Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Exempted Fishing Permit Applications, 71044-71045 [2021-26959]
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71044
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 237 / Tuesday, December 14, 2021 / Notices
departure time, and transit through a
protected species zone per 50 CFR
665.803. Other fisheries are required to
submit notifications of trip return,
unloading, or sales reports per
regulations in multiple Subparts of 50
CFR 665.
identifying information—may be made
publicly available at any time. While
you may 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.
II. Method of Collection
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of
the Chief Information Officer, Commerce
Department.
Respondents will report their catch
using paper logbooks or electronic
logbooks. Methods of submittal include
submission by mail or facsimile for
paper logbooks, and via the vessel
monitoring system or online for
electronic logbook data. Notifications
may be made by phone or email.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0648–0214.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Review: Regular (Revision of
a currently approved collection of
information).
Affected Public: Individuals or
households, and small businesses.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
667.
Estimated Time per Response: From 5
to 35 minutes per report or notification,
depending on type; average 16 minutes
per response.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 6,926.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to
Public: $663.
Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: 50 CFR 665.
jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
IV. Request for Comments
We are soliciting public comments to
permit the Department to: (a) Evaluate
whether the proposed information
collection is necessary for the proper
functions of the Department, including
whether the information will have
practical utility; (b) Evaluate the
accuracy of our estimate of the time and
cost burden for this proposed collection,
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (c)
Evaluate ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and (d) Minimize the
reporting burden on those who are to
respond, including the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
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 information
collection request. 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
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:24 Dec 13, 2021
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[FR Doc. 2021–26950 Filed 12–13–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
(e.g., name, address, etc.) submitted
voluntarily by the sender will be
publicly accessible. Do not submit
confidential business information, or
otherwise sensitive or protected
information. NMFS will accept
anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in
the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Justin Kavanaugh, West Coast Region,
NMFS, (206) 526–4140,
justin.kavanaugh@noaa.gov.
This
action is consistent with Pacific Coast
Groundfish Fishery Management Plan
and the regulations implementing the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act at 50
CFR 600.745, which state that EFPs may
be used to authorize fishing activities
that would otherwise be prohibited.
On January 2, 2015 (80 FR 30), NMFS
announced notice of receipt of four EFP
applications to test electronic
monitoring (EM) in lieu of human
observers. NMFS approved the EFPs in
2015 and renewed them annually in
subsequent years through 2021, in order
to further test the feasibility and costeffectiveness of the EM EFP program.
On June 28, 2019 (84 FR 31146), at the
recommendation of the Pacific Fishery
Management Council (Council), NMFS
published a final rule that authorized
the use of EM in place of human
observers to meet requirements for 100percent at-sea monitoring for catcher
vessels in the groundfish trawl catch
share fishery (Trawl Rationalization
Program). EM video systems are used to
record catch and discards by the vessel
crew while at sea. Vessel operators are
responsible for recording catch and
discards in a logbook, which is then
used to debit individual fishing quota
(IFQ) accounts and cooperative
allocations. Recently, the Council
recommended, and NMFS
implemented, a delay to the start of the
regulatory program (86 FR 55525;
October 6, 2021). The Council
recommended the renewal of the EM
EFPs during this delay to provide more
time for industry and the Pacific States
Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC)
to test a model for industry to fund
PSMFC for review of video from their
fishing trips and to further evaluate the
costs of the regulatory program. PSMFC
has been reviewing video data from the
experimental EM EFP program, funded
by NMFS, since 2015.
NMFS received applications to renew
the EM EFPs for 2022 and 2023. A
summary of each EFP application is
provided below.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[RTID 0648–XB577]
Fisheries Off West Coast States;
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery;
Exempted Fishing Permit Applications
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
AGENCY:
The Regional Administrator,
West Coast Region, NMFS, has made a
preliminary determination that
applications received from Exempted
Fishing Permit (EFP) sponsors to renew
the Electronic Monitoring EFP program
warrant further consideration. NMFS
requests public comment on the
applications.
