Proposed Information Collection; Horseshoe Crab Tagging Program, 59422-59423 [2011-24639]

Download as PDF 59422 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 186 / Monday, September 26, 2011 / Notices • Whether or not the collection of information is necessary, including whether or not the information will have practical utility; • The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this collection of information; • Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and • Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents. Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request to OMB to approve this IC. Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment, including your personal identifying information, may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. Dated: September 21, 2011. Tina A. Campbell, Chief, Division of Policy and Directives Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. [FR Doc. 2011–24634 Filed 9–23–11; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–55–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service [FWS–R5–FHC–2011–N191; 51320–1334– 0000–L4] Proposed Information Collection; Horseshoe Crab Tagging Program AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. Notice; request for comments. ACTION: We (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) will ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection (IC) described below. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and as part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, we invite the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on this IC. This IC is scheduled to expire on March 31, 2012. We may not conduct or sponsor jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:37 Sep 23, 2011 Jkt 223001 and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. DATES: To ensure that we are able to consider your comments on this IC, we must receive them by November 25, 2011. Send your comments on the IC to the Service Information Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service, MS 2042–PDM, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203 (mail); or INFOCOL@fws.gov (e-mail). Please include ‘‘1018–0127’’ in the subject line of your comments. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information about this IC, contact Hope Grey at INFOCOL@fws.gov (e-mail) or 703–358– 2482 (telephone). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: ADDRESSES: I. Abstract Horseshoe crabs play a vital role commercially, biomedically, and ecologically along the Atlantic coast. Horseshoe crabs are commercially harvested and used as bait in eel and conch fisheries. Biomedical companies along the coast also collect and bleed horseshoe crabs at their facilities. Limulus Amoebocyte Lysate is derived from crab blood, which has no synthetic substitute, and is used by pharmaceutical companies to test sterility of products. Finally, migratory shorebirds also depend on the eggs of horseshoe crabs to refuel on their migrations from South America to the Arctic. One bird in particular, the red knot, feeds primarily on horseshoe crab eggs during its stopover. That bird is currently listed as a candidate for protection under the Endangered Species Act. In 1998, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), a management organization with representatives from each State on the Atlantic Coast, developed a horseshoe crab management plan. The ASMFC plan and its subsequent addenda established mandatory State-by-State harvest quotas, and created the 1,500 square mile Carl N. Shuster, Jr. Horseshoe Crab Sanctuary off the mouth of Delaware Bay. Although restrictive measures have been taken in recent years, populations are increasing slowly. Because horseshoe crabs do not breed until they are 9 years or older, it may take some PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 time before the population measurably increases. Federal and State agencies, universities, and biomedical companies participate in a Horseshoe Crab Cooperative Tagging Program. The Maryland Fishery Resources Office, Fish and Wildlife Service, maintains the information that we collect under this program and uses it to evaluate migratory patterns, survival, and abundance of horseshoe crabs. Agencies that tag and release the crabs complete FWS Form 3–2311 (Horseshoe Crab Tagging) and provide the Service with: • Organization name. • Contact person name. • Tag number. • Sex of crab. • Prosomal width. • Capture site, latitude, longitude, waterbody, State, and date. Members of the public who recover tagged crabs provide the following information using FWS Form 3–2310 (Horseshoe Crab Recapture Report): • Tag number. • Whether or not tag was removed. • Whether or not the tag was circular or square. • Condition of crab. • Date captured/found. • Crab fate. • Finder type. • Capture method. • Capture location. • Reporter information. • Comments. If the public participant who reports the tagged crab requests information, we send data pertaining to the tagging program and tag and release information on the horseshoe crab he/she found or captured. II. Data OMB Control Number: 1018–0127. Title: Horseshoe Crab Tagging Program. Service Form Number(s): FWS Forms 3–2310 and 3–2311. Type of Request: Extension of currently approved collection. Description of Respondents: Tagging agencies include Federal and State agencies, universities, and biomedical companies. Members of the general public provide recapture information. Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. Frequency of Collection: On occasion. When horseshoe crabs are tagged and when horseshoe crabs are found or captured. E:\FR\FM\26SEN1.SGM 26SEN1 59423 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 186 / Monday, September 26, 2011 / Notices Number of annual respondents Activity Number of annual responses Completion time per response Annual burden hours FWS Form 3–2310 ................................... FWS Form 3–2311 ................................... 