Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 193 / Friday, October 6, 2023 / Notices 69621 

on one of NOAA Ocean Exploration’s 

expeditions. 

The first forms described above will 

include minor revisions, and the fifth 

form is a new addition. The Sailing 

Contact Information form will be 

revised to include updated 

informational attachments (e.g., links to 

updated COVID guidance, medical 

clearance, underwater cultural heritage 

protocols) and updated expedition 

names and dates for a given calendar 

year. The Okeanos Explorer 

Participation Assessment will be revised 

to replace some technical/scientific 

questions with questions that relate to 

communication, leadership, and 

workplace climate. The EX 

Collaboration Tools form will be revised 

to include updated informational 

attachments (e.g., underwater cultural 

heritage protocols) and updated 

expedition names and dates for a 

calendar year. The Citizen Scientist 

form will be updated for expedition 

names and dates for a calendar year. 

Affected Public: Targeted towards the 

greater ocean exploration community; 

Individuals or households; business or 

other for-profit organizations; not-forprofit institutions; Federal government. 

Frequency: EX Collaboration Tools 

Feedback: annually; all other forms are 

on occasion. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Sailing 

Contact Information: Required to obtain 

or retain benefits; all other forms are 

voluntary. 

Legal Authority: Public Law 111–11 

[Section XII Ocean Exploration]. 

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 0648–0748. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, 

Commerce Department. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22320 Filed 10–5–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–KD–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD371] 

Pacific Islands Pelagic Fisheries; 

American Samoa Longline Limited 

Entry Program 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; availability of permits. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that 25 

American Samoa pelagic longline 

limited entry permits in 2 permit size 

classes are available for 2023. NMFS is 

accepting applications for these 

available permits. 

DATES: NMFS must receive complete 

permit applications including payment 

by February 5, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Download a blank 

application from the NOAA Fisheries 

website: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/ 

permit/american-samoa-longlinelimited-entry-permit. Submit your 

application and pay the processing fee 

electronically per instructions at https:// 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/pacific-islands/ 

commercial-fishing/apply-pacificislands-fishing-permit. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Walter Ikehara, NMFS Pacific Islands 

Regional Office (PIRO), Sustainable 

Fisheries, tel 808–725–5175 or email 

PIRO-permits@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Federal 

regulations at 50 CFR 665.816 allow 

NMFS to re-issue permits for the 

American Samoa pelagic longline 

limited entry program if the number of 

permits falls below the maximum 

allowed. At least 25 permits are 

available for issuance in the following 

permit size classes, as follows: 

• 17 in Small (vessels up to 50 feet or

15.24 meters in overall length); and 

• 8 in Large (vessels overall length 50

feet or 15.24 meters and longer). 

Please note that the number of 

available permits may change before the 

application period closes. Applicants 

must specify the permit size class (one 

only) for which they are applying on the 

application form. 

If there are more applications than 

available permits in a particular size 

class, the Regional Administrator shall 

issue permits to persons according to 

the following priority standard: 

(i) Priority accrues to the person with

the earliest documented participation in 

the pelagic longline fishery in the 

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) around 

American Samoa from smallest to 

largest vessel; and 

(ii) In the event of a tie in the priority

ranking between two or more 

applicants, the applicant whose second 

documented participation in the pelagic 

longline fishery in the EEZ around 

American Samoa is first in time will be 

ranked first in priority. If there is still 

a tie between two or more applicants, 

the Regional Administrator will select 

the successful applicant by an impartial 

lottery. 

NMFS will only consider complete 

applications, which must include the 

completed and signed application form, 

copy of current United States Coast 

Guard Certificate of Documentation or 

state or territory vessel registration, 

evidence of documented participation 

in the fishery if needed for 

prioritization, and non-refundable 

payment of the application processing 

fee. Incomplete applications may be 

abandoned 30 days after receipt if 

deficiencies are not addressed. 

Documented participation means 

participation proved by, but not 

necessarily limited to, a properly 

submitted NMFS or American Samoa 

logbook, an American Samoa creel 

survey record, a delivery or payment 

record from an American Samoa-based 

cannery, retailer or wholesaler, an 

American Samoa tax record, an 

individual wage record, ownership title, 

vessel registration, or other official 

documents showing: 

(i) Ownership of a vessel that was

used to fish in the EEZ around 

American Samoa; or 

(ii) Evidence of work on a fishing trip

during which longline gear was used to 

harvest western Pacific pelagic 

management unit species in the EEZ 

around American Samoa. If the 

applicant does not possess the necessary 

documentation of evidence of work on 

a fishing trip based on records available 

only from NMFS or the Government of 

American Samoa (e.g., creel survey 

record or logbook), the applicant may 

issue a request to PIRO to obtain such 

records from the appropriate agencies, if 

available. The applicant should provide 

sufficient information on the fishing trip 

to allow PIRO to retrieve the records. 

