Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 27, 2023 / Notices 89383 

TABLE 3—STANDARD EX-VESSEL PRICES FOR HALIBUT IFQ, HALIBUT CDQ, SABLEFISH IFQ, AND SABLEFISH ACCRUING

AGAINST THE FIXED GEAR SABLEFISH CDQ RESERVE FOR THE 2024 OBSERVER FEE

[Based on 2023 IFQ buyer reports] 

Species Port/area 1 Price 2

Halibut (200) ............................................................................... Craig ........................................................................................... $6.16 

Halibut (200) ............................................................................... Ketchikan .................................................................................... 6.60 

Halibut (200) ............................................................................... Petersburg .................................................................................. 5.97 

Halibut (200) ............................................................................... SEAK .......................................................................................... 6.05 

Halibut (200) ............................................................................... EGOAxSE ................................................................................... 5.75 

Halibut (200) ............................................................................... Homer ......................................................................................... 5.73 

Halibut (200) ............................................................................... Kodiak ......................................................................................... 5.34 

Halibut (200) ............................................................................... Seward ....................................................................................... 5.89 

Halibut (200) ............................................................................... CGOA ......................................................................................... 5.62 

Halibut (200) ............................................................................... GOA ............................................................................................ 5.81 

Halibut (200) ............................................................................... BS ............................................................................................... 5.25 

Halibut (200) ............................................................................... BSAI ........................................................................................... 5.25 

Halibut (200) ............................................................................... AK ............................................................................................... 5.73 

Halibut (200) ............................................................................... ALL ............................................................................................. 5.73 

Sablefish (710) ........................................................................... SEAK .......................................................................................... 2.36 

Sablefish (710) ........................................................................... EGOAxSE ................................................................................... 1.81 

Sablefish (710) ........................................................................... Homer ......................................................................................... 2.44 

Sablefish (710) ........................................................................... Kodiak ......................................................................................... 1.62 

Sablefish (710) ........................................................................... Seward ....................................................................................... 1.55 

Sablefish (710) ........................................................................... CGOA ......................................................................................... 1.61 

Sablefish (710) ........................................................................... GOA ............................................................................................ 1.87 

Sablefish (710) ........................................................................... AK ............................................................................................... 1.78 

Sablefish (710) ........................................................................... ALL ............................................................................................. 1.78 

1 Regulatory areas are defined at § 679.2. (AK = Alaska; ALL = all ports including those outside Alaska; BS = Bering Sea subarea; CGOA = 

Central Gulf of Alaska; EGOAxSE = Eastern Gulf of Alaska except Southeast Alaska; SEAK = Southeast Alaska; WGOA = Western Gulf of Alaska) 2 If a price is listed for the species and port combination, that price will be applied to the round weight equivalent for sablefish landings and the 

headed and gutted weight equivalent for halibut landings. If no price is listed for the port, use port group. 

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

Dated: December 21, 2023. 

Everett Wayne Baxter, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–28567 Filed 12–26–23; 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 Financial Assistance 

Performance Progress Reports 

AGENCY: National Oceanic & 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of information collection, 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Commerce, in accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA), invites 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. This notice pertains to 

a revision and extension of the 

approved collection of information for 

NOAA Financial Assistance 

Performance Progress Reports. The 

purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 

days of public comment preceding 

submission of the collection to OMB. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, 

comments regarding this proposed 

information collection must be received 

on or before February 26, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments to 

Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer, 

at NOAA.PRA@noaa.gov. Please 

reference OMB Control Number 0648– 

0718 in the subject line of your 

comments. Do not submit Confidential 

Business Information or otherwise 

sensitive or protected information. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

specific questions related to collection 

activities should be directed to Tom 

Barry, Federal Program Officer, NOAA 

Marine Debris Program, 1305 East-West 

Highway, Office of Response and 

Restoration, SSMC4, Rm. 10239, N/ 

ORR5, Silver Spring, MD 20910, (202) 

870–2863, and tom.barry@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

This is a request for revision and 

extension to an approved collection of 

information under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., 

and implementing regulations at 5 CFR 

part 1320. This previously-approved 

information collection assists NOAA in 

the administration and evaluation of 

financial assistance awards made by the 

NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP), 

NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program 

(CRCP), and the NOAA Restoration 

Center (RC). 

