Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; NMFS Alaska Region Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) Program, 66816-66817 [2023-21288]
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66816
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 187 / Thursday, September 28, 2023 / Notices
As of May 1, 2023, there are
approximately 1,319 valid or renewable
Federal permits to commercially harvest
shrimp from the exclusive economic
zone (EEZ) in the Gulf. Monitoring
shrimp vessels, operating together with
many other fishing vessels of differing
sizes, gears types used, and fishing
capabilities, is made even more
challenging by seasonal variability in
shrimp abundance and price, and the
broad geographic distribution of the
fleet. ELBs provide a precise means of
estimating the amount of shrimp fishing
effort. Using ELBs to estimate fishing
effort serves an important role to help
estimate bycatch in the Gulf shrimp
fleet.
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations.
Frequency: Twice Annually (every 6
months).
Respondent’s Obligation: Required to
Obtain or Retain a Service or Benefit.
Legal Authority: Fishing Regulation
50 CFR 622.51(a)(2).
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 0648–0543.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of
the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs,
Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2023–21176 Filed 9–27–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
Review and Approval; Comment
Request; NMFS Alaska Region Vessel
Monitoring System (VMS) Program
National Oceanic &
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of information collection,
request for comment.
AGENCY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:09 Sep 27, 2023
Jkt 259001
The Department of
Commerce, in accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), invites 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. The purpose of this
notice is to allow for 60 days of public
comment preceding submission of the
collection to OMB.
DATES: To ensure consideration,
comments regarding this proposed
information collection must be received
on or before November 27, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are
invited to submit written comments to
Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer,
at NOAA.PRA@noaa.gov. Please
reference OMB Control Number 0648–
0445 in the subject line of your
comments. Do not submit Confidential
Business Information or otherwise
sensitive or protected information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information or
specific questions related to collection
activities should be directed to Gabrielle
Aberle, National Marine Fisheries
Service, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau AK
99802–1668, or 907–586–7356.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Alaska (GOA) and Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands (BSAI) designed to
protect Steller sea lion or essential fish
habitat. The VMS requirements are
found at 50 CFR parts 679 and 680.
VMS is an essential component of
monitoring and management for
complicated, geographically widespread
fishing closures. Given the large size
and remoteness of the area in which
Alaska fisheries occur, and the limited
enforcement infrastructure available,
determining a vessel’s location depends
crucially on VMS reports. When a VMS
track is examined, information can be
inferred about whether a vessel is
actively fishing, the type of gear being
used, and the fisheries that are open.
NMFS uses information from VMS to
identify where vessels are operating, to
organize patrols so as to increase the
number of fishing vessels visually
examined, or to focus examination of
vessels of greatest concern, and as
evidence in prosecutions.
I. Abstract
The National Marine Fisheries
Services (NMFS), Alaska Regional
Office, is requesting extension of a
currently approved information
collection for the NMFS Alaska Region
Vessel Monitoring System (VMS)
Program. There are no proposed changes
to this information collection.
NMFS requires the owners and
operators of selected vessels
participating in federally managed
groundfish and crab fisheries off Alaska
to obtain, install, and maintain an
operational, NMFS-approved Vessel
Monitoring System (VMS). VMS units
automatically transmit the location of a
vessel several times per hour using a
Global Positioning System satellite. The
VMS unit is passive and automatic,
requiring no reporting effort by the
vessel operator. A communications
service provider receives the
transmission and relays it to NMFS
Office for Law Enforcement (OLE).
Tracking vessel location using VMS is
required to monitor compliance with
area-specific catch allocations, to
monitor compliance with requirements
to redeploy or remove fishing gear from
commercial fishing grounds, and to
monitor compliance with complicated
time and area closures in the Gulf of
III. Data
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00021
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
II. Method of Collection
Automatic GPS position reporting
starts after VMS transceiver installation
and power activation on board the
vessel. The unit is pre-configured and
tested for NMFS VMS operations. The
VMS unit is passive and automatic,
requiring no reporting effort by the
vessel operator.
OMB Control Number: 0648–0445.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Review: Regular submission
(extension of a current information
collection).
Affected Public: Individuals or
households; Business or other for-profit
organizations.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
550.
Estimated Time per Response: VMS
installation, maintenance, and
troubleshooting, 12 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 2,476 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to
Public: $812,668.
Respondent’s Obligation: Required to
Obtain or Retain Benefits.
Legal Authority: 16 U.S.C.1801 et.
seq.; 16 U.S.C. 773–773k.
IV. Request for Comments
We are soliciting public comments to
permit the Department/Bureau 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,
E:\FR\FM\28SEN1.SGM
28SEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 187 / Thursday, September 28, 2023 / Notices
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 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 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.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of
the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs,
Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2023–21288 Filed 9–27–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Tilefish Individual Fishing
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 April 21,
2023, during a 60-day comment period.
This notice allows for an additional 30
days for public comments.
Agency: National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration,
Commerce.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:09 Sep 27, 2023
Jkt 259001
Title: Tilefish Individual Fishing
Quota Program.
OMB Control Number: 0648–0590.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular
submission—extension of a current
information collection.
Number of Respondents: 12.
Average Hours per Response: 0.33.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 18.