DATES: Comments must be received by
December 29, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on this document, identified by NOAA–
NMFS–2021–0115, by the following
method:
• Electronic Submissions: Submit all
public comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to
www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA–
NMFS–2021–0115 in the Search box.
Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, complete
the required fields, and enter or attach
your comments. The EFP applications
will be available under Supporting and
Related Materials through the same link.
• Instructions: Comments must be
submitted by the above method to
ensure that the comments are received,
documented, and considered by NMFS.
Comments sent by any other method or
received after the end of the comment
period, may not be considered. All
comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be
posted for public viewing on
www.regulations.gov without change.
All personal identifying information
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 237 / Tuesday, December 14, 2021 / Notices
• California Groundfish Collective
EM EFP: In partnership with the Nature
Conservancy, eligible vessels
participating in the Collective would
further test the feasibility of using at-sea
EM for vessels using fixed gear or
bottom trawl gear types. Fixed gear will
operate under maximized retention and
bottom trawl gear will operate under
optimized retention. All fishing will be
conducted south of Cape Mendocino,
CA. Fishing may target all species
authorized by the Trawl Rationalization
Program. The applicants have not
requested any exemptions from quota
limits, or gear or area restrictions, and
all catch will be covered by the vessels’
IFQ, Individual Bycatch Quota (IBQ), or
cooperative allocation. According to the
applicants, the EFP renewal aims to
achieve five goals:
1. Identify individual and overall cost
components of implementing EM on
fixed gear and bottom trawl vessels.
2. Establish best practices for discard
control points on bottom trawl vessels
using optimized retention.
3. Establish best practices for discard
protocols, particularly for non-IFQ
species and flor low-attainment IFQ
species that are identifiable.
4. Identify improvements to EM
systems and protocols to inform
regulations that will allow for the use of
EM.
5. Inform determination of final steps
to implement EM for accountability in
a way that will provide economic relief
and operational flexibility to the
groundfish IFQ program while
maintaining individual accountability
and the integrity of the IFQ program.
• Fixed Gear EM EFP: Under this EFP
renewal, eligible fixed gear vessels with
a trawl-endorsed groundfish limited
entry permit assignment would
continue to test the economic and
operational feasibility of using EM in
lieu of human observers for 100 percent
at-sea monitoring of groundfish IFQ
trips. The applicants seek to lower
operating costs and identify more
flexible catch handling methods under
the renewed EFP. Applicants will target
species authorized by the Trawl
Rationalization Program, specifically
sablefish (North and South of 36
degrees) off the coasts of Washington,
Oregon, and California. The applicants
have not requested any exemptions from
quota limits, or gear or area restrictions,
and all catch will be covered by the
vessels’ IFQ, IBQ, or cooperative
allocation.
• Trawl Gear EM EFP: The Midwater
Trawlers Cooperative and United
Catcher Boats seek to continue testing
the cost-effectiveness and operational
efficiency of using EM in lieu of human
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:24 Dec 13, 2021
Jkt 256001
observers while still providing the
required 100 percent monitoring of
catch and discards, for at-sea
mothership catcher vessels and vessels
delivering shoreside. Additionally, the
application incorporates the midwater
non-whiting and bottom trawl gears for
EM EFP trips. The use of EM for bottom
trawl gear was previously evaluated
under the Leipzig EM EFP, which first
began in 2015. Under the new
sponsorship, bottom trawl EM trips
would be tested under this overarching
EFP. Fishing may occur in all times and
locations, using all gear types, and
targeting species authorized by the
Trawl Rationalization Program. The
applicants have not requested any
exemptions from quota limits, or gear or
area restrictions, and all catch will be
covered by the vessels’ IFQ, IBQ, or
cooperative allocation.
The Regional Administrator has made
a preliminary determination that the
applications described above contain all
of the required information and
constitute an activity appropriate for
further consideration. Following the
conclusion of the public comment
period and review of public comment,
NMFS may approve and issue permits
for the EFP projects. If approved, NMFS
intends to issue the permits for two
years, 2022 and 2023, without issuing
another Federal Register notice. NMFS
would issue the permits for the EFP
project to the vessel owner or
designated representative as the ‘‘EFP
holder.’’ NMFS intends to use an
adaptive management approach in
which NMFS may revise requirements
and protocols to achieve the EM EFP
goals and improve the program without
issuing another Federal Register notice,
provided that the modifications fall
within the scope of the impacts of the
original EFP.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 8, 2021.