The revision, which is described in 

more detail below, is only applicable for 

the NOAA MDP financial assistance 

awards, and previous information 

collections for NOAA Coral Reef 

Conservation Program (CRCP) and 

NOAA Restoration Center (RC) remain 

unchanged. There are no changes to the 

NOAA CRCP or NOAA RC forms that 

were previously approved, including 

the RC Progress Reports (Initial, SemiAnnual, and Final), RC Administrative 

Progress Reports (Initial, Semi-Annual, 

and Final), and CRCP Semi-Annual 

Reports. However, the extension applies 

to the entire previously-approved 

information collection. 

Every year, the NOAA MDP, the 

NOAA CRCP, and the NOAA RC each 

support a variety of initiatives specific 

to their individual authorizations and 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
89384 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 27, 2023 / Notices 

programmatic mandates. This support is 

made substantially through grants and 

cooperative agreements, the terms and 

conditions of which require regular 

progress reporting and communication 

of project accomplishments to the 

agency. This information collection 

identifies what is to be provided in 

these reports, and aims to assist 

recipients in fulfilling their 

responsibilities in meeting interim and 

final progress report requirements. This 

information is also necessary for NOAA 

to effectively oversee the expenditure of 

public funds awarded through these 

programs, to ensure both costeffectiveness and programmatic goals 

are met. 

The NOAA RC provides technical and 

financial assistance to identify, develop, 

implement, and evaluate communitydriven habitat restoration projects. 

Awards are made as grants or 

cooperative agreements under the 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act of 2006, 16 U.S.C. 1891a and the 

Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, 16 

U.S.C. 661, as amended by the 

Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970. 

The NOAA CRCP operates under 

authorization from the Coral Reef 

Conservation Act of 2000, 16 U.S.C. 

6401 et seq. This act authorizes the 

NOAA CRCP to conserve and restore the 

condition of United States coral reef 

ecosystems; to promote the sciencebased management and sustainable use 

of coral reef ecosystems to benefit local 

communities and the Nation; to develop 

sound scientific information on the 

condition of coral reef ecosystems and 

the threats to such ecosystems; to assist 

in the preservation of coral reefs by 

supporting science-based, consensusdriven, and community-based coral reef 

management; to provide financial 

resources, technical assistance, and 

scientific expertise; to establish a formal 

mechanism for the collecting and 

allocating of monetary donations from 

the private sector to be used for coral 

reef conservation projects; to support 

rapid response to exigent circumstances 

that pose immediate and long-term 

threats to coral reefs; and to serve as a 

model for advancing international 

efforts to monitor, conserve, and restoral 

coral reef ecosystems. 

The NOAA MDP supports national 

and international efforts to research, 

prevent, and reduce the impacts of 

marine debris. The NOAA MDP is a 

centralized office within NOAA that 

coordinates and supports activities, both 

within the bureau and with other 

federal agencies that address marine 

debris and its impacts. In addition to 

inter-agency coordination, NOAA MDP 

uses partnerships with state and local 

agencies, tribes, non-governmental 

organizations, academia, and industry to 

investigate and solve the problems that 

stem from marine debris through 

removal, research, prevention, and 

assessment activities, in order to protect 

and conserve our nation’s marine 

environment and coastal economies, 

and to ensure navigation safety. In large 

part, these partnerships are made 

through grants, cooperative agreements, 

contracts, MOUs or are simply informal 

technical assistance arrangements. 

The Marine Debris Research, 

Prevention, and Reduction Act 

authorizes NOAA MDP to enter into 

cooperative agreements and contracts 

and provide financial assistance in the 

form of grants to carry out the purposes 

of the Act—namely to identify, 

determine sources of, assess, reduce, 

and prevent marine debris and its 

adverse impacts on the marine 

environment and navigation safety. 33 

U.S.C. 1951, 1952. To date, both 

competitive and non-competitive 

funding opportunities have been 

implemented by NOAA MDP to provide 

federal funding to non-federal 

applicants for activities to carry out the 

purposes of the Act. 

