17458 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 58 / Monday, March 26, 2012 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Proposed Information Collection; 

Comment Request; Observer 

Programs’ Information that Can Be 

Gathered Only Through Questions 

AGENCY: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Commerce, as part of its continuing 

effort to reduce paperwork and 

respondent burden, invites the general 

public and other Federal agencies to 

take this opportunity to comment on 

proposed and/or continuing information 

collections, as required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before May 25, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 

Paperwork Clearance Officer, 

Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 

14th and Constitution Avenue NW., 

Washington, DC 20230 (or via the 

Internet at JJessup@doc.gov). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the information collection 

instrument and instructions should be 

directed to Chris Rilling, (301) 427– 

8168, (Chris.Rilling@noaa.gov). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

The National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

National Marine Fisheries Service 

(NMFS) deploys fishery observers on 

United States (U.S.) commercial fishing 

vessels and to fish processing plants in 

order to collect biological and economic 

data. NMFS has at least one observer 

program in each of its six Regions. 

These observer programs provide the 

most reliable and effective method for 

obtaining information that is critical for 

the conservation and management of 

living marine resources. Observer 

programs primarily obtain information 

through direct observations by 

employees or agents of NMFS; and such 

observations are not subject to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). 

However, observer programs also collect 

the following information that requires 

clearance under the PRA: (1) 

Standardized questions of fishing vessel 

captains/crew or fish processing plant 

managers/staff, which include gear and 

performance questions, safety questions, 

and trip costs, crew size and other 

economic questions; (2) questions asked 

by observer program staff/contractors to 

plan observer deployments; (3) forms 

that are completed by observers and that 

fishing vessel captains are asked to 

review and sign; (4) questionnaires to 

evaluate observer performance; and (5) 

a form to certify that a fisherman is the 

permit holder when requesting observer 

data from the observer on the vessel. 

NMFS seeks to renew OMB PRA 

clearance for these information 

collections. 

The information collected will be 

used to: (1) Monitor catch and bycatch 

in federally-managed commercial 

fisheries; (2) understand the population 

status and trends of fish stocks and 

protected species, as well as the 

interactions between them; (3) 

determine the quantity and distribution 

of net benefits derived from living 

marine resources; (4) predict the 

biological, ecological, and economic 

impacts of existing management action 

and proposed management options; and 

(5) ensure that the observer programs 

can safely and efficiently collect the 

information required for the previous 

four uses. In particular, these biological 

and economic data collection programs 

contribute to legally mandated analyses 

required under the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (MSA), the Endangered Species Act 

(ESA), the Marine Mammal Protection 

Act (MMPA), the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 

Executive Order 12866 (EO 12866), as 

well as a variety of state statutes. The 

confidentiality of the data will be 

protected as required by the MSA, 

Section 402(b). 

II. Method of Collection 

The information will be collected by 

(1) NMFS observers while they are 

deployed on a vessel to observe a 

particular fishing trip; questions will be 

asked in-person to the captain, crew 

and/or owner (if on board the vessel) 

during the course of the observed trip; 

(2) via mail through a follow up surveys 

of economic information not available 

during the trip; (3) via telephone or mail 

survey by the observer program staff or 

contractor planning to deploy observers; 

or (4) via feedback questionnaires 

mailed to the vessel owners or captains 

to evaluate observer performance. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 0648–0593. 

Form Number: None. 

Type of Review: Regular submission 

(extension of a currently approved 

information collection). 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

20,643. 

Estimated Time per Response: 51 

minutes. Information will be collected 

for observed fishing trips and 

deployments to fish processing plants; 

therefore, there will be multiple 

responses for some respondents, but 

counted as one response per trip or 

plant visit. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 26,172. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost to 

Public: $1,160. 

IV. Request for Comments 

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether 

the proposed collection of information 

is necessary for the proper performance 

of the functions of the agency, including 

whether the information shall have 

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the burden 

(including hours and cost) of the 

proposed collection of information; (c) 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 

on respondents, including through the 

use of automated collection techniques 

or other forms of information 

technology. 

Comments submitted in response to 

this notice will be summarized and/or 

included in the request for OMB 

approval of this information collection; 

they also will become a matter of public 

record. 

Dated: March 21, 2012. 

Gwellnar Banks, 

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7211 Filed 3–23–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XB110 

Marine Mammals; File No. 17159 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

Simon Nash, Parthenon Entertainment 

Ltd, 34 Whiteladies Road, Bristol, BS8 

2LG, United Kingdom, has applied in 

due form for a permit to conduct 

commercial or educational photography 


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