Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Horseshoe Crab and Cooperative Fish Tagging Programs, 2443-2445 [2021-00332]
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<![CDATA[
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 7 / Tuesday, January 12, 2021 / Notices
Common name
Kendall warm springs
dace.
Listing status
Historical
range
Endangered ...
Wyoming .......
Scientific name
Rhinichthys osculus
thermalis.
Request for New Information
To ensure that a 5-year status review
is complete and based on the best
available scientific and commercial
information, we request new
information from all sources. See What
Information Do We Consider in Our
Review? for specific criteria. If you
submit information, please support it
with documentation such as maps,
bibliographic references, methods used
to gather and analyze the data, and/or
copies of any pertinent publications,
reports, or letters by knowledgeable
sources.
How do I ask questions or provide
information?
If you wish to provide information for
any species listed above, please submit
your comments and materials to the
appropriate contact in the table above.
Put your comment to the attention of
FWS–R6–ES–2020–N113. You may also
direct questions to those contacts.
Individuals who are hearing impaired or
speech impaired may call the Federal
Relay Service at 800–877–8339 for TTY
assistance.
Public Availability of Submissions
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.
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Contents of Submissions
Please make your comments as
specific as possible. Please confine your
comments to issues for which we seek
comments in this notice, and explain
the basis for your comments. Include
sufficient information with your
comments to allow us to authenticate
any scientific or commercial data you
include.
The comments and recommendations
that will be most useful and likely to be
relevant to agency decisions are: (1)
Those supported by quantitative
information or studies; and (2) Those
VerDate Sep<11>2014
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Final listing rule
(Federal Register
citation and
publication date)
35 FR 16047; 10/13/
1970.
that include citations to, and analyses
of, the applicable laws and regulations.
Completed and Active Reviews
A list of all completed and currently
active 5-year status reviews addressing
species for which the Mountain-Prairie
Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service has lead responsibility is
available at https://www.fws.gov/
endangered/.
Authority
This document is published under the
authority of the Endangered Species Act
of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.).
Noreen Walsh,
Regional Director, Mountain-Prairie Region.
[FR Doc. 2021–00416 Filed 1–11–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–R5–FAC–2020–N159; FF05F24400–
201–FXFR13350500000; OMB Control
Number 1018–0127]
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to the Office of
Management and Budget for Review
and Approval; Horseshoe Crab and
Cooperative Fish Tagging Programs
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection;
request for comment.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we,
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are
proposing to renew an information
collection.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before February
11, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent
within 30 days of publication of this
notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/
PRAMain. Find this particular
information collection by selecting
‘‘Currently under Review—Open for
Public Comments’’ or by using the
search function. Please provide a copy
SUMMARY:
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Contact person, phone,
email
Contact person’s U.S. mail
address
Tyler Abbott, Project Leader, 307–757–3707;
tylerabbott@fws.gov.
Ecological Services, Wyoming Field Office, 334
Parsley Boulevard
Cheyenne, WY 82007.
of your comments to the Service
Information Collection Clearance
Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
MS: PRB/PERMA (JAO/3W), 5275
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041–
3803 (mail); or by email to Info_Coll@
fws.gov. Please reference OMB Control
Number 1018–0127 in the subject line of
your comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Madonna L. Baucum, Service
Information Collection Clearance
Officer, by email at Info_Coll@fws.gov,
or by telephone at (703) 358–2503.
Individuals who are hearing or speech
impaired may call the Federal Relay
Service at 1–800–877–8339 for TTY
assistance.
In
accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA, 44 U.S.C.
3501 et seq.) and 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), we
provide the general public and other
Federal agencies with an opportunity to
comment on new, proposed, revised,
and continuing collections of
information. This helps us assess the
impact of our information collection
requirements and minimize the public’s
reporting burden. It also helps the
public understand our information
collection requirements and provide the
requested data in the desired format.
On August 3, 2020, we published in
the Federal Register (85 FR 46694) a
notice of our intent to request that OMB
approve this information collection. In
that notice, we solicited comments for
60 days, ending on October 2, 2020. We
received one comment in response to
that notice, but it did not address the
information collection requirements. No
response to that comment is required.