950 18 2,250 18 5 minutes .................................................. 95 hours* .................................................. 188 1,710 Totals ................................................. 968 2,268 ................................................................... 1,898 * Average time required per response is dependent on the number of tags applied by an agency in 1 year. Agencies tag between 25 and 9,000 horseshoe crabs annually, taking between 2 to 5 minutes per crab to tag, record, and report data. Each agency determines the number of tags it will apply. III. Comments We invite comments concerning this information collection on: • Whether or not the collection of information is necessary, including whether or not the information will have practical utility; • The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this collection of information; • Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and • Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents. Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request to OMB to approve this IC. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment, including your personal identifying information, may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. Dated: September 21, 2011. Tina A. Campbell, Chief, Division of Policy and Directives Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. [FR Doc. 2011–24639 Filed 9–23–11; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–55–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES [NPS–PWR–PWRO–0621–7758; 2310–0082– 422] Drakes Bay Oyster Company SpecialUse Permit, Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Point Reyes National Seashore, CA National Park Service, Interior. Notice of availability. AGENCY: ACTION: The National Park Service announces the availability of a draft SUMMARY: VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:37 Sep 23, 2011 Jkt 223001 environmental impact statement to consider the Drakes Bay Oyster Company Special-use permit in Drakes Estero, Point Reyes National Seashore, California. We, the National Park Service, will accept all comments on the draft environmental impact statement that are submitted or postmarked no later than 60 days after the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its notice of filing of the DEIS in the Federal Register. We intend to hold public meetings in several San Francisco Bay Area locations during the public review period. We will announce details regarding the exact times and locations of these meetings on the Point Reyes National Seashore Web site, at https:// parkplanning.nps.gov/pore (click on the Drakes Bay Oyster Company Special-use permit EIS link), and through local and regional media at least 15 days in advance of the meetings. ADDRESSES: Information will be available for public review and comment online at https:// parkplanning.nps.gov/pore (click on the Drakes Bay Oyster Company Special-use permit EIS link) and in the office of the Superintendent, Point Reyes National Seashore, 1 Bear Valley Road, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956, (415) 464– 5162. Submit comments on the draft environmental impact statement by any one of the following methods: • Internet: We encourage you to comment via the Internet at NPS Web site in the ADDRESSES section. • Mail: Mail comments to Point Reyes National Seashore, ATTN: DBOC SUP DEIS, 1 Bear Valley Road, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956. • Hand delivery: Deliver comments to the Office of the Superintendent at Point Reyes National Seashore, 1 Bear Valley Road, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956. • Other written: We will accept written comments at the public meetings. We will not accept comments by fax, e-mail, or in any other way than those specified above. We will not accept bulk comments in any format (hard copy or DATES: PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 electronic) submitted on behalf of others. Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melanie Gunn, Outreach Coordinator, Point Reyes National Seashore, 1 Bear Valley Road, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956, (415) 464–5131. More information regarding this EIS is also available at https://www.nps.gov/pore/ parkmgmt/planning_dboc_sup.htm. Under Section 124 of Public Law 111–88, the Secretary has the authority to issue a special-use permit (SUP) for 10 years to Drakes Bay Oyster Company (DBOC) for its shellfish operation, which consists of commercial production, harvesting, processing, and sale of shellfish at Point Reyes National Seashore. The existing reservation of use and occupancy (RUO) and associated SUP held by the Company will expire on November 30, 2012, and the Company has requested a new permit. Although the Secretary’s authority under Section 124 is ‘‘notwithstanding any other provision of law,’’ it has been determined that it would help inform the decision-making process to prepare an EIS and otherwise follow National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) procedures. The purpose of the document is to use the NEPA process on behalf of the Secretary to engage the public and evaluate the effects of issuing a SUP for the commercial shellfish operation. The results of the NEPA process will be used to inform the decision of whether a new SUP should be issued to Drakes Bay Oyster Company for 10 years. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: E:\FR\FM\26SEN1.SGM 26SEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 186 (Monday, September 26, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59422-59423]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-24639]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R5-FHC-2011-N191; 51320-1334-0000-L4]


