Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Individual Fishing Quotas for Pacific Halibut and Sablefish in the Alaska Fisheries, 28760-28761 [2021-11311]

Download as PDF 28760 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 102 / Friday, May 28, 2021 / Notices Habitat Protection and Ecosystem-Based Management. The Council will discuss other business, upcoming meetings, and take action as necessary. Documents regarding these issues are available from the Council office (see ADDRESSES). Although non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda may come before this group for discussion, those issues may not be the subject of formal action during this meeting. Action will be restricted to those issues specifically identified in this notice and any issues arising after publication of this notice that require emergency action under section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, provided the public has been notified of the Council’s intent to take final action to address the emergency. Special Accommodations These meetings are physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for auxiliary aids should be directed to the Council office (see ADDRESSES) 5 days prior to the meeting. Note: The times and sequence specified in this agenda are subject to change. (Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) Dated: May 25, 2021. Tracey L. Thompson, Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2021–11325 Filed 5–27–21; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Individual Fishing Quotas for Pacific Halibut and Sablefish in the Alaska Fisheries The Department of Commerce will submit the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public’s reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:28 May 27, 2021 Jkt 253001 via the Federal Register on January 13, 2021 (86 FR 2644), during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. Title: Individual Fishing Quotas for Pacific Halibut and Sablefish in the Alaska Fisheries. OMB Control Number: 0648–0272. Form Number(s): None. Type of Request: Regular submission (extension and revision of a currently approved information collection). Number of Respondents: 3,441. Average Hours per Response: Application for IFQ/CDQ Hired Master Permit, 1 hour; Application for IFQ/ CDQ Registered Buyer Permit, 30 minutes; Application for Replacement of Certificates or Permits, 30 minutes; Application for Eligibility to Receive QS/IFQ by Transfer, 2 hours; QS Holder: Identification of Ownership Interest, 2 hours; Application for Transfer of QS, 2 hours; Application for Transfer of QS/ IFQ by Self Sweep Up, 2 hours; Application for Medical Transfer of IFQ, 1.5 hours; Application for Temporary Transfer of Halibut/Sablefish IFQ, 2 hours; (emergency) Application for Temporary Transfer of Halibut/Sablefish IFQ, 2 hours; Annual Report for CDQ IFQ Transfers, 40 hours; QS/IFQ Beneficiary Designation Form, 30 minutes; Appeals, 4 hours; IFQ Administrative Waiver, 6 minutes; Prior Notice of Landing, 15 minutes; IFQ Departure Report, 15 minutes; Transshipment Authorization, 12 minutes; Dockside sales, 6 minutes; Application for a Non-profit Corporation to be Designated as a Recreational Quota Entity, 200 hours; Application for Transfer of Quota Share To or From a Recreational Quota Entity, 2 hours; Recreational Quota Entity Annual Report, 40 hours. Total Annual Burden Hours: 11,236 hours. Needs and Uses: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Alaska Regional Office, is requesting renewal and revision of this currently approved information collection that contains requirements for the Pacific Halibut and Sablefish Individual Fishing Quota Program (IFQ Program). The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) and NMFS Alaska Region manage fishing for Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) through regulations established under the authority of the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982, 16 U.S.C. 773c (Halibut Act). The IPHC promulgates regulations governing the halibut fishery PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 under the Convention between the United States Halibut Fishery of the Northern Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea (Convention). Regulations pursuant to the Convention are set forth at 50 CFR 300 subpart E. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, under the authority of the Halibut Act (with respect to Pacific halibut) and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.; Magnuson-Stevens Act) (with respect to sablefish), manages the IFQ Program. NMFS Alaska Region administers the IFQ Program. Regulations implementing the IFQ Program are set forth at 50 CFR part 679. The IFQ Program provides a limited access system for Pacific halibut in Convention waters in and off Alaska and sablefish fisheries in waters of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska. The IFQ Program provides coastal Alaska communities a source of revenue, while maintaining the social and economic character of the fixed-gear sablefish and halibut fisheries. The IFQ Program provides economic stability for these fisheries while reducing many of the conservation and management problems commonly associated with open-access fisheries. The IFQ Program includes several provisions, such as ownership caps and vessel use caps that protect small producers, part-time participants, and entry-level participants that otherwise could be adversely affected by excessive consolidation. Participation in the IFQ Program is limited to persons that hold quota share (QS), although there are several very limited provisions for ‘‘leasing’’ of annual IFQ. QS is a transferable permit that was initially issued to persons who owned or leased vessels that made legal