Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Observer Programs' Information That Can Be Gathered Only Through Questions, 87753-87754 [2023-27834]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 242 / Tuesday, December 19, 2023 / Notices and associated equipment and gear. NMFS collects no other information. cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. III. Data Sheleen Dumas, Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, Commerce Department. OMB Control Number: 0648–0360. Form Number(s): None. Type of Review: Regular submission, extension of a current information collection. Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations; Individuals or households. Estimated Number of Respondents: 324. Estimated Time per Response: 1.25 hours per purse seine vessel and 0.75 hours per other fishery vessel for vessel ID marking. 0.083 hours per gear marking. Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 2,337. Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $89,473. Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory. Legal Authority: 50 CFR 665, 50 CFR 300. lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1 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, 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 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 VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:33 Dec 18, 2023 Jkt 262001 [FR Doc. 2023–27861 Filed 12–18–23; 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; National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Observer Programs’ Information That Can Be Gathered Only Through Questions 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 August 31, 2023 (88 FR 60184) during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Commerce. Title: NMFS Observer Programs’ Information That Can Be Gathered Only Through Questions. OMB Control Number: 0648–0593. Form Number(s): None. Type of Request: Regular submission. Revision and extension of a current information collection. Number of Respondents: 2,155. Average Hours per Response: Northeast Fisheries Observer Program and At-Sea Monitors, 117 minutes; North Pacific Groundfish and Halibut Observer Program and Processing Plants, 56 minutes; Alaska Marine Mammal Observer Program, 15 minutes; West Coast Groundfish Observer Program, 31 minutes; Pacific Islands Region Observer Program, 86 minutes; Southeast Fishery Observer Program, 55 minutes; West Coast Region Observer Program, 62 minutes. Information will PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 87753 be collected for observed fishing trips and deployments to fish processing plants; therefore, there will be multiple responses for some respondents, but counted as one response per trip or plant visit. Total Annual Burden Hours: 15,728. Needs and Uses: This is a request for revision and extension of an existing information collection. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) deploys fishery observers on United States (U.S.) commercial fishing vessels and to fish processing plants in order to collect biological and economic data. NMFS has at least one observer program in each of its five Regions. These observer programs provide the most reliable and effective method for obtaining information that is critical for the conservation and management of living marine resources. Observer programs primarily obtain information through direct observations by employees or agents of NMFS; and such observations are not subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). However, observer programs also collect the following information that requires clearance under the PRA: (1) Standardized questions of fishing vessel captains/crew or fish processing plant managers/staff, which include gear and performance questions, safety questions, and trip costs, crew size and other economic questions; (2) questions asked by observer program staff/contractors to plan observer deployments; (3) forms that are completed by observers and that fishing vessel captains are asked to review and sign; (4) questionnaires to evaluate observer performance; and (5) a form to certify that a fisherman is the permit holder when requesting observer data from the observer on the vessel. The information collected will be used to: (1) Monitor catch and bycatch in federally managed commercial fisheries; (2) understand the population status and trends of fish stocks and protected species, as well as the interactions between them; (3) determine the quantity and distribution of net benefits derived from living marine resources; (4) predict the biological, ecological, and economic impacts of existing management action and proposed management options; and (5) ensure that the observer programs can safely and efficiently collect the information required for the previous four uses. In particular, these biological and economic data collection programs contribute to legally mandated analyses required under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), the Endangered Species Act E:\FR\FM\19DEN1.SGM 19DEN1 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1 87754 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 242 / Tuesday, December 19, 2023 / Notices (ESA), the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), as well as a variety of state statutes. The confidentiality of the data will be protected as required by the MSA, Section 402(b). This collection will be revised as follows. First is the expansion of observers to include an additional fishery. The Southeast region will begin sending observers out on Southeast reef fish fishery trips and thus needs to add this fishery to this collection. Second, NOAA is combining the Southeast observer efforts into one program. The third change is the West Coast Groundfish Observer Program (WCGOP) would like to start collecting the names of crew members within their observer logbooks. The data will be recorded on paper, scanned in, and stored according to vessel name. This information will only be accessed if there is an enforcement issue. The final change is also within the West Coast Groundfish Observer Program. They have introduced a new phone app that captains are using to declare upcoming fishing trips and NMFS is using to let them know if they have been selected for observer coverage. Other observer programs are also working on converting to smart phone apps, but they have not yet been implemented. Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations. Frequency: On occasion. Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. Legal Authority: The MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), Executive Order 12866 (E.O. 12866), and the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). 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 VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:33 Dec 18, 2023 Jkt 262001 entering either the title of the collection or the OMB Control Number 0648–0593. Sheleen Dumas, Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, Commerce Department. [FR Doc. 2023–27834 Filed 12–18–23; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 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 Design Applications (Hague Agreement) 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: 0651–0075 International Design Applications (Hague Agreement). 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 20, 2024. 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 ‘‘0651–0075 comment’’ in the subject line of the message. • Federal Rulemaking Portal: https:// www.regulations.gov. • Mail: Justin Isaac, 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 Rafael Bacares, Senior Legal Advisor, Office of Patent Legal Administration, United States Patent and Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313–1450; by telephone at 571–272–3276; or by email at Rafael.Bacares@uspto.gov with ‘‘0651–0075 comment’’ in the subject SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 line. Additional information about this information collection is also available at https://www.reginfo.gov under ‘‘Information Collection Review.’’ SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Abstract The Patent Law Treaties Implementation Act of 2012 1 (PLTIA) amends the patent laws to implement the provisions of the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning International Registration of Industrial Designs (hereinafter ‘‘Hague Agreement’’) in title 1, and the Patent Law Treaty 2 (PLT) in title 2. The Hague Agreement is an international agreement that enables an applicant to file a single international design application which may have the effect of an application for protection for the design(s) in countries and/or intergovernmental organizations that are Parties to the Hague Agreement (the ‘‘Contracting Parties’’) designated in the applications. The United States is a Contracting Party to the Hague Agreement, which took effect with respect to the United States on May 13, 2015. The Hague Agreement is administrated by the International Bureau (IB) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) located in Geneva, Switzerland. Under the Hague Agreement, U.S. applicants can file international design applications in English ‘‘indirectly’’ through the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which will forward the applications to the IB or ‘‘directly’’ with the IB. An international design application is subject to the payment of three types of fees: (1) a basic fee, (2) a publication fee, and (3) in respect of each Contracting Party where protection is sought, either in a standard or an individual designation fee. All applications are subject to a three-level structure of standard fees, which reflects the level of examination carried out by the Office of a Contracting Party. Also, an additional fee is required where the application contains a description that exceeds 100 words. In addition, a transmittal fee is required for international design applications filed through an office of indirect filing. Thus, international design applications filed through the USPTO as an Office of indirect filing are subject to payment of a transmittal fee for processing and forwarding the international design applications to the IB. The fees required by the IB may be paid either directly to the IB or through the USPTO as an office of indirect filing 1 https://www.congress.gov/112/plaws/publ211/ PLAW-112publ211.pdf. 2 https://wipolex.wipo.int/en/text/288773. E:\FR\FM\19DEN1.SGM 19DEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 242 (Tuesday, December 19, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 87753-87754]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-27834]