If an applicant requests NMFS, in 

writing, to use NMFS longline logbook 

data as evidence of documented 

participation, the applicant must specify 

the qualifying vessel, official number, 

and month and year of the logbook 

records. NMFS will not conduct an 

unlimited search for records. 

NMFS must receive applications by 

February 5, 2024 to be considered for a 

permit (see ADDRESSES). NMFS will not 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
69622 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 193 / Friday, October 6, 2023 / Notices 

accept applications received after that 

date. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. 

Dated: October 3, 2023. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22295 Filed 10–5–23; 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; Electronic Monitoring 

Systems for Atlantic Highly Migratory 

Species 

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 October 19, 

2022, during a 60-day comment period. 

This notice allows for an additional 30 

days for public comments. 

Agency: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

Title: Electronic Monitoring Systems 

for Atlantic Highly Migratory Species. 

OMB Control Number: 0648–0372. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Request: Regular. 

Number of Respondents: 132. 

Average Hours per Response: 4 hours 

for initial VMS installation; 5 minutes 

per VMS initial activation checklist; 2 

minutes per hail-out/hail-in declaration; 

6 hours for initial electronic monitoring 

installation; 1 hour for camera boom 

installation; 5 minutes for pelagic 

longline and greenstick bluefin tuna 

catch records; 1 minute for dockside 

review of bluefin tuna catch records; 1 

hour for electronic monitoring data 

retrieval. 

Burden Hours: 2,697. 

Needs and Uses: Vessel monitoring 

systems (VMS) and other electronic 

monitoring systems collect important 

information on fishing effort, catch, and 

the geographic location of fishing effort 

and catch for certain sectors of the 

Atlantic HMS fleet. Data collected 

through these systems are used in both 

domestic and international fisheries 

management, including for law 

enforcement, stock assessments, and 

quota management purposes. Atlantic 

HMS vessels required to use VMS are 

pelagic longline, bottom longline 

(directed shark permit holders in North 

Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia), 

and gillnet (directed shark permit 

holders consistent with the 

requirements of the Atlantic large whale 

take reduction plan requirements at 50 

CFR 229.39.(h)) vessels. In addition to 

VMS, pelagic longline vessels are also 

required to have electronic monitoring 

systems to monitor catch and account 

for bluefin tuna interactions, and, when 

appropriate, monitoring the harvest of 

shortfin mako sharks. 

NMFS Office of Law Enforcement 

monitors fleet adherence to gear- and 

time-area restrictions with VMS 

position location data. Gear restricted 

areas and time-area closures are 

important. Atlantic HMS management 

tools that have been implemented to 

reduce bycatch of juvenile swordfish, 

sea turtles, and bluefin tuna, among 

other species. Electronic monitoring 

data from the pelagic longline fleet are 

used by NMFS to accurately monitor 

bluefin tuna catch by the pelagic 

longline fleet, to ensure compliance 

with Individual Bluefin Quota (IBQ) 

limits and requirements, and to ensure 

that the Longline category bluefin tuna 

quota is not over-harvested. 

Additionally, electronic monitoring is 

used to verify disposition of retained 

shortfin mako sharks, when retention is 

allowed, consistent with binding 

international agreements. VMS 

reporting of bluefin tuna catch is used 

to monitor IBQ allocations in real-time. 

Atlantic HMS fisheries are managed 

under the dual authority of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(MSA) and the Atlantic Tunas 

Conservation Act (ATCA). Under the 

MSA, management measures must be 

consistent with the National Standards, 

and fisheries must be managed to 

maintain optimum yield, rebuild 

overfished fisheries, and prevent 

overfishing. Under ATCA, the Secretary 

of Commerce shall promulgate 

regulations, as necessary and 

appropriate, to implement measures 

adopted by the International 

Commission for the Conservation of 

Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). 

Affected Public: Businesses or other 

for-profit organizations (vessel owners). 

Frequency: VMS reports at the start 

and end of each trip; VMS set reports at 

the end of each day of fishing; EM data 

retrieval after every other trip, unless 

the hard drive is full after the first trip. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory. 

Legal Authority: Under the provisions 

of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act (16 

U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), the National Marine 

Fisheries Service (NMFS) is responsible 

for management of the Nation’s marine 

fisheries. NMFS must also promulgate 

regulations, as necessary and 

appropriate, to carry out obligations the 

United States (U.S.) undertakes 

internationally regarding tuna 

management through the Atlantic Tunas 

Convention Act (ATCA, 16 U.S.C. 971 et 

seq.). 

This information collection request 

may be viewed at reginfo.gov. Follow 

the instructions to view 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 0648–0372. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Under Secretary of Economic Affairs, 

Commerce Department. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22323 Filed 10–5–23; 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; NOAA Marine Fisheries 

Advisory Committee Survey on Marine 

Mammal Deterrents 

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 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1