Proposed Information Collection; Horseshoe Crab Tagging Program

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) will ask the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection (IC) 
described below. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 
as part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent 
burden, we invite the general public and other Federal agencies to take 
this opportunity to comment on this IC. This IC is scheduled to expire 
on March 31, 2012. We may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not 
required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid OMB control number.

DATES: To ensure that we are able to consider your comments on this IC, 
we must receive them by November 25, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the IC to the Service Information 
Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service, MS 2042-PDM, 
4401 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203 (mail); or 
INFOCOL@fws.gov (e-mail). Please include ``1018-0127'' in the subject 
line of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this IC, contact Hope Grey at INFOCOL@fws.gov (e-mail) or 703-
358-2482 (telephone).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    Horseshoe crabs play a vital role commercially, biomedically, and 
ecologically along the Atlantic coast. Horseshoe crabs are commercially 
harvested and used as bait in eel and conch fisheries. Biomedical 
companies along the coast also collect and bleed horseshoe crabs at 
their facilities. Limulus Amoebocyte Lysate is derived from crab blood, 
which has no synthetic substitute, and is used by pharmaceutical 
companies to test sterility of products. Finally, migratory shorebirds 
also depend on the eggs of horseshoe crabs to refuel on their 
migrations from South America to the Arctic. One bird in particular, 
the red knot, feeds primarily on horseshoe crab eggs during its 
stopover. That bird is currently listed as a candidate for protection 
under the Endangered Species Act.
    In 1998, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), a 
management organization with representatives from each State on the 
Atlantic Coast, developed a horseshoe crab management plan. The ASMFC 
plan and its subsequent addenda established mandatory State-by-State 
harvest quotas, and created the 1,500 square mile Carl N. Shuster, Jr. 
Horseshoe Crab Sanctuary off the mouth of Delaware Bay.
    Although restrictive measures have been taken in recent years, 
populations are increasing slowly. Because horseshoe crabs do not breed 
until they are 9 years or older, it may take some time before the 
population measurably increases. Federal and State agencies, 
universities, and biomedical companies participate in a Horseshoe Crab 
Cooperative Tagging Program. The Maryland Fishery Resources Office, 
Fish and Wildlife Service, maintains the information that we collect 
under this program and uses it to evaluate migratory patterns, 
survival, and abundance of horseshoe crabs.
    Agencies that tag and release the crabs complete FWS Form 3-2311 
(Horseshoe Crab Tagging) and provide the Service with:
     Organization name.
     Contact person name.
     Tag number.
     Sex of crab.
     Prosomal width.
     Capture site, latitude, longitude, waterbody, State, and 
date.
    Members of the public who recover tagged crabs provide the 
following information using FWS Form 3-2310 (Horseshoe Crab Recapture 
Report):
     Tag number.
     Whether or not tag was removed.
     Whether or not the tag was circular or square.
     Condition of crab.
     Date captured/found.
     Crab fate.
     Finder type.
     Capture method.
     Capture location.
     Reporter information.
     Comments.
    If the public participant who reports the tagged crab requests 
information, we send data pertaining to the tagging program and tag and 
release information on the horseshoe crab he/she found or captured.

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1018-0127.
    Title: Horseshoe Crab Tagging Program.
    Service Form Number(s): FWS Forms 3-2310 and 3-2311.
    Type of Request: Extension of currently approved collection.
    Description of Respondents: Tagging agencies include Federal and 
State agencies, universities, and biomedical companies. Members of the 
general public provide recapture information.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion. When horseshoe crabs are 
tagged and when horseshoe crabs are found or captured.

[[Page 59423]]



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     Number of annual  Number of annual   Completion time per     Annual burden
              Activity                  respondents        responses            response              hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FWS Form 3-2310....................               950             2,250  5 minutes............               188
FWS Form 3-2311....................                18                18  95 hours\*\..........             1,710
                                    ------------------------------------                       -----------------
    Totals.........................               968             2,268  .....................             1,898
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\*\ Average time required per response is dependent on the number of tags applied by an agency in 1 year.
  Agencies tag between 25 and 9,000 horseshoe crabs annually, taking between 2 to 5 minutes per crab to tag,
  record, and report data. Each agency determines the number of tags it will apply.

III. Comments

    We invite comments concerning this information collection on:
     Whether or not the collection of information is necessary, 
including whether or not the information will have practical utility;
     The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this 
collection of information;
     Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on respondents.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request 
to OMB to approve this IC. Before including your address, phone number, 
email address, or other personal identifying information in your 
comment, you should be aware that your entire comment, including your 
personal identifying information, may be made publicly available at any 
time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal 
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we 
will be able to do so.

    Dated: September 21, 2011.
Tina A. Campbell,
Chief, Division of Policy and Directives Management, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-24639 Filed 9-23-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
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