Ngagne Jafnar Gueye,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021–26959 Filed 12–13–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
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71045
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
Review and Approval; Comment
Request; International Work Sharing
Program
United States Patent and
Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of information collection;
request for comment.
AGENCY:
The United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO), as required
by the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, invites comments on the
extension and revision of an existing
information collection: 0651–0079
(International Work Sharing Program).
The purpose of this notice is to allow 60
days for public comment preceding
submission of the information collection
to OMB.
DATES: To ensure consideration,
comments regarding this information
collection must be received on or before
February 14, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are
invited to submit written comments by
any of the following methods. Do not
submit Confidential Business
Information or otherwise sensitive or
protected information.
• Email: InformationCollection@
uspto.gov. Include ‘‘0651–0079
comment’’ in the subject line of the
message.
• Federal Rulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov.
• Mail: Kimberly Hardy, Office of the
Chief Administrative Officer, United
States Patent and Trademark Office,
P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313–
1450.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Request for additional information
should be directed to Michael Arguello,
International Worksharing Planning and
Implementation, United States Patent
and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450,
Alexandria, VA 22313–1450; by
telephone at 571–270–7876; or by email
at Michael.Arguello@uspto.gov with
‘‘0651–0079 comment’’ in the subject
line. Additional information about this
information collection is also available
at https://www.reginfo.gov under
‘‘Information Collection Review.’’
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
I. Abstract
The United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) established a
Work Sharing Pilot Program in
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 237 (Tuesday, December 14, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71044-71045]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-26959]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XB577]
Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish
Fishery; Exempted Fishing Permit Applications
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Regional Administrator, West Coast Region, NMFS, has made
a preliminary determination that applications received from Exempted
Fishing Permit (EFP) sponsors to renew the Electronic Monitoring EFP
program warrant further consideration. NMFS requests public comment on
the applications.
DATES: Comments must be received by December 29, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2021-0115, by the following method:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA-
NMFS-2021-0115 in the Search box. Click on the ``Comment'' icon,
complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments. The
EFP applications will be available under Supporting and Related
Materials through the same link.
Instructions: Comments must be submitted by the above
method to ensure that the comments are received, documented, and
considered by NMFS. Comments sent by any other method or received after
the end of the comment period, may not be considered. All comments
received are a part of the public record and will generally be posted
for public viewing on www.regulations.gov without change. All personal
identifying information (e.g., name, address, etc.) submitted
voluntarily by the sender will be publicly accessible. Do not submit
confidential business information, or otherwise sensitive or protected
information. NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the
required fields if you wish to remain anonymous).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Justin Kavanaugh, West Coast Region,
NMFS, (206) 526-4140, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This action is consistent with Pacific Coast
Groundfish Fishery Management Plan and the regulations implementing the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act at 50 CFR
600.745, which state that EFPs may be used to authorize fishing
activities that would otherwise be prohibited.
On January 2, 2015 (80 FR 30), NMFS announced notice of receipt of
four EFP applications to test electronic monitoring (EM) in lieu of
human observers. NMFS approved the EFPs in 2015 and renewed them
annually in subsequent years through 2021, in order to further test the
feasibility and cost-effectiveness of the EM EFP program.
On June 28, 2019 (84 FR 31146), at the recommendation of the
Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council), NMFS published a final
rule that authorized the use of EM in place of human observers to meet
requirements for 100-percent at-sea monitoring for catcher vessels in
the groundfish trawl catch share fishery (Trawl Rationalization
Program). EM video systems are used to record catch and discards by the
vessel crew while at sea. Vessel operators are responsible for
recording catch and discards in a logbook, which is then used to debit
individual fishing quota (IFQ) accounts and cooperative allocations.
