22JNN1.SGM
22JNN1
36120
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 119 / Wednesday, June 22, 2005 / Notices
approval of this information collection;
they also will become a matter of public
record.
Dated: June 16, 2005.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 05–12263 Filed 6–21–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[I.D. 060805C]
Atlantic Pelagic Longline Take
Reduction Team Meeting
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of establishment of an
Atlantic Longline Take Reduction Team
and meeting.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: NMFS is establishing a Take
Reduction Team (TRT) and convening a
TRT meeting to address the incidental
mortality and serious injury of longfinned pilot whales (Globicephala
melas) and short-finned pilot whales
(Globicephala macrorhynchus) in the
Atlantic region of the Atlantic pelagic
longline fishery. The TRT will develop
a Take Reduction Plan (TRP) as required
in the Marine Mammal Protection Act
(MMPA). NMFS will seek input from
the Atlantic Pelagic Longline TRT on all
scientific data related to stock structure,
abundance, and human-caused
mortality and serious injury of pilot
whales. The TRT will focus on
developing a plan to reduce incidental
catch of pilot whales in the Atlantic
pelagic longline fishery to a level
approaching a zero mortality and
serious injury rate within 5 years of
implementation of the plan.
DATES: The meeting will be held on June
29, 2005, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and on
June 30, 2005, from 8:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The PLTRT meeting will be
held at the Hyatt Regency, 7400
Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD
20814. Phone: (301) 657–1234, Fax:
(301) 657–6453.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Victoria Cornish: (727) 824–5312 or
Kristy Long: (301) 713–2322.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
MMPA defines the Potential Biological
Removal (PBR) level of a marine
mammal stock as the maximum number
of animals, not including natural
mortalities, that may be removed from a
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21:12 Jun 21, 2005
Jkt 205001
marine mammal stock while allowing
that stock to reach or maintain its
optimum sustainable population. The
PBR level is the product of the following
factors: the minimum population
estimate of the stock; one-half the
maximum theoretical or estimated net
productivity rate of the stock at a small
population size; and a recovery factor of
between 0.1 and 1.0.
The Western North Atlantic stocksof
short-finned and long-finned pilot
whales (Globicephala sp.) were
designated as strategic in the 2003
marine mammal stock assessment
report. However, NMFS has revised the
abundance estimates for pilot whales
based on recent surveys conducted
throughout their range. The 2005 draft
stock assessment report now indicates
that the PBR for the combined stock of
long-finned and short-finned pilot
whales (Globicephala sp.) is 247, and
that total fishery-related mortality and
serious injury is 201. Therefore, the
status of this combined stock in the
2005 draft stock assessment report will
change from strategic to non-strategic
because fishery-related serious injuries
and mortalities are less than PBR.
For a non-strategic stock, a take
reduction plan shall be completed
within 11 months of the establishment
of the team, and shall focus on reducing
incidental mortalities and serious
injuries of pilot whales to a level
approaching a zero mortality and
serious injury rate within 5 years of
implementation of the plan.
Both species of pilot whales are
known to interact with the pelagic
longline fishery, which is classified on
the MMPA List of Fisheries as a
Category I fishery, or one that has
frequent incidental mortalities or
serious injuries of marine mammals.
Most of the observed interactions of
pilot whales with the pelagic longline
fishery have occurred in the MidAtlantic Bight, where the ranges of the
two species overlap. Other commercial
fisheries known to occasionally cause
incidental mortality and serious injury
of short-finned and long-finned pilot
whales include the southern New
England and mid-Atlantic midwater and
bottom trawl fisheries targeting squid,
mackerel, butterfish, and herring. These
fisheries are identified in the 2004 List
of Fisheries (69 FR 48407, August 10,
2004).
As required under section 118 (f)(8) of
the MMPA, the TRT shall develop a
draft TRP by consensus, and shall
submit this draft TRP to NMFS not later
than 11 months after the date of the
establishment of the TRT. The Secretary
shall then consider the TRP, and no
later than 60 days after the submission
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Frm 00012
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
of the draft TRP, NMFS shall publish in
the Federal Register the TRP and any
implementing regulations proposed by
the team for a public comment period
not to exceed 90 days. Within 60 days
of the close of the comment period,
NMFS shall issue a final TRP and any
implementing regulations.