commercial fixed-gear landings of Pacific halibut or sablefish in the waters off Alaska from 1988 through 1990. Currently, QS may only be obtained through transfer. Annually, NMFS issues eligible QS holders an IFQ fishing permit that authorizes participation in the IFQ fisheries. Those to whom IFQ permits are issued may harvest their annual allocation at any time during the eight plus-month IFQ halibut and sablefish seasons. More information on the IFQ Program is provided on the NMFS Alaska Region website at https:// www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/ sustainable-fisheries/pacific-halibutand-sablefish-individual-fishing-quotaifq-program. Some of the collection instruments in this information collection are used by E:\FR\FM\28MYN1.SGM 28MYN1 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 102 / Friday, May 28, 2021 / Notices participants in the Western Alaska Community Development Quota (CDQ) Program. The purpose of the CDQ Program is to provide eligible western Alaska villages with the opportunity to participate and invest in fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI); to support economic development in western Alaska; to alleviate poverty and provide economic and social benefits for residents of western Alaska; and to achieve sustainable and diversified local economies in western Alaska. In fitting with these goals, NMFS allocates a portion of the annual catch limits for a variety of commercially valuable marine species in the BSAI to the CDQ Program. Pacific halibut is one of these species. More information on the CDQ Program is provided on the NMFS Alaska Region website at https:// www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/ sustainable-fisheries/communitydevelopment-quota-cdq-program. Information collection requirements for the CDQ Program are approved under OMB Control Number 0648–0269. This information collection is required to manage commercial halibut and sablefish fishing under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Halibut Act, and under 50 CFR parts 300 and 679. This information collection contains the forms used by participants in the IFQ Program to apply for, renew, or replace permits; transfer or lease IFQ and QS; determine compliance with IFQ program requirements; and designate a beneficiary for a QS holder. Two of the permit applications are also used by participants in the CDQ Program. This information collection also contains annual reports and other collections submitted by telephone or other methods and that do not have forms. The type of information collected includes information on the applicants, transferors, transferees, permits, IFQ or QS types and owners, beneficiaries, vessels, business operations, medical declarations, landings, gear types, products, and harvests and harvest areas. This information is used to identify and authorize participants in the halibut and sablefish fisheries, to track and transfer quota share, to limit transfers to authorized participants, and to monitor quota share balances and harvest in these fisheries. Several revisions are made to this collection. The emergency version of the Application for Temporary Transfer of Halibut/Sablefish Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ), which was approved under an emergency approval (OMB Control No. 0648–0795), is added for use during emergency situations. Two forms are VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:28 May 27, 2021 Jkt 253001 revised to remove information that is not needed. The Application for Transfer of QS/IFQ by Self Sweep-up is revised to remove the notary certification, and the Application for Eligibility to Receive QS/IFQ is revised to no longer collect social security numbers. The Application for Eligibility to Receive QS/IFQ and Application for Transfer of QS are revised to collect the NMFS ID number to improved identification. Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-profit organizations; Not-for-profit institutions. Frequency: On occasion; Annually. Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary; Required to Obtain or Retain Benefits; Mandatory. Legal Authority: Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.; Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982, 16 U.S.C. 773c. This information collection request may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view the Department of Commerce collections currently under review by OMB. Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/ public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or by using the search function and entering either the title of the collection or the OMB Control Number 0648–0272. Sheleen Dumas, Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Commerce Department. [FR Doc. 2021–11311 Filed 5–27–21; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [RTID 0648–XB099] Fisheries of the Gulf of Mexico; Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review (SEDAR); Public Meeting National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice of SEDAR 72 Assessment Webinar III for Gulf of Mexico gag grouper. AGENCY: PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 28761 The SEDAR 72 stock assessment process for Gulf of Mexico gag grouper will consist of a series of data and assessment webinars. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. DATES: The SEDAR 72 Assessment Webinar III will be held June 15, 2021, from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m., Eastern. ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held via webinar. The webinar is open to members of the public. Those interested in participating should contact Julie A. Neer at SEDAR (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT below) to request an invitation providing webinar access information. Please request webinar invitations at least 24 hours in advance of each webinar. SEDAR address: 4055 Faber Place Drive, Suite 201, North Charleston, SC 29405. