[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 2, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7861-7862]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-02165]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Southeast Region Logbook 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 August 19, 2020, during a 60-day comment period. 
This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.

[[Page 7862]]

    Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.
    Title: Southeast Region Logbook Family of Forms.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0016.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular submission--extension and revision of a 
current information collection.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 6,971.
    Estimated Time per Response: Annual fixed-cost report, 45 minutes; 
Colombian fishery logbook, 18 minutes; discard logbook, 15 minutes; 
headboat, charter vessel, golden crab, reef fish-mackerel, economic 
cost per trip, wreckfish, and shrimp logbooks, 10 minutes; no-fishing 
report for golden crab, reef fish-mackerel, charter vessels, wreckfish 
and Colombian fisheries, 2 minutes; installation of a vessel monitoring 
unit, 5 hours; landing location request and power-down exemption 
request, 5 minutes; trip declaration, 2 minutes; and the proposed 
intercept survey, 15 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 69,165.
    Needs and Uses: This request is for an extension and revision of a 
current information collection.
    Participants in most federally managed fisheries in the NMFS 
Southeast Region are currently required to keep and submit catch and 
effort logbooks from their fishing trips. A subset of fishermen on 
these vessels also provide information on the species and quantities of 
fish, shellfish, marine turtles, and marine mammals that are caught and 
discarded or have interacted with the fishing gear. A subset of 
fishermen on these vessels also provide information about dockside fish 
and fuel prices, trip operating costs, and annual fixed costs.
    The data are used for scientific analyses that support critical 
conservation and management decisions made by national and 
international fishery management organizations. Interaction reports are 
needed for fishery management planning and to help protect endangered 
species and marine mammals. Price and cost data will be used in 
analyses of the economic effects of existing and proposed regulations.
    A final rule that implements requirements under the authority of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act) will require a vessel owner or operator with a Federal 
charter vessel/headboat permit for Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) reef fish or 
Gulf coastal migratory pelagic (CMP) species to submit an electronic 
fishing report (also referred to as an electronic logbook) for each 
fishing trip (85 FR 44005, July 21, 2020). NMFS is designing and plans 
to implement an intercept survey in 2021 to support and validate the 
electronic logbooks submitted for the Gulf for-hire reporting program. 
These survey data are required to carry out provisions of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), as amended, regarding 
conservation and management of fishery resources.
    The survey would intercept captains (respondents) of Gulf 
federally-permitted charter vessels and headboats (for-hire vessels) in 
the aforementioned fisheries at verified landing locations that are 
randomly selected in Gulf counties to obtain information after fishing 
activity for each trip has occurred. The intercept survey is not a 
census of all electronically reported logbooks but instead would use a 
stratified random sampling protocol to select landing locations for 
port samplers to gather a representative sample. Respondents would be 
asked about vessel information, time and type of fishing, the number of 
anglers, and details of catch. Catch information would include species 
identification, number of fish, and disposition (i.e., fish kept and 
released). Length and weight measurements of species retained on 
fishing trips may also be collected if circumstances allow.
    The purpose of the intercept survey is to validate the electronic 
logbooks submitted through the Gulf for-hire reporting program, the 
information collection for which are approved under OMB Control Number 
0648-0016. The data collected from the intercept survey would be used 
to estimate non-reporting of fishing trips and reporting errors. Data 
from the intercept survey would be analyzed through statistical methods 
to provide accurate estimates of the total catch and effort. Without 
the intercept survey, the electronic logbook results would be left 
unchecked and could be erroneous due to no adjustments for non-
reporting and misreporting. Erroneous fisheries information could 
mislead management and lead to inappropriate or unnecessary regulations 
or lead to lack thereof when needed.
    The total for-hire catch and effort estimates obtained from the 
intercept survey, as well as from the Gulf for-hire reporting program 
are intended to be used on an ongoing basis by NMFS, regional fishery 
management councils, interstate marine fisheries commissions, and state 
natural resource management agencies to develop, implement, and monitor 
fishery management programs, per statutory requirements of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act. Catch and effort statistics are fundamental for 
assessing the influence of fishing on any fish stock. Accurate 
estimates of the quantities taken, fishing effort, and both the 
seasonal and geographic distributions of the catch and effort are 
required for the development of regional management plans and policies.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit organizations; 
individuals.
    Frequency: Annual, periodic, and as needed.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: 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 0648-0016.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2021-02165 Filed 2-1-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P