List of invited participants: MMPA
section 118 (f)(6)(C) requires that
members of TRTs have expertise
regarding the conservation or biology of
the marine mammal species that the
TRP will address, or the fishing
practices that result in the incidental
mortality or serious injury of such
species. The MMPA further specifies
that TRTs shall, to the maximum extent
practicable, consist of an equitable
balance among representatives of
resource user and non-user interests.
NMFS has asked the following
individuals to serve as members of the
TRT, which will focus on reducing
bycatch of long-finned and short-finned
pilot whales in the Atlantic pelagic
longline fishery:
Nelson Beidman, Blue Water
Fishermen’s Association; Jim Budi,
Shoreside; Vicki Cornish, NMFS; Jean
Cramer, Thunder Mountain Consulting;
Brendan Cummings, Center for
Biological Diversity; Damon Gannon,
Mote Marine Laboratory; Charlotte
Hudson Gray, Oceana; Gail Johnson,
Fishing Vessel Seneca; David Kerstetter,
Virginia Institute of Marine Science; Bill
McLellan, University of North Carolina
at Wilmington; Dan Mears, Fishing
Vessel Monica; Tim Ragen, Marine
Mammal Commission; Scott Rucky,
Fishing Vessel Dakota; Rick Seagraves,
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management
Council; and Sharon Young, Humane
Society of the United States.
Other individuals from NMFS and
state and Federal agencies may be
present as observers or for their
scientific expertise. Members of TRTs
serve without compensation, but may be
reimbursed by NMFS, upon request, for
reasonable travel costs and expenses
incurred in performing their duties as
members of the team. The TRT process
will be facilitated by Scott McCreary
and Eric Poncelet, CONCUR, Inc.,
Berkeley, California. The TRT will hold
its first meeting from June 29–30, 2005
in Bethesda, Maryland (see DATES and
ADDRESSES).
NMFS fully intends to conduct the
TRT process in a way that provides for
national consistency yet accommodates
the unique regional characteristics of
the fishery and marine mammal stocks
involved. Take Reduction Teams are not
subject to the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (5 App. U.S.C.).
Meetings are open to the public.
E:\FR\FM\22JNN1.SGM
22JNN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 119 (Wednesday, June 22, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36119-36120]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-12263]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Haddock Bycatch
Notification of Landing
AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
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 August 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 Brian R. Hooker, Fishery Policy Analyst, Sustainable
Fisheries Division, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930, 978-281-
9220.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Northeast Region
manages Northeast (NE) multispecies and herring fisheries of the
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Northeastern United States through
the NE Multispecies and Herring Fishery Management Plans (FMPs). The
New England Fishery Management Council prepared the FMPs pursuant to
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson
Act). The regulations implementing the FMPs are specified under 50 CFR
648.80 and 648.200
The recordkeeping and reporting requirements at Sec. 648.80(d)(9)
and (e)(8) form the basis for this collection of information. NMFS
Northeast Region requests information from Category 1 herring vessel
owners/operators in order to facilitate enforcement of haddock
possession limits and monitor the bycatch of haddock in the herring
fishery. The failure to collect information on Category 1 herring
vessel activity or collecting it less frequently could undermine
efforts to facilitate enforcement. This information is important in
determining the impact of herring vessel operations on groundfish
fishing mortality. The information is a prior notification of landing
submitted through a vessel monitoring system (VMS). The cost of
operation and installation of the VMS for Category 1 herring vessels is
accounted for under OMB Control Number 0648-0404. This information,
upon receipt, results in an increasingly more efficient and accurate
database for management and monitoring of fisheries of the Northeastern
U.S. EEZ.
II. Method of Collection
Information is collected electronically through the vessel's VMS.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0648-0525.
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Regular submission.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 105.
Estimated Time Per Response: 5 minutes.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 56.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $335.
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
[[Page 36120]]
approval of this information collection; they also will become a matter
of public record.
Dated: June 16, 2005.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 05-12263 Filed 6-21-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