Recently, the Council recommended, and NMFS implemented, a delay to the
start of the regulatory program (86 FR 55525; October 6, 2021). The
Council recommended the renewal of the EM EFPs during this delay to
provide more time for industry and the Pacific States Marine Fisheries
Commission (PSMFC) to test a model for industry to fund PSMFC for
review of video from their fishing trips and to further evaluate the
costs of the regulatory program. PSMFC has been reviewing video data
from the experimental EM EFP program, funded by NMFS, since 2015.
NMFS received applications to renew the EM EFPs for 2022 and 2023.
A summary of each EFP application is provided below.
[[Page 71045]]
California Groundfish Collective EM EFP: In partnership
with the Nature Conservancy, eligible vessels participating in the
Collective would further test the feasibility of using at-sea EM for
vessels using fixed gear or bottom trawl gear types. Fixed gear will
operate under maximized retention and bottom trawl gear will operate
under optimized retention. All fishing will be conducted south of Cape
Mendocino, CA. Fishing may target all species authorized by the Trawl
Rationalization Program. The applicants have not requested any
exemptions from quota limits, or gear or area restrictions, and all
catch will be covered by the vessels' IFQ, Individual Bycatch Quota
(IBQ), or cooperative allocation. According to the applicants, the EFP
renewal aims to achieve five goals:
1. Identify individual and overall cost components of implementing
EM on fixed gear and bottom trawl vessels.
2. Establish best practices for discard control points on bottom
trawl vessels using optimized retention.
3. Establish best practices for discard protocols, particularly for
non-IFQ species and flor low-attainment IFQ species that are
identifiable.
4. Identify improvements to EM systems and protocols to inform
regulations that will allow for the use of EM.
5. Inform determination of final steps to implement EM for
accountability in a way that will provide economic relief and
operational flexibility to the groundfish IFQ program while maintaining
individual accountability and the integrity of the IFQ program.
Fixed Gear EM EFP: Under this EFP renewal, eligible fixed
gear vessels with a trawl-endorsed groundfish limited entry permit
assignment would continue to test the economic and operational
feasibility of using EM in lieu of human observers for 100 percent at-
sea monitoring of groundfish IFQ trips. The applicants seek to lower
operating costs and identify more flexible catch handling methods under
the renewed EFP. Applicants will target species authorized by the Trawl
Rationalization Program, specifically sablefish (North and South of 36
degrees) off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California. The
applicants have not requested any exemptions from quota limits, or gear
or area restrictions, and all catch will be covered by the vessels'
IFQ, IBQ, or cooperative allocation.
Trawl Gear EM EFP: The Midwater Trawlers Cooperative and
United Catcher Boats seek to continue testing the cost-effectiveness
and operational efficiency of using EM in lieu of human observers while
still providing the required 100 percent monitoring of catch and
discards, for at-sea mothership catcher vessels and vessels delivering
shoreside. Additionally, the application incorporates the midwater non-
whiting and bottom trawl gears for EM EFP trips. The use of EM for
bottom trawl gear was previously evaluated under the Leipzig EM EFP,
which first began in 2015. Under the new sponsorship, bottom trawl EM
trips would be tested under this overarching EFP. Fishing may occur in
all times and locations, using all gear types, and targeting species
authorized by the Trawl Rationalization Program. The applicants have
not requested any exemptions from quota limits, or gear or area
restrictions, and all catch will be covered by the vessels' IFQ, IBQ,
or cooperative allocation.
The Regional Administrator has made a preliminary determination
that the applications described above contain all of the required
information and constitute an activity appropriate for further
consideration. Following the conclusion of the public comment period
and review of public comment, NMFS may approve and issue permits for
the EFP projects. If approved, NMFS intends to issue the permits for
two years, 2022 and 2023, without issuing another Federal Register
notice. NMFS would issue the permits for the EFP project to the vessel
owner or designated representative as the ``EFP holder.'' NMFS intends
to use an adaptive management approach in which NMFS may revise
requirements and protocols to achieve the EM EFP goals and improve the
program without issuing another Federal Register notice, provided that
the modifications fall within the scope of the impacts of the original
EFP.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 8, 2021.
Ngagne Jafnar Gueye,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-26959 Filed 12-13-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
