Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Alaska Region Logbook and Activity Family of Forms, 31734-31735 [2024-08912]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 81 (Thursday, April 25, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31734-31735]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08912]


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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; Alaska Region Logbook and Activity Family of Forms

    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 December 5, 2023 (88 FR 84305), during a 60-day 
comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public 
comments.

[[Page 31735]]

    Agency: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.
    Title: Alaska Region Logbook and Activity Family of Forms.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0213.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular submission (extension of a current 
information collection).
    Number of Respondents: 255.
    Average Hours per Response: Catcher Vessel Trawl DFL: 18 minutes; 
Catcher Vessel Longline/Pot DFL: 35 minutes; Catcher/Processor 
Longline/Pot DCPL: 50 minutes; Shoreside Processor Check-in/Check-out 
Report: 5 minutes; Mothership Check-in/Check-out Report: 7 minutes; 
Product Transfer Report: 20 minutes; Vessel Activity Report: 14 
minutes.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 12,386 hours.
    Needs and Uses: The National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska 
Region (NMFS AKR), is requesting renewal of this currently approved 
information collection that consists of paper logbooks and reports used 
for management of the groundfish fisheries in the Bering Sea and 
Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI) and the Gulf of Alaska, 
management of the Individual Fishing Quota halibut and sablefish 
fisheries, and management of the BSAI Crab Rationalization Program crab 
fisheries.
    One change has been made to this information collection. The text 
for one data field on the Product Transfer Report form has been 
clarified to include that it collects the shipper's Federal Processor 
Permit number. This change is necessary to make the form consistent 
with the form's instructions and with 50 CFR 679.5(g)(4)(ii), which 
requires the shipper's Federal Fisheries Permit number or Federal 
Processor Permit number to be included on the report. This does not 
change the respondents, responses, or burden for this report.
    NMFS AKR manages the groundfish and crab fisheries in the exclusive 
economic zone (EEZ) of the BSAI and the groundfish fisheries of the 
Gulf of Alaska under fishery management plans (FMPs) for the respective 
areas. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council prepared, and NMFS 
approved, the FMPs under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Regulations 
implementing the FMPs appear at 50 CFR parts 679 and 680. Regulations 
for the logbooks and reports in this information collection are at 50 
CFR 679.5.
    The information collected through the paper logbooks and reports 
promotes the goals and objectives of the FMPs, the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and other applicable laws. The 
collection of reliable data is essential to the effective conservation, 
management, and scientific understanding of the fishery resources.
    Collecting information from fishery participants is necessary to 
promote successful management of groundfish, crab, Pacific halibut, and 
salmon resources. A comprehensive information system that identifies 
the participants and monitors their fishing activity is necessary to 
enforce the management measures and prevent overfishing. An information 
system is also needed to measure the consequences of management 
controls. This collection supports an effective monitoring and 
enforcement system with information that includes identification of the 
participating vessels, operators, dealers, and processors; location of 
the fishing activity; timeframes when fishing and processing is 
occurring; and shipment and transfer of fishing products.
    Shoreside processors, stationary floating processors, and 
motherships receiving EEZ-caught fish and all vessels of the United 
States harvesting EEZ fish are required to hold a Federal permit and 
thus comply with reporting requirements per CFR 679.5. The data 
collected are used for making in-season and inter-season management 
decisions that affect the groundfish resources and the fishing industry 
that uses them.
    This information collection contains four components: Paper 
logbooks, vessel activity reports, check-in/check-out reports, and 
product transfer reports. Daily logbooks provide data about the 
location and timing of fishing effort, as well as discard information 
of prohibited species. NOAA Office for Law Enforcement (OLE) and the 
United States Coast Guard (USCG) use logbook information during vessel 
boarding and site visits to ensure conservation of groundfish, 
compliance with regulations, and reporting accuracy by the fishing 
industry. The logbooks are also an important source of information for 
NMFS to determine where and when fishing activity occurs and the number 
of sets and hauls.
    Vessel activity reports provide information about fish or fish 
product on board a vessel when it crosses the boundary of the EEZ off 
Alaska or crosses the U.S.--Canada international boundary between 
Alaska and British Columbia. NOAA OLE and USCG boarding officers use 
this information to audit and separate product inventory when boarding 
a vessel. Check-in/check-out reports provide information on 
participation by processors and motherships in the groundfish 
fisheries. The check-in/check-out information is used by NMFS in-season 
managers to monitor the fishing capacity and effort in fishery 
allocations and quotas. Additionally, NOAA OLE agents use this 
information to track commercial business activity and ensure accurate 
accountability and proper reporting is being performed.
    Product transfer reports provide information on the volume of 
groundfish disposed of by persons buying it from the harvesters. The 
product transfer report is an important enforcement document and 
provides an important check on buyer purchase reports. Information 
collected on product transfer reports is used by NOAA OLE to verify the 
accuracy of reported shipments through physical inspections. NOAA OLE 
uses the product transfer report to monitor movement of product in and 
out of the processor on a timely basis.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit organizations.
    Frequency: Quarterly; On Occasion; Daily.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    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 entering either the title of the collection or the OMB 
Control Number 0648-0213.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-08912 Filed 4-24-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P