As part of our continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent
burdens, we invite the public and other
Federal agencies to comment on new,
proposed, revised, and continuing
collections of information. This helps us
assess the impact of our information
collection requirements and minimize
the public’s reporting burden. It also
helps the public understand our
information collection requirements and
provide the requested data in the
desired format.
We are especially interested in public
comment addressing the following:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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(1) Whether or not the collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
agency, including whether or not the
information will have practical utility;
(2) The accuracy of our estimate of the
burden for this collection of
information, including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used;
(3) Ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
(4) How might the agency minimize
the burden of the collection of
information on those who are to
respond, including through the use of
appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology, e.g., permitting
electronic submission of response.
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 ICR. 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.
Abstract: The Maryland Fish and
Wildlife Conservation Office
(MDFWCO) will collect information on
crabs and fishes captured by the public.
Tag information provided by the public
will be used to estimate recreational and
commercial harvest rates, estimate
natural mortality rates, and evaluate
migratory patterns, length and age
frequencies, and effectiveness of current
regulations.
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 amebocyte lysate, derived from
horseshoe crab blood, 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 rufa
red knot (Calidris canutus rufa), feeds
primarily on horseshoe crab eggs during
its stopover. Effective January 12, 2015,
the rufa red knot was listed as
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threatened under the Endangered
Species Act (79 FR 73706; December 11,
2014).
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 1,500square-mile Carl N. Shuster, Jr.,
Horseshoe Crab Sanctuary off the mouth
of Delaware Bay.
Restrictive measures have been taken
in recent years, but 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 Service’s
MDFWCO maintains the information
collected 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; and
• 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;
• Condition of crab;
• Date captured/found;
• Crab fate;
• Finder type;
• Capture method;
• Capture location;
• Reporter information; and
• Comments.
At the request of the public
participant reporting the tagged crab, we
send data pertaining to the tagging
program and tag and release information
on the horseshoe crab tag that was
found.
Fish will be tagged with an external
tag containing a toll-free number for
MDFWCO. Tagged species of fish
include striped bass (Morone saxatilis),
Atlantic (Acipenser oxyrinchus) and
shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser
brevirostrum), northern snakehead
(Channa argus), and American shad
(Alosa sapidissima). Members of the
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public reporting a tag will be asked a
series of questions pertaining to the fish
that they are referencing. The Service
uses the following four forms to collect
information used by fisheries managers
throughout the Atlantic Coast (Interior
regions 1 and 2), depending on species:
• Form 3–2493, ‘‘American Shad
Recapture Report’’;
• Form 3–2494, ‘‘Snakehead
Recapture Report’’;
• Form 3–2495, ‘‘Striped Bass
Recapture Report’’; and
• Form 3–2496, ‘‘Sturgeon Recapture
Report.’’
American shad are tagged by the New
York Department of Environmental
Conservation (NYDEC), which retains
all fish tagging information. The public
reports tags to MDFWCO, who provides
information on tag returns to NYDEC.
Tag return data are used to monitor
migration and abundance of shad along
the Atlantic coast.
Northern snakehead is an invasive
species found in many watersheds
throughout the mid-Atlantic region. It
has been firmly established in the
Potomac River since at least 2004.
Federal and State biologists within the
Potomac River watershed have been
tasked with managing the impacts of
northern snakehead. Tagging of
northern snakehead is used to learn
more about the species so that control
efforts can be better informed. Tagging
is also used to estimate population sizes
to monitor trends in abundance.
Recreational and commercial fishers
reporting tags provide information on
catch rates and migration patterns as
well.
Striped bass are cooperatively
managed by Federal and State agencies
through the Atlantic States Marine
Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). The
ASMFC uses fish tag return data to
conduct stock assessments for striped
bass. The database and collection are
housed within MDFWCO, while the
tagging is conducted by State agencies
participating in striped bass
management. Without this data
collection, striped bass management
would likely suffer from a lack of
quality data. As required by Congress
under the Atlantic Striped Bass
Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 5151–
5158), striped bass tagging data is used
to manage the coast-wide stock.
