Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Northwest Region, Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery: Trawl Rationalization Cost Recovery Program, 23986-23987 [2024-07238]
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khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
23986
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 67 / Friday, April 5, 2024 / Notices
restricted to waters seaward of a
boundary line described in the states’
statutes (Louisiana Title 76) and
includes both state and some Federal
waters. The majority of fishing activities
under this EFP are expected to occur in
Louisiana State waters, but fishing
operations could occur in Federal
waters as the menhaden migrate from
inshore estuarine waters to offshore
marine waters in October. NMFS
estimates that 64 of the 400 sets
anticipated for the 2024 menhaden
season could occur in Federal waters.
The EFP would allow the applicant to
harvest up to 200 individuals each of
red drum, king mackerel, and Spanish
mackerel during the 2024 menhaden
season to determine sex ratios. An
additional number of red drum, king
mackerel, and Spanish mackerel (up to
400 per species) would be held for 24
hours in tanks with continuous water
flow on board the catch-collecting
vessel to assess short-term survival and
then would be tagged and released. All
other bycatch initially retained by the
applicant would be returned to the
water. Red drum, king mackerel, and
Spanish mackerel that die during
normal fishing operations, or that die in
the survival study, would be
preferentially biopsied to minimize
mortality attributed to this study. No red
drum, king mackerel, and Spanish
mackerel landed as part of the project
would be sold.
Federal regulations at 50 CFR
622.92(b) prohibit the harvest and
possession of red drum in or from the
Gulf Federal waters and any red drum
caught in the Gulf Federal waters must
be released immediately with a
minimum of harm. The EFP would
allow the applicant to biopsy up to 200
red drum and possess for up to 24 hours
an additional 400 red drum during the
2024 menhaden purse seine season
(April 15–November 1, 2024).
Federal regulations at 50 CFR
622.375(a)(1)(iv) and 622.375(b)(3)
prohibit the harvest of king mackerel
and Spanish mackerel by purse seine
gear. Additionally, regulations at 50
CFR 622.380(b) prohibit possession of
king mackerel less than 24 inches (61
cm), fork length, and 622.380(c) prohibit
possession of Spanish mackerel less
than 12 inches (30.5 cm), fork length.
The EFP would allow the applicant to
biopsy up to 200 of each species,
including undersized fish, and possess
for up to 24 hours an additional 400
each of king mackerel and Spanish
mackerel and using purse seine gear
during the 2024 menhaden purse seine
season.
If granted, the EFP would be effective
from April 15, 2024, through December
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31, 2024. The applicant and commercial
menhaden fishermen and vessels
participating in the EFP must comply
with all other applicable laws and
regulations.
NMFS finds the application warrants
further consideration based on a
preliminary review. At its January 2024
meeting, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery
Management Council reviewed the
application and recommended that
NMFS issue the EFP. A final decision
on issuance of the EFP will depend on
NMFS’ review of public comments
received on the application,
consultations with the appropriate
fishery management agencies of the
affected states, and the U.S. Coast
Guard, and a determination that the
activities to be taken under the EFP are
consistent with all other applicable
laws.
Authority: 16 U.S.C 1801 et seq.
Dated: April 2, 2024.
Everett Wayne Baxter,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024–07304 Filed 4–4–24; 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; Northwest Region, Pacific
Coast Groundfish Fishery: Trawl
Rationalization Cost Recovery
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 August 22,
2023 during a 60-day comment period.
This notice allows for an additional 30
days for public comments.
Agency: National Oceanic &
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
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Title: Northwest Region, Pacific Coast
Groundfish Fishery: Trawl
Rationalization Cost Recovery Program.
OMB Control Number: 0648–0663.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular submission;
revision of a current information
collection.
Number of Respondents: 580.
Average Hours per Response: Cost
recovery fee forms: 1 hour.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 580.
Needs and Uses: This request is for a
revision of a currently approved
information collection includes the
collection of electronic fish ticket
numbers on the Shorebased Individual
Fishing Quota Program’s payment form.
The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(MSA) authorizes and requires that the
Secretary of Commerce maintain a cost
recovery program to cover part of the
management, data collection and
analysis, and enforcement costs of the
limited access privilege programs, such
as the Pacific Coast Groundfish Trawl
Rationalization Program (Trawl
Program). Cost recovery fees may not
exceed three percent of the ex-vessel
value. The Trawl Program cost recovery
program requires fish sellers to submit
fees to fish buyers who then submit
those fees to NOAA’s National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS). Fish buyers
must also submit information to NMFS
on the volume and value of harvested
groundfish when submitting the fees.