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

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; National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Observer Programs' 
Information That Can Be Gathered Only Through Questions

    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 August 31, 2023 (88 FR 60184) during a 60-day 
comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public 
comments.
    Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Commerce.
    Title: NMFS Observer Programs' Information That Can Be Gathered 
Only Through Questions.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0593.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular submission. Revision and extension of a 
current information collection.
    Number of Respondents: 2,155.
    Average Hours per Response: Northeast Fisheries Observer Program 
and At-Sea Monitors, 117 minutes; North Pacific Groundfish and Halibut 
Observer Program and Processing Plants, 56 minutes; Alaska Marine 
Mammal Observer Program, 15 minutes; West Coast Groundfish Observer 
Program, 31 minutes; Pacific Islands Region Observer Program, 86 
minutes; Southeast Fishery Observer Program, 55 minutes; West Coast 
Region Observer Program, 62 minutes. Information will be collected for 
observed fishing trips and deployments to fish processing plants; 
therefore, there will be multiple responses for some respondents, but 
counted as one response per trip or plant visit.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 15,728.
    Needs and Uses: This is a request for revision and extension of an 
existing information collection.
    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) deploys fishery observers on 
United States (U.S.) commercial fishing vessels and to fish processing 
plants in order to collect biological and economic data. NMFS has at 
least one observer program in each of its five Regions. These observer 
programs provide the most reliable and effective method for obtaining 
information that is critical for the conservation and management of 
living marine resources. Observer programs primarily obtain information 
through direct observations by employees or agents of NMFS; and such 
observations are not subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). 
However, observer programs also collect the following information that 
requires clearance under the PRA: (1) Standardized questions of fishing 
vessel captains/crew or fish processing plant managers/staff, which 
include gear and performance questions, safety questions, and trip 
costs, crew size and other economic questions; (2) questions asked by 
observer program staff/contractors to plan observer deployments; (3) 
forms that are completed by observers and that fishing vessel captains 
are asked to review and sign; (4) questionnaires to evaluate observer 
performance; and (5) a form to certify that a fisherman is the permit 
holder when requesting observer data from the observer on the vessel.
    The information collected will be used to: (1) Monitor catch and 
bycatch in federally managed commercial fisheries; (2) understand the 
population status and trends of fish stocks and protected species, as 
well as the interactions between them; (3) determine the quantity and 
distribution of net benefits derived from living marine resources; (4) 
predict the biological, ecological, and economic impacts of existing 
management action and proposed management options; and (5) ensure that 
the observer programs can safely and efficiently collect the 
information required for the previous four uses. In particular, these 
biological and economic data collection programs contribute to legally 
mandated analyses required under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (MSA), the Endangered Species Act

[[Page 87754]]

(ESA), the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 
as well as a variety of state statutes. The confidentiality of the data 
will be protected as required by the MSA, Section 402(b).
    This collection will be revised as follows. First is the expansion 
of observers to include an additional fishery. The Southeast region 
will begin sending observers out on Southeast reef fish fishery trips 
and thus needs to add this fishery to this collection. Second, NOAA is 
combining the Southeast observer efforts into one program. The third 
change is the West Coast Groundfish Observer Program (WCGOP) would like 
to start collecting the names of crew members within their observer 
logbooks. The data will be recorded on paper, scanned in, and stored 
according to vessel name. This information will only be accessed if 
there is an enforcement issue. The final change is also within the West 
Coast Groundfish Observer Program. They have introduced a new phone app 
that captains are using to declare upcoming fishing trips and NMFS is 
using to let them know if they have been selected for observer 
coverage. Other observer programs are also working on converting to 
smart phone apps, but they have not yet been implemented.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (MSA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), Executive Order 
12866 (E.O. 12866), and the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).
    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 0648-0593.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2023-27834 Filed 12-18-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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