Sturgeon are tagged by Federal, State,
and university biologists and
nongovernmental organizations along
the U.S. east coast and into Canada, and
throughout the United States and
Canada. Local populations of Atlantic
sturgeon have been listed as either
threatened or endangered since 2012,
and shortnose populations have been
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 7 / Tuesday, January 12, 2021 / Notices
listed since 1973. The information
collected provides data on tag retention
and sturgeon movement along the east
coast. The data are also used to address
some of the management and research
needs identified by amendment 1 to the
ASMFC’s Atlantic Sturgeon Fishery
Management Plan.
Data collected across these tagging
programs are similar in nature,
including:
• Tag number;
• Date of capture;
• Waterbody of capture;
• Capture method;
• Fish length, weight, and fate
(whether released or killed); and
• Fisher type (i.e., commercial,
recreational, etc.).
In addition, if the tag reporter desires
more information on their tagged fish or
wants the modest reward that comes
with reporting a tag, we ask their
address so that we can mail them the
information.
Title of Collection: Horseshoe Crab
and Cooperative Fish Tagging Programs.
OMB Control Number: 1018–0127.
Form Number: FWS Forms 3–2310, 3–
2311, and 3–2493 through 3–2496.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection.
Respondents/Affected Public:
Respondents include Federal and State
agencies, universities, and biomedical
companies who conduct tagging, and
members of the general public who
provide recapture information.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Respondents: 2,006.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Responses: 3,628.
Estimated Completion Time per
Response: Varies from 5 minutes to 95
hours, depending on activity.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Burden Hours: 2,239.
Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary.
Frequency of Collection: Respondents
will provide information on occasion,
upon tagging or upon encounter with a
tagged crab or fish.
Total Estimated Annual Nonhour
Burden Cost: None.
An agency 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.
The authority for this action is the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
Dated: January 6, 2021.
Madonna Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2021–00332 Filed 1–11–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS–R6–ES–2019–0010;
FF06E00000 212 FXES11140600000]
Incidental Take Permit Application;
Habitat Conservation Plan and
Categorical Exclusion for the
Threatened Grizzly Bear; Flathead,
Glacier, Lincoln, and Toole Counties,
Montana
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of
documents; request for comments.
AGENCY:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, announce the
availability of documents related to an
application for an incidental take permit
(ITP) under the Endangered Species Act.
BNSF Railway (BNSF) has applied for
an ITP, which, if granted, would
authorize take of the federally
threatened grizzly bear that is likely to
occur incidental to railroad operations
and maintenance. The documents
available for review and comment are
the applicant’s habitat conservation
plan, which is part of the ITP
application, and our draft
environmental action statement and
low-effect screening form, which
support a categorical exclusion under
the National Environmental Policy Act.
We invite comments from the public
and Federal, Tribal, State, and local
governments.
SUMMARY:
We will accept comments
received or postmarked on or before
February 11, 2021. Comments submitted
online at Regulations.gov (see
ADDRESSES) must be received by 11:59
p.m. Eastern Time on the closing date.
ADDRESSES: Obtaining Documents: The
documents this notice announces, as
well as any comments and other
materials that we receive, will be
available for public inspection online in
Docket No. FWS–R6–ES–2019–0010 at
https://www.regulations.gov.
Submitting Comments: You may
submit comments by one of the
following methods:
• Online: https://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting
comments on Docket No. FWS–R6–ES–
2019–0010.
• U.S. mail: Public Comments
Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS–R6–
ES–2019–0010; U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service Headquarters, MS: PERMA;
5275 Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA
22041–3803.
We request that you send comments
by only the methods described above.
DATES:
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Ben
Conard, by phone at 406–758–6882, by
email at Ben_Conard@fws.gov, or via the
Federal Relay Service at 800–877–8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service),
have received an application from BNSF
Railway (BNSF) for a 7-year incidental
take permit (ITP) under the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA;
16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The application
addresses the potential for take of the
federally threatened grizzly bear (Ursus
arctos horribilis) that is likely to occur
incidental to ongoing operations and
maintenance of approximately 206
miles of railroad.