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie A. Neer, SEDAR Coordinator; (843) 571– 4366; email: Julie.neer@safmc.net. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and Caribbean Fishery Management Councils, in conjunction with NOAA Fisheries and the Atlantic and Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commissions have implemented the Southeast Data, Assessment and Review (SEDAR) process, a multi-step method for determining the status of fish stocks in the Southeast Region. SEDAR is a multistep process including: (1) Data Workshop, (2) a series of assessment webinars, and (3) A Review Workshop. The product of the Data Workshop is a report that compiles and evaluates potential datasets and recommends which datasets are appropriate for assessment analyses. The assessment webinars produce a report that describes the fisheries, evaluates the status of the stock, estimates biological benchmarks, projects future population conditions, and recommends research and monitoring needs. The product of the Review Workshop is an Assessment Summary documenting panel opinions regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the stock assessment and input data. Participants for SEDAR Workshops are appointed by the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and Caribbean Fishery Management Councils and NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office, HMS Management Division, and Southeast Fisheries Science Center. Participants include data collectors and database managers; stock assessment scientists, biologists, and researchers; constituency representatives including fishermen, environmentalists, and NGO’s; International experts; and staff of Councils, Commissions, and state and federal agencies. SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\28MYN1.SGM 28MYN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 102 (Friday, May 28, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28760-28761]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11311]


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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Individual Fishing Quotas for Pacific Halibut and Sablefish in 
the Alaska Fisheries

    The Department of Commerce will submit the following information 
collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite the 
general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and 
continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of 
our information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the 
Federal Register on January 13, 2021 (86 FR 2644), during a 60-day 
comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public 
comments.
    Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.
    Title: Individual Fishing Quotas for Pacific Halibut and Sablefish 
in the Alaska Fisheries.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0272.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular submission (extension and revision of a 
currently approved information collection).
    Number of Respondents: 3,441.
    Average Hours per Response: Application for IFQ/CDQ Hired Master 
Permit, 1 hour; Application for IFQ/CDQ Registered Buyer Permit, 30 
minutes; Application for Replacement of Certificates or Permits, 30 
minutes; Application for Eligibility to Receive QS/IFQ by Transfer, 2 
hours; QS Holder: Identification of Ownership Interest, 2 hours; 
Application for Transfer of QS, 2 hours; Application for Transfer of 
QS/IFQ by Self Sweep Up, 2 hours; Application for Medical Transfer of 
IFQ, 1.5 hours; Application for Temporary Transfer of Halibut/Sablefish 
IFQ, 2 hours; (emergency) Application for Temporary Transfer of 
Halibut/Sablefish IFQ, 2 hours; Annual Report for CDQ IFQ Transfers, 40 
hours; QS/IFQ Beneficiary Designation Form, 30 minutes; Appeals, 4 
hours; IFQ Administrative Waiver, 6 minutes; Prior Notice of Landing, 
15 minutes; IFQ Departure Report, 15 minutes; Transshipment 
Authorization, 12 minutes; Dockside sales, 6 minutes; Application for a 
Non-profit Corporation to be Designated as a Recreational Quota Entity, 
200 hours; Application for Transfer of Quota Share To or From a 
Recreational Quota Entity, 2 hours; Recreational Quota Entity Annual 
Report, 40 hours.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 11,236 hours.
    Needs and Uses: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), 
Alaska Regional Office, is requesting renewal and revision of this 
currently approved information collection that contains requirements 
for the Pacific Halibut and Sablefish Individual Fishing Quota Program 
(IFQ Program).
    The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) and NMFS Alaska 
Region manage fishing for Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) 
through regulations established under the authority of the Northern 
Pacific Halibut Act of 1982, 16 U.S.C. 773c (Halibut Act). The IPHC 
promulgates regulations governing the halibut fishery under the 
Convention between the United States Halibut Fishery of the Northern 
Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea (Convention). Regulations pursuant to the 
Convention are set forth at 50 CFR 300 subpart E.
    The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, under the authority 
of the Halibut Act (with respect to Pacific halibut) and the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et 
seq.; Magnuson-Stevens Act) (with respect to sablefish), manages the 
IFQ Program. NMFS Alaska Region administers the IFQ Program. 
Regulations implementing the IFQ Program are set forth at 50 CFR part 
679.
