Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Commercial Operator's Annual Report (COAR), 52028 [2024-13583]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 120 (Friday, June 21, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 52028]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-13583]


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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; Commercial Operator's Annual Report (COAR)

    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 January 22, 2024, 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: Commercial Operator's Annual Report (COAR).
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0428.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular submission (extension of a current 
information collection).
    Number of Respondents: 57.
    Average Hours per Response: 8 hours.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 456 hours.
    Needs and Uses: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), 
Alaska Regional Office, is requesting renewal of the currently approved 
information collection for the Commercial Operator's Annual Report 
(COAR). No revisions were made to this collection.
    The COAR is a State of Alaska report that is required to be 
completed and submitted by direct marketers, catcher processors, 
catcher exporters, buyer exporters, shore-based processors, and 
floating processor permit holders pursuant to Alaska Administrative 
Code (5 AAC 39.130) and Federal regulations at 50 CFR 679. Under 50 CFR 
679.5(p), NMFS requires motherships and catcher processors that are 
issued a Federal fisheries permit to annually complete and submit the 
appropriate sections of the COAR.
    The COAR is used to gather statewide fish and shellfish information 
describing buying (ex-vessel) and production (wholesale or retail) 
activities. The information collected in the COAR is used to determine 
the value of Alaska's fisheries resources and products. NMFS uses the 
COAR database in annual Federal publications on the value of U.S. 
commercial fisheries, in the annual NMFS Stock Assessment and Fishery 
Evaluation reports for the groundfish fisheries of the Bering Sea and 
Aleutian Islands and the Gulf of Alaska, and in periodic reports that 
describe the fisheries and that serve as reference documents to 
management agencies, the industry, and others.
    The mothership and catcher processor data, when added to the COAR 
information collected from shoreside processors and stationary floating 
processors required under State of Alaska requirements, yield a 
complete data base of equivalent annual product value information for 
all respective processing sectors. The information also provides a 
consistent time series according to which groundfish resources may be 
managed more efficiently. Use of the information generated by the COAR 
is coordinated between NMFS and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game 
(ADF&G).
    The COAR must be submitted by April 1 to the ADF&G for the previous 
year's activity for all operations that are required to submit a COAR. 
NMFS requires the owner of a mothership or catcher processor to 
annually complete and submit the appropriate forms of the COAR, whether 
the processor operated that year or not. If no receipt or production 
took place for that year, the owner submits only the COAR certification 
page.
    The COAR requires submission of information on seafood purchasing, 
production, and both ex-vessel and wholesale values of seafood 
products. The buying information is reported by species, harvest area, 
area of purchase, condition of fisheries resources at the time of 
purchase, type of gear used in the harvest, pounds purchased, and ex-
vessel value. The ex-vessel value includes any post-season adjustments 
or bonuses paid after the fish was purchased. The production 
information is reported by species, area of processing, process type 
(e.g., frozen, canned, smoked), product type (e.g., fillets, surimi, 
sections), net weight of the processed product, and the first wholesale 
value.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit organizations.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
    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 0648-0428.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-13583 Filed 6-20-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P