The documents available for review
and comment are the applicant’s habitat
conservation plan (HCP), which is part
of the ITP application, and our draft
environmental action statement and
low-effect screening form. These
documents helped inform our
conclusion that the activities proposed
by the permit application will have a
low effect on the species and the human
environment. Accordingly, the HCP
qualifies for a categorical exclusion
under the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA; 42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Applicant’s Habitat Conservation Plan
BNSF has submitted a low-effect HCP
in support of an application for an ITP
to address take of the species that is
likely to occur as the result of BNSF’s
ongoing operations and management of
approximately 206 miles of railway
between Trego, Montana, and Shelby,
Montana. The requested permit duration
is for 7 years from permit issuance. The
railway is within grizzly bear habitat in
the Northern Continental Divide
Ecosystem grizzly bear recovery zone.
The biological goals and objectives are
to reduce attractants and deter grizzly
bears from entering high-risk areas of
railway and to contribute to the
recovery of the grizzly bear population
by offsetting incidental take by reducing
other sources of human-caused
mortality. The proposed conservation
program includes implementing
measures to reduce attractants,
providing financial support to Montana
Fish, Wildlife, and Parks and the
Blackfeet Indian Nation for reducing
human/grizzly bear conflicts through
increased personnel, equipment, and
education.
Public Availability of Comments
Written comments we receive become
part of the administrative record
associated with this action. Before
including your address, phone number,
email address, or other personal
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 12, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2443-2445]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-00332]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R5-FAC-2020-N159; FF05F24400-201-FXFR13350500000; OMB Control
Number 1018-0127]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Horseshoe Crab
and Cooperative Fish Tagging Programs
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we,
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are proposing to renew an
information collection.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before
February 11, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular
information collection by selecting ``Currently under Review--Open for
Public Comments'' or by using the search function. Please provide a
copy of your comments to the Service Information Collection Clearance
Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB/PERMA (JAO/3W), 5275
Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803 (mail); or by email to
[email protected]. Please reference OMB Control Number 1018-0127 in the
subject line of your comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Madonna L. Baucum, Service Information
Collection Clearance Officer, by email at [email protected], or by
telephone at (703) 358-2503. Individuals who are hearing or speech
impaired may call the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 for TTY
assistance.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 (PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) and 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), we
provide the general public and other Federal agencies with an
opportunity to comment on new, proposed, revised, and continuing
collections of information. This helps us assess the impact of our
information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting
burden. It also helps the public understand our information collection
requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format.
On August 3, 2020, we published in the Federal Register (85 FR
46694) a notice of our intent to request that OMB approve this
information collection. In that notice, we solicited comments for 60
days, ending on October 2, 2020. We received one comment in response to
that notice, but it did not address the information collection
requirements. No response to that comment is required.
As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent
burdens, we invite the public and other Federal agencies to comment on
new, proposed, revised, and continuing collections of information. This
helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements
and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public
understand our information collection requirements and provide the
requested data in the desired format.
We are especially interested in public comment addressing the
following:
[[Page 2444]]
(1) Whether or not the collection of information is necessary for
the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including
whether or not the information will have practical utility;
(2) The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this collection
of information, including the validity of the methodology and
assumptions used;
(3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
(4) How might the agency minimize the burden of the collection of
information on those who are to respond, including through the use of
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g.,
permitting electronic submission of response.
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 ICR. 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.
Abstract: The Maryland Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office
(MDFWCO) will collect information on crabs and fishes captured by the
public. Tag information provided by the public will be used to estimate
recreational and commercial harvest rates, estimate natural mortality
rates, and evaluate migratory patterns, length and age frequencies, and
effectiveness of current regulations.
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 amebocyte lysate, derived from horseshoe crab
blood, 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 rufa red knot (Calidris canutus
rufa), feeds primarily on horseshoe crab eggs during its stopover.
Effective January 12, 2015, the rufa red knot was listed as threatened
under the Endangered Species Act (79 FR 73706; December 11, 2014).
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.
