Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Alaska American Fisheries Act (AFA) Permits, 53106-53107 [2019-21619]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 193 (Friday, October 4, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53106-53107]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-21619]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Alaska American 
Fisheries Act (AFA) Permits

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 collections, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before December 3, 
2019.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Adrienne Thomas, PRA Officer, 
NOAA, 151 Patton Avenue, Room 159, Asheville, NC 28801 (or at 
[email protected]). All comments received are part of the public 
record. Comments will generally be posted without change. All 
Personally Identifiable Information (for example, name and address) 
voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do 
not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or 
protected information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should 
be directed to Gabrielle Aberle, National Marine Fisheries Service, 
P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668. Telephone (907) 586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    This request is for extension of a current information collection.
    The American Fisheries Act (AFA) was signed into law in October 
1998. The purpose of the AFA was to tighten U.S. ownership standards 
that had been exploited under the Anti-reflagging Act, and to provide 
the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) pollock fleet the 
opportunity to conduct their fishery in a more rational manner while 
protecting non-AFA participants in the other fisheries. The AFA 
established sector allocations in the BSAI pollock fishery, determined 
eligible vessels and processors, allowed the formation of cooperatives, 
set limits on the participation of AFA vessels in other fisheries, and 
imposed special catch weighing and monitoring requirements on AFA 
vessels.
    Any vessel used to engage in directed fishing for a non-western 
Alaska community development quota (non-CDQ) allocation of pollock in 
the Bering Sea and any shoreside processor, stationary floating 
processor, or mothership that receives pollock harvested in a non-CDQ 
directed pollock fishery in the Bering Sea must have a valid AFA permit 
on board the vessel or at the facility location at all times while non-
CDQ pollock is being harvested or processed.
    Permanent AFA permits (AFA catcher vessel, AFA catcher/processor, 
AFA mothership, and AFA inshore processor) for the BSAI pollock fishery 
had a one-time application deadline of December 1, 2000, and were 
issued with an indefinite expiration date. Therefore, except for 
participants that require annual or replacement permits, all AFA 
entities required to have a permit are already permitted.
    This information collection contains the following AFA permitting 
and reporting requirements:
     The AFA Permit: Rebuilt, Replacement, or Removed Vessel 
Application is submitted by an owner of an AFA vessel to notify NMFS 
the vessel has been rebuilt; to request an AFA permit for a replacement 
catcher vessel, catcher/processor, or mothership; or to request removal 
of an AFA catcher vessel that is a member of an inshore cooperative and 
assign its catch history to another vessel or vessels in the same 
cooperative.
     The Application for AFA Inshore Catcher Vessel Cooperative 
Permit is submitted annually by each AFA inshore catcher vessel 
cooperative to obtain an AFA Inshore Catcher Vessel Cooperative Permit 
and identify the vessels and processors that will be

[[Page 53107]]

participating in the BSAI pollock fishery prior to the start of each 
fishing year.
     The AFA Inshore Vessel Contract Fishing Notification is 
submitted by an AFA inshore cooperative that intends to contract with a 
non-member vessel to harvest a portion of the cooperative's annual 
pollock allocation to notify NMFS of vessels that might be reporting 
with an alternative cooperative ID.
     The Application for Approval as an Entity to Receive 
Transferable Chinook Salmon PSC Allocation is submitted by an entity 
representing the catcher/processor sector or the mothership sector to 
request approval to receive transferable Chinook salmon PSC allocations 
on behalf of members of the sector. Once approved, an entity is not 
required to reapply for or renew its status. Entities sometimes submit 
amendments to update contact and other information related to the 
entity and its members.
     The Application for Transfer of Bering Sea Chinook Salmon 
PSC Allocations is submitted by an authorized representative of the 
catcher/processor sector, the mothership sector, an inshore 
cooperative, or a CDQ group to transfer Chinook salmon PSC allocations 
to another entity's account.

II. Method of Collection

    All may be submitted to NMFS by mail, fax, or delivery except the 
AFA Inshore Vessel Contract Fishing Notification, which is not accepted 
by fax. The Application for Transfer of Bering Sea Chinook Salmon PSC 
Allocations and the Approval as an Entity to Receive Transferable 
Chinook Salmon PSC Application may be submitted online through eFISH on 
the NMFS Alaska Region website at https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/webapps/efish/login.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0648-0393.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Regular Submission (extension of a current 
information collection).
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations; 
Individuals or households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 27.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1 hour each for AFA Permit: Rebuilt, 
Replacement, or Removed Vessel Application and Application for Transfer 
of Bering Sea Chinook Salmon PSC Allocations; 2 hours for Application 
for AFA Inshore Catcher Vessel Cooperative Permit; 4 hours for AFA 
Inshore Vessel Contract Fishing Notification; 8 hours for Application 
for Approval as an Entity to Receive Transferable Chinook Salmon PSC 
Allocation.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 135 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $155 in recordkeeping and 
reporting 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.

Sheleen Dumas,
Departmental Lead PRA Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, 
Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2019-21619 Filed 10-3-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P