    The IFQ Program provides a limited access system for Pacific 
halibut in Convention waters in and off Alaska and sablefish fisheries 
in waters of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska. The IFQ Program 
provides coastal Alaska communities a source of revenue, while 
maintaining the social and economic character of the fixed-gear 
sablefish and halibut fisheries. The IFQ Program provides economic 
stability for these fisheries while reducing many of the conservation 
and management problems commonly associated with open-access fisheries. 
The IFQ Program includes several provisions, such as ownership caps and 
vessel use caps that protect small producers, part-time participants, 
and entry-level participants that otherwise could be adversely affected 
by excessive consolidation.
    Participation in the IFQ Program is limited to persons that hold 
quota share (QS), although there are several very limited provisions 
for ``leasing'' of annual IFQ. QS is a transferable permit that was 
initially issued to persons who owned or leased vessels that made legal 
commercial fixed-gear landings of Pacific halibut or sablefish in the 
waters off Alaska from 1988 through 1990. Currently, QS may only be 
obtained through transfer.
    Annually, NMFS issues eligible QS holders an IFQ fishing permit 
that authorizes participation in the IFQ fisheries. Those to whom IFQ 
permits are issued may harvest their annual allocation at any time 
during the eight plus-month IFQ halibut and sablefish seasons.
    More information on the IFQ Program is provided on the NMFS Alaska 
Region website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/sustainable-fisheries/pacific-halibut-and-sablefish-individual-fishing-quota-ifq-program.
    Some of the collection instruments in this information collection 
are used by

[[Page 28761]]

participants in the Western Alaska Community Development Quota (CDQ) 
Program. The purpose of the CDQ Program is to provide eligible western 
Alaska villages with the opportunity to participate and invest in 
fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area 
(BSAI); to support economic development in western Alaska; to alleviate 
poverty and provide economic and social benefits for residents of 
western Alaska; and to achieve sustainable and diversified local 
economies in western Alaska. In fitting with these goals, NMFS 
allocates a portion of the annual catch limits for a variety of 
commercially valuable marine species in the BSAI to the CDQ Program. 
Pacific halibut is one of these species. More information on the CDQ 
Program is provided on the NMFS Alaska Region website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/sustainable-fisheries/community-development-quota-cdq-program. Information collection requirements for 
the CDQ Program are approved under OMB Control Number 0648-0269.
    This information collection is required to manage commercial 
halibut and sablefish fishing under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the 
Halibut Act, and under 50 CFR parts 300 and 679.
    This information collection contains the forms used by participants 
in the IFQ Program to apply for, renew, or replace permits; transfer or 
lease IFQ and QS; determine compliance with IFQ program requirements; 
and designate a beneficiary for a QS holder. Two of the permit 
applications are also used by participants in the CDQ Program. This 
information collection also contains annual reports and other 
collections submitted by telephone or other methods and that do not 
have forms.
    The type of information collected includes information on the 
applicants, transferors, transferees, permits, IFQ or QS types and 
owners, beneficiaries, vessels, business operations, medical 
declarations, landings, gear types, products, and harvests and harvest 
areas.
    This information is used to identify and authorize participants in 
the halibut and sablefish fisheries, to track and transfer quota share, 
to limit transfers to authorized participants, and to monitor quota 
share balances and harvest in these fisheries.
    Several revisions are made to this collection. The emergency 
version of the Application for Temporary Transfer of Halibut/Sablefish 
Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ), which was approved under an emergency 
approval (OMB Control No. 0648-0795), is added for use during emergency 
situations. Two forms are revised to remove information that is not 
needed. The Application for Transfer of QS/IFQ by Self Sweep-up is 
revised to remove the notary certification, and the Application for 
Eligibility to Receive QS/IFQ is revised to no longer collect social 
security numbers. The Application for Eligibility to Receive QS/IFQ and 
Application for Transfer of QS are revised to collect the NMFS ID 
number to improved identification.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit organizations; Not-for-profit institutions.
    Frequency: On occasion; Annually.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary; Required to Obtain or Retain 
Benefits; Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.; Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 
1982, 16 U.S.C. 773c.
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view the Department of 
Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of 
this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 
Find this particular information collection by selecting ``Currently 
under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search 
function and entering either the title of the collection or the OMB 
Control Number 0648-0272.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2021-11311 Filed 5-27-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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