Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Western Alaska Community Development Quota Program, 50846-50847 [2023-16417]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 147 (Wednesday, August 2, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50846-50847]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-16417]


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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; Western Alaska Community Development Quota Program

    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 May 16, 2023 (88 FR 31245), during a 60-day comment 
period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public 
comments.
    Agency: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.
    Title: Western Alaska Community Development Quota (CDQ) Program
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0269.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular submission (extension of a current 
information collection).
    Number of Respondents: 6.
    Average Hours per Response: CDQ Vessel Registration System, 10 
minutes; Groundfish/Halibut CDQ and PSQ Transfer Request, 30 minutes; 
Application for Approval of Use of Non-CDQ Harvest Regulations, 5 
hours; Appeals, 4 hours.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 36 hours.
    Needs and Uses: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), 
Alaska Regional Office, is requesting extension of a currently approved 
information collection that contains four components necessary for NMFS 
to manage the Western Alaska Community Development Quota Program (CDQ 
Program). No changes were made to this collection other than updates to 
reflect the most current data available and minor editorial changes to 
the forms to increase clarity.
    NMFS and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council manage the 
groundfish fisheries in the exclusive economic zone off Alaska under 
the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The 
groundfish fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands are managed 
under the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and 
Aleutian Islands Management Area.
    The CDQ Program is an economic development program authorized under 
the Magnuson Stevens Act to provide eligible western Alaska villages 
with the opportunity to participate and invest in fisheries in the 
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area, 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.
    This information collection is used by NMFS to manage the small 
vessel CDQ fisheries, transfer quota among the CDQ groups, and 
authorize the use of alternative harvest regulations under certain 
circumstances.
    This information collection contains the following four components:
     The CDQ Vessel Registration System is an online system 
used by the CDQ groups to add small hook-and-line catcher vessels to 
the CDQ vessel registration list. Registered vessels are exempt from 
the requirements to obtain and carry a License Limitation Program 
license under regulations at 50 part 679. This system is also used to 
remove vessels from the CDQ vessel registration list.
     The Groundfish/Halibut CDQ and Prohibited Species Quota 
(PSQ) Transfer Request form is used to transfer annual amounts of 
groundfish and halibut CDQ and PSQ, except Bering Sea Chinook salmon, 
between two CDQ groups. This form is completed by the transferring and 
receiving CDQ groups.
     The Application for Approval of Use of Non-CDQ Harvest 
Regulations is used by a CDQ group, an association representing CDQ 
groups, or a voluntary fishing cooperative to request approval to use 
non CDQ harvest regulations when the CDQ regulations are more 
restrictive than the regulations otherwise required for participants in 
non-CDQ groundfish fisheries.
     An appeals process is provided for an applicant who 
receives an adverse initial administrative determination related to its 
Application for Approval of Use of Non-CDQ Harvest Regulations.
    Affected Public: Not-for-profit institutions; Business or other 
for-profit organizations.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to Obtain or Retain Benefits.
    Legal Authority: Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act.
    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

[[Page 50847]]

entering either the title of the collection or the OMB Control Number 
0648-0269.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2023-16417 Filed 8-1-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P