The terms and conditions of MDP 

grants and cooperative agreements 

require regular progress reporting and 

communication of project 

accomplishments to the agency. Grant 

reporting is necessary for NOAA to 

effectively oversee the expenditure of 

public funds, and to ensure both the 

cost-effectiveness of funded projects and 

that programmatic goals are met. 

This information collection revision 

clarifies agency reporting requirements, 

and aims to assist recipients in fulfilling 

their federal grant responsibilities. 

NOAA MDP proposes to revise and 

clarify grant performance progress 

report (PPR) instructions and add a table 

to the PPR that will be used for 

recipients whose activities span 

multiple states. NOAA MDP proposes to 

add the collection of performance 

measure information in a spreadsheet 

that captures required project metrics at 

a finer geographic resolution than 

would otherwise be possible using the 

PPR. NOAA MDP also proposes 

collection of additional metrics related 

to certain activities from large marine 

debris removals and pre- and postremoval habitat monitoring for grantees 

who perform these activities as part of 

their NOAA MDP award. The additional 

collection of project-level data, 

including project-level location and 

implementation data, aligns with the 

guidance provided in Memorandum M– 

22–12, Advancing Effective Stewardship 

of Taxpayer Resources and Outcomes in 

the Implementation of the Infrastructure 

Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in order 

to ensure robust and transparent 

reporting of IIJA investments. 

II. Method of Collection 

The information will be collected 

electronically. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 0648–0718. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Review: Regular submission. 

Revision and extension of a currently 

approved information collection. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households; Business or other for-profit 

organizations; Not-for-profit 

institutions; State, Local, or Tribal 

government. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

645. 

Estimated Time per Response: MDP 

Performance Progress Report: 8 hours; 

MDP Performance Progress Report 

Table: 0.25 hours; MDP Companion 

Tracker: 1 hour; MDP Additional 

Metrics Trackers: 3 hours; CRCP SemiAnnual Reports: 10 hours; RC Progress 

Report: Initial—9.5 hours; SemiAnnual—5.5 hours; and Final—9.75 

hours; RC Administrative Progress 

Reports: Initial—6 hours; SemiAnnual—2.75 hours; and Final—5.5 

hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 4,800. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost to 

Public: 0. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Required to 

Obtain or Retain Benefits. 

Legal Authority: The Marine Debris 

Research, Prevention, and Reduction 

Act (33 U.S.C. 1951 et seq.) as amended 

by the Marine Debris Act Amendments 

of 2012 (Pub. L. 112–213, Title VI, Sec. 

603, 126 Stat. 1576, December 20, 2012), 

Save Our Seas Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115– 

265), and Save Our Seas 2.0 Act of 2020 

(Pub. L. 116–224); Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act of 2006, 16 U.S.C. 1891a and the 

Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, 16 

U.S.C. 661, as amended by the 

Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970; Coral 

Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (16 

U.S.C. 6401 et seq.). 

IV. Request for Comments 

We are soliciting public comments to 

permit the Department/Bureau to: (a) 

Evaluate whether the proposed 

information collection is necessary for 

the proper functions of the Department, 

including whether the information will 

have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the 

accuracy of our estimate of the time and 

cost burden for this proposed collection, 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 27, 2023 / Notices 89385 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; (c) 

Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and (d) Minimize the 

reporting burden on those who are to 

respond, including the use of automated 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology. 

Comments that you submit in 

response to this notice are a matter of 

public record. We will include or 

summarize each comment in our request 

to OMB to approve this ICR. Before 

including your address, phone number, 

email address, or other personal 

identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you may ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, 

Commerce Department. 