Needs and Uses: This request is for an
extension of a currently approved
information collection.
NMFS Greater Atlantic Region
manages the golden tilefish fishery of
the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of
the Northeastern United States, through
the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan
(FMP). The Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council prepared the FMP
pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The
regulations implementing the FMP are
specified at 50 CFR part 648 subpart N.
The recordkeeping and reporting
requirements at § 648.294 form the basis
for this collection of information. NMFS
requests information from tilefish
individual fishing quota (IFQ) permit
holders to process applications that
ensure IFQ allocation holders are
provided a statement of their annual
catch quota, and for enforcement
purposes, to ensure vessels are not
exceeding an individual quota
allocation. In conjunction with the
application, NMFS also collects IFQ
share accumulation information to
ensure that IFQ allocation holders do
not acquire an excessive share of the
total limited access privileges, as
required by section 303A(d)(5)(C) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act.
NMFS requests transfer application
information to process and track
requests from allocation holders to
transfer quota allocation (permanent
and temporary) to another entity. NMFS
also collects information for cost
recovery purposes as required under the
Magnuson-Stevens Act. Cost recovery is
used to collect fees to recover the costs
directly related to management, data
collection and analysis, and
enforcement of IFQ programs. Lastly,
NMFS collects landings information to
ensure that the amounts of tilefish
landed and ex-vessel prices are properly
recorded for quota monitoring purposes
and the calculation of IFQ fees. Having
this information results in an
increasingly more efficient and accurate
database for management and
monitoring of fisheries of the
Northeastern U.S. EEZ.
Affected Public: Individuals or
households; Business or other for-profit
organizations.
PO 00000
Frm 00022
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
66817
Frequency: Annual and as requested.
Respondent’s Obligation: Required to
Obtain or Retain Benefits.
Legal Authority: Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq, Section 303).
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 0648–0590.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of
the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs,
Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2023–21178 Filed 9–27–23; 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; Alaska Pacific Halibut
Fisheries: Charter
National Oceanic &
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of Information
Collection, request for comment.
AGENCY:
The Department of
Commerce, in accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), invites 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. The purpose of this
notice is to allow for 60 days of public
comment preceding submission of the
collection to OMB.
DATES: To ensure consideration,
comments regarding this proposed
information collection must be received
on or before November 27, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are
invited to submit written comments to
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\28SEN1.SGM
28SEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 187 (Thursday, September 28, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66816-66817]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21288]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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; NMFS Alaska Region Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) Program
AGENCY: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites 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. The
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment
preceding submission of the collection to OMB.
DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed
information collection must be received on or before November 27, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to
Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer, at [email protected]. Please
reference OMB Control Number 0648-0445 in the subject line of your
comments. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise
sensitive or protected information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed
to Gabrielle Aberle, National Marine Fisheries Service, P.O. Box 21668,
Juneau AK 99802-1668, or 907-586-7356.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS), Alaska Regional
Office, is requesting extension of a currently approved information
collection for the NMFS Alaska Region Vessel Monitoring System (VMS)
Program. There are no proposed changes to this information collection.
NMFS requires the owners and operators of selected vessels
participating in federally managed groundfish and crab fisheries off
Alaska to obtain, install, and maintain an operational, NMFS-approved
Vessel Monitoring System (VMS). VMS units automatically transmit the
location of a vessel several times per hour using a Global Positioning
System satellite. The VMS unit is passive and automatic, requiring no
reporting effort by the vessel operator. A communications service
provider receives the transmission and relays it to NMFS Office for Law
Enforcement (OLE).
Tracking vessel location using VMS is required to monitor
compliance with area-specific catch allocations, to monitor compliance
with requirements to redeploy or remove fishing gear from commercial
fishing grounds, and to monitor compliance with complicated time and
area closures in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) and Bering Sea and Aleutian
Islands (BSAI) designed to protect Steller sea lion or essential fish
habitat. The VMS requirements are found at 50 CFR parts 679 and 680.
VMS is an essential component of monitoring and management for
complicated, geographically widespread fishing closures. Given the
large size and remoteness of the area in which Alaska fisheries occur,
and the limited enforcement infrastructure available, determining a
vessel's location depends crucially on VMS reports. When a VMS track is
examined, information can be inferred about whether a vessel is
actively fishing, the type of gear being used, and the fisheries that
are open. NMFS uses information from VMS to identify where vessels are
operating, to organize patrols so as to increase the number of fishing
vessels visually examined, or to focus examination of vessels of
greatest concern, and as evidence in prosecutions.
II. Method of Collection
Automatic GPS position reporting starts after VMS transceiver
installation and power activation on board the vessel. The unit is pre-
configured and tested for NMFS VMS operations. The VMS unit is passive
and automatic, requiring no reporting effort by the vessel operator.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0648-0445.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Review: Regular submission (extension of a current
information collection).
Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit organizations.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 550.
Estimated Time per Response: VMS installation, maintenance, and
troubleshooting, 12 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 2,476 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $812,668.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to Obtain or Retain Benefits.
Legal Authority: 16 U.S.C.1801 et. seq.; 16 U.S.C. 773-773k.
IV. Request for Comments
We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau
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,
[[Page 66817]]
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 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 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.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2023-21288 Filed 9-27-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