Restrictive measures have been taken in recent years, but
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 Service's MDFWCO maintains the
information collected 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; and
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;
Condition of crab;
Date captured/found;
Crab fate;
Finder type;
Capture method;
Capture location;
Reporter information; and
Comments.
At the request of the public participant reporting the tagged crab,
we send data pertaining to the tagging program and tag and release
information on the horseshoe crab tag that was found.
Fish will be tagged with an external tag containing a toll-free
number for MDFWCO. Tagged species of fish include striped bass (Morone
saxatilis), Atlantic (Acipenser oxyrinchus) and shortnose sturgeon
(Acipenser brevirostrum), northern snakehead (Channa argus), and
American shad (Alosa sapidissima). Members of the public reporting a
tag will be asked a series of questions pertaining to the fish that
they are referencing. The Service uses the following four forms to
collect information used by fisheries managers throughout the Atlantic
Coast (Interior regions 1 and 2), depending on species:
Form 3-2493, ``American Shad Recapture Report'';
Form 3-2494, ``Snakehead Recapture Report'';
Form 3-2495, ``Striped Bass Recapture Report''; and
Form 3-2496, ``Sturgeon Recapture Report.''
American shad are tagged by the New York Department of
Environmental Conservation (NYDEC), which retains all fish tagging
information. The public reports tags to MDFWCO, who provides
information on tag returns to NYDEC. Tag return data are used to
monitor migration and abundance of shad along the Atlantic coast.
Northern snakehead is an invasive species found in many watersheds
throughout the mid-Atlantic region. It has been firmly established in
the Potomac River since at least 2004. Federal and State biologists
within the Potomac River watershed have been tasked with managing the
impacts of northern snakehead. Tagging of northern snakehead is used to
learn more about the species so that control efforts can be better
informed. Tagging is also used to estimate population sizes to monitor
trends in abundance. Recreational and commercial fishers reporting tags
provide information on catch rates and migration patterns as well.
Striped bass are cooperatively managed by Federal and State
agencies through the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
(ASMFC). The ASMFC uses fish tag return data to conduct stock
assessments for striped bass. The database and collection are housed
within MDFWCO, while the tagging is conducted by State agencies
participating in striped bass management. Without this data collection,
striped bass management would likely suffer from a lack of quality
data. As required by Congress under the Atlantic Striped Bass
Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 5151-5158), striped bass tagging data is
used to manage the coast-wide stock.
Sturgeon are tagged by Federal, State, and university biologists
and nongovernmental organizations along the U.S. east coast and into
Canada, and throughout the United States and Canada. Local populations
of Atlantic sturgeon have been listed as either threatened or
endangered since 2012, and shortnose populations have been
[[Page 2445]]
listed since 1973. The information collected provides data on tag
retention and sturgeon movement along the east coast. The data are also
used to address some of the management and research needs identified by
amendment 1 to the ASMFC's Atlantic Sturgeon Fishery Management Plan.
Data collected across these tagging programs are similar in nature,
including:
Tag number;
Date of capture;
Waterbody of capture;
Capture method;
Fish length, weight, and fate (whether released or
killed); and
Fisher type (i.e., commercial, recreational, etc.).
In addition, if the tag reporter desires more information on their
tagged fish or wants the modest reward that comes with reporting a tag,
we ask their address so that we can mail them the information.
Title of Collection: Horseshoe Crab and Cooperative Fish Tagging
Programs.
OMB Control Number: 1018-0127.
Form Number: FWS Forms 3-2310, 3-2311, and 3-2493 through 3-2496.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Respondents/Affected Public: Respondents include Federal and State
agencies, universities, and biomedical companies who conduct tagging,
and members of the general public who provide recapture information.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 2,006.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 3,628.
Estimated Completion Time per Response: Varies from 5 minutes to 95
hours, depending on activity.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 2,239.
Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
Frequency of Collection: Respondents will provide information on
occasion, upon tagging or upon encounter with a tagged crab or fish.
Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.
An agency 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.
The authority for this action is the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
Dated: January 6, 2021.
Madonna Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-00332 Filed 1-11-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