Information is collected from monthly
and annual reports as well as nonpayment documents when necessary.
The information collected is used to
track the payment of cost recovery fees,
reconcile cost recovery payments with
landings data from other sources,
calculate average ex-vessel values, and,
if necessary, help in the resolution of
non-payment issues. The addition of a
requirement to record electronic fish
ticket numbers corresponding to cost
recovery payments will aid in this
reconciliation process.
This program is authorized under the
Pacific coast groundfish fishery
regulations, trawl rationalization cost
recovery program at 50 CFR 660.115.
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations.
Frequency: Monthly and annually.
Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: NMFS and the
Pacific Fisheries Management Council
(Council) manage the groundfish
fisheries in the exclusive economic zone
seaward of California, Oregon, and
Washington under the Pacific Coast
Groundfish Fishery Management Plan
(FMP). The Council prepared the FMP
under the authority of the MSA, 16
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 67 / Friday, April 5, 2024 / Notices
U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Regulations
governing United States fisheries and
implementing the FMP appear at 50
CFR part 660.
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 0648–0663.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of
the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs,
Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024–07238 Filed 4–4–24; 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
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 June 4, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are
invited to submit written comments to
Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer,
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
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16:44 Apr 04, 2024
Jkt 262001
at NOAA.PRA@noaa.gov. Please
reference OMB Control Number 0648–
0272 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, (323) 372–0062,
gabrielle.aberle@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS), Alaska Regional Office, is
requesting renewal of this currently
approved information collection that
contains requirements for the Pacific
Halibut and Sablefish Individual
Fishing Quota Program (IFQ Program).
Commercial halibut and sablefish
fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska and
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands are
managed primarily under the IFQ
Program. The IFQ Program is managed
under the authority of the Northern
Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 (16 U.S.C.
773c; Halibut Act), with respect to
Pacific halibut, and the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.;
Magnuson-Stevens Act), with respect to
sablefish. Regulations implementing the
IFQ Program are set forth at 50 CFR part
679.
A key objective of the IFQ Program is
to support the social and economic
character of the fisheries and coastal
fishing communities where many of
these fisheries are based. 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.
NMFS annually 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.
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23987
Some of the collection instruments in
this information collection are used by
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 also approved
under OMB Control Number 0648–0269.
This information collection for the
IFQ Program 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.
II. Method of Collection
The information is collected primarily
by mail, delivery, fax, email, telephone,
or eFISH. eFISH is the NMFS Alaska
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 67 (Friday, April 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23986-23987]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07238]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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; Northwest Region, Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery: Trawl
Rationalization Cost Recovery 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 August 22, 2023 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: Northwest Region, Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery: Trawl
Rationalization Cost Recovery Program.
OMB Control Number: 0648-0663.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular submission; revision of a current
information collection.
Number of Respondents: 580.
Average Hours per Response: Cost recovery fee forms: 1 hour.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 580.
Needs and Uses: This request is for a revision of a currently
approved information collection includes the collection of electronic
fish ticket numbers on the Shorebased Individual Fishing Quota
Program's payment form. The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (MSA) authorizes and requires that the Secretary of
Commerce maintain a cost recovery program to cover part of the
management, data collection and analysis, and enforcement costs of the
limited access privilege programs, such as the Pacific Coast Groundfish
Trawl Rationalization Program (Trawl Program). Cost recovery fees may
not exceed three percent of the ex-vessel value. The Trawl Program cost
recovery program requires fish sellers to submit fees to fish buyers
who then submit those fees to NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS). Fish buyers must also submit information to NMFS on the volume
and value of harvested groundfish when submitting the fees. Information
is collected from monthly and annual reports as well as non-payment
documents when necessary.
The information collected is used to track the payment of cost
recovery fees, reconcile cost recovery payments with landings data from
other sources, calculate average ex-vessel values, and, if necessary,
help in the resolution of non-payment issues. The addition of a
requirement to record electronic fish ticket numbers corresponding to
cost recovery payments will aid in this reconciliation process.
This program is authorized under the Pacific coast groundfish
fishery regulations, trawl rationalization cost recovery program at 50
CFR 660.115.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
Frequency: Monthly and annually.
Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: NMFS and the Pacific Fisheries Management Council
(Council) manage the groundfish fisheries in the exclusive economic
zone seaward of California, Oregon, and Washington under the Pacific
Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The Council prepared
the FMP under the authority of the MSA, 16
[[Page 23987]]
U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Regulations governing United States fisheries and
implementing the FMP appear at 50 CFR part 660.
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 0648-0663.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-07238 Filed 4-4-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
