Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; American Lobster-Annual Trap Transfer Program, 74407-74408 [2016-25844]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 207 (Wednesday, October 26, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74407-74408]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-25844]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; American 
Lobster--Annual Trap Transfer Program

AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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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

[[Page 74408]]

collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This 
action proposes to revise and extend information collection for the 
American lobster fishery Trap Transfer Program.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before December 27, 
2016.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th 
and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet 
at JJessup@doc.gov).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should 
be directed to Peter Burns, Fishery Policy Analyst, NMFS, Greater 
Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, 
Gloucester, MA 01930; (978) 281-9144, Peter.burns@noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    This is a request for revision and extension of a currently 
approved information collection.
    The American lobster resource and fishery are cooperatively managed 
by the states and NMFS under the authority of the Atlantic Coastal 
Fisheries Cooperative Management Act, according to the framework set 
forth by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) in 
Amendment 3 of its Interstate Fishery Management Plan (ISFMP). This 
collection of information is in response to several addenda to 
Amendment 3 of the ISFMP that work to reduce trap fishing effort 
through limited entry fishing and trap allocation limit reductions. 
This program is intended to help control fishing efforts while 
increasing economic flexibility in the American lobster trap fishery.
    Currently, Federal lobster permit holders qualified to fish with 
trap gear in Lobster Conservation Management Areas 2 and 3 are 
undergoing scheduled annual trap allocation reductions of 5 percent per 
year until 2021 (Area 2) and 2020 (Area 3). In 2015, in an effort to 
help mitigate the initial economic burden of these reductions, NMFS and 
state agencies implemented the Lobster Trap Transfer Program that 
allows all qualified Federal lobster permit holders to buy and sell 
trap allocation from Areas 2, 3, or Outer Cape Cod. Each transaction 
includes a conservation tax of 10 percent, which deducts a number of 
traps equal to 10 percent of the total number of traps with each 
transfer, permanently removing them from the fishery.
    NMFS collects annual application forms from Lobster permit holders 
who wish to buy and/or sell Area 2, 3, or Outer Cape trap allocation 
through the Trap Transfer Program. The transfer applications are only 
accepted during a 2-month period (from August 1 through September 30) 
each year, and the revised allocations for each participating lobster 
permit resulting from the transfers become effective at the start of 
the following Federal lobster fishing year, on May 1. Both the seller 
and buyer of the traps are required to sign the application form, which 
includes each permit holder's permit and vessel information, the number 
of traps sold, and the revised number of traps received by the buyer, 
inclusive of the amount removed according to the transfer tax. Both 
parties must sign the form as an agreement to the number of traps in 
the transfer. The parties must date the document and clearly show that 
the transferring permit holder has sufficient allocation to transfer 
and the permit holder receiving the traps has sufficient room under any 
applicable trap cap. This information allows NMFS to process and track 
transfers of lobster trap allocations through the Trap Transfer 
Program, and better enables the monitoring and management of the 
American lobster fishery as a whole.
    Originally, this collection was part of a new rulemaking action, 
and included efforts to obtain information from American lobster permit 
holders to implement a limited access permit program. NMFS used the 
information to qualify permit holders for participation in Area 2 and/
or the Outer Cape Area, and to allocate traps to each qualified permit. 
This limited access portion of the collection is complete and no longer 
necessary, so a revision is requested to remove it from the collection. 
Also, now that the Trap Transfer Program has been in place for two 
years, NMFS can better estimate the number of applicants/respondents 
and have made a minor revision to the burden. The initial estimate of 
432 respondents with 216 two-party transaction responses was nearly 
double what was actually received through the Trap Transfer Program in 
the first two years; with fewer permit holders participating in the 
program overall, and/or completing multiple transactions between their 
own permits. Adjusted estimates of respondents, total burden hours, and 
costs are noted below in Section III.

II. Method of Collection

    Applications for the Trap Transfer Program are accepted annually 
from August 1 through September 30 by mail, fax, or email.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0648-0673.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission (revision and extension of a 
current information collection).
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit organizations; 
Individuals or households; Federal government; and State, Local, or 
Tribal government.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 102.
    Estimated Time per Response: 10 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 17.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $573.24 in reporting/
recordkeeping costs.

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.

    Dated: October 21, 2016.
Sarah Brabson,
NOAA PRA Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2016-25844 Filed 10-25-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P