[FR Doc. 2023–28503 Filed 12–26–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–JS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD605] 

Notice of Availability of Draft 

Environmental Assessment on the 

Effects of Permitting Translocation of 

Sturgeon for Scientific Research and 

Enhancement Under the of the 

Endangered Species Act 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of a draft 

environmental assessment; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NOAA has prepared a draft 

programmatic environmental 

assessment (PEA) under the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA) analyzing the environmental 

impacts of the NMFS, Office of 

Protected Resources’ proposal to 

authorize directed take under the 

sturgeon Endangered Species Act (ESA) 

permitting program for the translocation 

of shortnose (Acipenser brevirostrum) 

and Atlantic (A. oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) 

sturgeon needed to achieve recovery 

objectives. We are making the draft PEA 

available to the public for review and 

comment. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before January 26, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: The draft PEA may be 

downloaded or viewed at: https:// 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/draftenvironmental-assessment-permittingtranslocation-sturgeon-scientificresearch-and. Please submit public 

comments via email to 

NMFS.Pr1Comments@noaa.gov with the 

subject line ‘‘Public Comment on Draft 

PEA for Permitting Sturgeon 

Translocation’’. No business proprietary 

information, copyrighted information, 

or personally identifiable information 

should be submitted in response to this 

request. Please be aware that comments 

submitted may be posted on a Federal 

website or otherwise released publicly. 

Clearly indicate which section, page 

number, and line number, if applicable, 

submitted comments pertain to. All 

comments must be provided in English. 

Please note that the U.S. Government 

will not pay for response preparation, or 

for the use of any information contained 

in the response. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin 

Markin, Ph.D., erin.markin@noaa.gov, 

(301) 427–8416; Malcolm Mohead,

malcolm.mohead@noaa.gov, (301) 427–

8427.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This draft

PEA serves as a framework to analyze

the potential impacts on the natural and

human environments for the

authorization of directed take of

sturgeon by translocation, in scientific

research or enhancement permits under

section 10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA, to

achieve recovery objectives. For the

purposes of the sturgeon permitting

program, translocation is the intentional

capture, holding, handling, transport,

and release of individuals within a river

system (e.g., translocation of fish across

a dam or fish passage) or between river

systems within the U.S. historical range

of Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon (i.e.,

Maine to Florida). NMFS proposes to

authorize directed take for the

translocation of ESA-listed Atlantic and

shortnose sturgeon as a research or

enhancement activity to support

sturgeon conservation management and

recovery objectives. NMFS proposes to

authorize translocation concurrent with

additional research or enhancement

activities, if the research or

enhancement activity’s objectives are (1)

stated as a term and condition to

implement reasonable and prudent

measures of an active biological

opinion, (2) an identified objective in a

NMFS recovery outline or recovery plan

for the species, or (3) determined

necessary by NMFS Regional Offices 

and the NMFS Office of Protected 

Resources (OPR) to recover the species. 

Programmatic NEPA reviews add value 

and efficiency to the decision making 

process when they inform the scope of 

decisions and subsequent tiered NEPA 

reviews. Therefore, NMFS decided that 

completing a PEA for the proposed 

action was appropriate. 

This document has been prepared in 

compliance with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321, 

et seq.), the 2020 Council on 

Environmental Quality (CEQ) 

Regulations (40 CFR 1500–1508) as 

modified by the Phase 1 2022 revisions, 

and NOAA policy and procedures 

(NOAA Administrative Order 216–6A 

(NAO 216–6A and its Companion 

Manual). 

Dated: December 21, 2023. 

Amy Sloan, 

Acting Chief, Permits and Conservation 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–28505 Filed 12–26–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD544] 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to the Parallel 

Thimble Shoal Tunnel Project, Virginia 

Beach, Virginia 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; proposed incidental 

harassment authorization; request for 

comments on proposed authorization 

and possible renewal. 

SUMMARY: NMFS has received a request 

from the Chesapeake Tunnel Joint 

Venture (CTJV) for authorization to take 

marine mammals incidental to the 

Parallel Thimble Shoal Tunnel Project 

(PTST) in Virginia Beach, Virginia. 

Pursuant to the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is 

requesting comments on its proposal to 

issue an incidental harassment 

authorization (IHA) to incidentally take 

marine mammals during the specified 

activities. NMFS is also requesting 

comments on a possible one-time, 1- 

year renewal that could be issued under 

certain circumstances and if all 

requirements are met, as described in 

Request for Public Comments at the end 

of this notice. NMFS will consider 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1