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
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 193 / Friday, October 6, 2023 / Notices 69623 

1 (Raum-Suryan et al.) p. 1. 

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 June 23, 

2023 (88 FR 41081) 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: NOAA Marine Fisheries 

Advisory Committee Survey on Marine 

Mammal Deterrents. 

OMB Control Number: 0648–XXXX. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Request: New Information 

Collection. 

Number of Respondents: 15,000. 

Average Hours per Response: 5 

minutes. 

Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,250. 

Needs and Uses: This is a request for 

a new collection of information. 

A recent summary of a series of 

marine mammal deterrent workshops by 

NOAA Fisheries states, ‘‘under a recent 

proposed rule, NOAA Fisheries 

developed guidelines for deterring 

marine mammals under its jurisdiction, 

and recommended specific measures for 

species listed under the Endangered 

Species Act (ESA). The guidelines focus 

on how to safely use deterrents to avoid 

injuring or killing marine mammals. 

However, evaluation of the efficacy of 

each deterrent was beyond the scope of 

the rulemaking process, and available 

data on deterrent effectiveness is 

lacking.’’ 1

Consequently, the Protected 

Resources Subcommittee of the Marine 

Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC) 

was asked to help NOAA Fisheries 

narrow down the scope for assessing the 

effectiveness of the marine mammal 

deterrents listed in the proposed 

guidelines and create a decision-making 

process to prioritize areas to begin 

characterizing the effectiveness. To 

achieve this, the Subcommittee plans to 

rank relative risk of expected losses 

from interactions with marine mammals 

by various user groups nationwide, 

which will identify where the biggest 

impacts of marine mammals are likely 

to be occurring. The information for the 

relative risk and expected loss analysis 

will be generated through a survey of 

five user groups (commercial fishermen, 

recreational fishermen, tribal fishermen 

(inclusive of tribal nations and other 

coastal indigenous populations), 

aquaculture operators, and waterfront 

property managers (e.g. harbormasters 

and harbor facility assistants)). 

Affected Public: Individuals/ 

Households, Private Sector, State, Local, 

or Tribal Government. 

Frequency: One-time use. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

Legal Authority: The Secretary of 

Commerce approved the establishment 

of the Marine Fisheries Advisory 

Committee (MAFAC or Committee) on 

December 28, 1970. The Committee was 

initially chartered on February 17, 1971, 

and has been renewed periodically 

under the Federal Advisory Committee 

Act, as amended (FACA), 5 U.S.C., App. 

It has been determined the Committee’s 

continuance is in the public interest in 

accordance with the duties and the laws 

imposed on the Department. The 

Committee advises the Secretary of 

Commerce (Secretary) on all living 

marine resource matters that are the 

responsibility of the Department of 

Commerce. Specifically, the Committee 

draws on the expertise of its members, 

its task forces, and other appropriate 

sources, such as the National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration’s 

(NOAA) National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), to evaluate and 

recommend priorities and needed 

changes in national program direction. 

Its objective is to ensure the Nation’s 

living marine resource policies and 

programs meet the needs of commercial 

and recreational fishermen, aquaculture 

activities, and environmental, 

consumer, academic, tribal, 

governmental, and other national 

interests. 

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 the title of the collection. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, 

Commerce Department. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22322 Filed 10–5–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD377] 

Taking and Importing Marine 

Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals 

Incidental to Geophysical Surveys 

Related to Oil and Gas Activities in the 

Gulf of Mexico 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of issuance of letter of 

authorization. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(MMPA), as amended, its implementing 

regulations, and NMFS’ MMPA 

Regulations for Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to Geophysical 

Surveys Related to Oil and Gas 

Activities in the Gulf of Mexico, 

notification is hereby given that a Letter 

of Authorization (LOA) has been issued 

to Cantium, LLC (Cantium) for the take 

of marine mammals incidental to 

geophysical survey activity in the Gulf 

of Mexico. 

DATES: The LOA is effective from 

October 1, 2023 through December 31, 

2023. 

ADDRESSES: The LOA, LOA request, and 

supporting documentation are available 

online at: https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/ 

incidental-take-authorization-oil-andgas-industry-geophysical-surveyactivity-gulf-mexico. In case of problems 

accessing these documents, please call 

the contact listed below (see FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Rachel Wachtendonk, Office of 

Protected Resources, NMFS, (301) 427– 

8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the 

MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) direct 

the Secretary of Commerce to allow, 

upon request, the incidental, but not 

intentional, taking of small numbers of 

marine mammals by U.S. citizens who 

engage in a specified activity (other than 

commercial fishing) within a specified 

geographical region if certain findings 

are made and either regulations are 

issued or, if the taking is limited to 

harassment, a notice of a proposed 

authorization is provided to the public 

for review. 

An authorization for incidental 

takings shall be granted if NMFS finds 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1