4594 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 16 / Wednesday, January 24, 2024 / Notices 

8. Questions to reviewers 

9. Public comment 

10. Closing comments and adjourn 

The agenda order may change. The 

meeting will run as late as necessary to 

complete scheduled business. 

Special Accommodations 

This meeting is physically accessible 

to people with disabilities. Please direct 

requests for sign language interpretation 

or other auxiliary aids to Kitty M. 

Simonds, (808) 522–8220 (voice) or 

(808) 522–8226 (fax), at least 5 days 

prior to the meeting date. 

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

Dated: January 19, 2024. 

Rey Israel Marquez, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–01357 Filed 1–23–24; 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; Applications and Reports for 

Registration as a Tanner or Agent 

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. 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, written 

or on-line comments must be submitted 

on or before March 25, 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– 

0179 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 Requests 

for additional information or copies of 

the information collection instrument 

and instructions should be directed to 

Jerod Cook, Enforcement Officer, PO 

Box 1310 Petersburg, Alaska 99833 

(907) 772–2285; jerod.cook@noaa.gov or 

Robert Marvelle, Supervisory 

Enforcement Officer, PO Box 21767 

Juneau, Alaska 99802, (907) 586–9329; 

robert.marvelle@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

This is a request for extension of an 

approved information collection. The 

Marine Mammal Protection Act 

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

mandates the protection and 

conservation of marine mammals and 

makes the taking, killing or serious 

injury of marine mammals, except 

under permit or exemption, a violation 

of the Act. An exemption is provided for 

Alaskan natives to take marine 

mammals if the taking is for subsistence 

or for creating and selling authentic 

native articles of handicraft and 

clothing. Possession of marine mammals 

and marine mammal parts by other than 

Alaskan natives is therefore prohibited 

(exception, 50 CFR 216.26: beach found 

non-Endangered Species Act (ESA) 

teeth or bones that have been registered 

with NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS)). As native handicrafts 

are allowed by the MMPA to enter 

interstate commerce, an exemption is 

also needed to allow non-natives to 

handle the skins or other marine 

mammal produce, whether to tan the 

pinniped hide or to act as an agent for 

the native to sell his handicraft 

products. The information is necessary 

for law enforcement purposes to ensure 

that only Alaska Indians, Aleuts, or 

Eskimos are submitting marine mammal 

hides or parts for tanning. 

The information required by 50 CFR 

216.23 is of two types. Applications: 

Information is required to identify the 

applicant as a tanner/agent in order to 

preclude prosecution under the MMPA 

and to determine that he/she has an 

acceptable record keeping program to 

accurately account for those marine 

mammal products received. This 

information serves as a deterrent for 

those individuals who might use this 

registration program for entering 

prohibited marine mammal products 

into interstate commerce. Reports: 

Information is also needed annually to 

evaluate the agent/tanner’s activities 

during the year, and his/her procedures 

for bookkeeping and yearly inventory to 

assure NMFS, the Marine Mammal 

Commission, and the general public that 

prohibited marine mammal products 

were not being transshipped through 

registered agents. 

The reporting requirements are: report 

in writing to the Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries, NMFS, any 

changes in the facts stated in 

Registrant’s applications for this 

Certificate of Registration within 30 

days of such change; maintain current 

records of each transaction authorized 

stating the marine mammals or marine 

mammal parts or products involved, 

from whom received, any processing 

accomplished, to whom returned, and 

the date of each such transaction. These 

records shall be kept separate and apart 

from other records maintained in the 

ordinary course of business and shall be 

retrained for not less than three years; 

and annually, during the month of 

January, send certified copies of such 

records (annual report) to the Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries. 

II. Method of Collection 

Paper documentation is submitted to 

meet the requirements found at 50 CFR 

216.23(c). 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 0648–0179. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Review: Regular submission 

(extension of an existing information 

collection). 

Affected Public: Business or other for 

profit organizations. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

25. 

Estimated Time per Response: 2 hours 

for an application and 2 hours for a 

report. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 50. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost to 

Public: $150.00. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory. 

Legal Authority: Paper documentation 

is submitted to meet the requirements 

found at 50 CFR 216.23(c). 

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, 

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 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 16 / Wednesday, January 24, 2024 / Notices 4595 

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. 2024–01278 Filed 1–23–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XD671] 

Implementation of Fish and Fish 

Product Import Provisions of the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act— 

Notification of Issuance of 

Comparability Findings 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: Under the authority of the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act 

(MMPA), the NMFS Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries (Assistant 

Administrator) has issued comparability 

findings for the Government of New 

Zealand’s (GNZ) regulated fisheries: 

West Coast North Island multi-species 

set-net fishery, and West Coast North 

Island multi-species trawl fishery. 

NMFS bases the comparability findings 

on documentary evidence submitted by 

the GNZ and other relevant, readily 

available information. 

DATES: These comparability findings are 

valid from February 21,2024, through 

December 31, 2025, unless revoked or 

revised by the Assistant Administrator 

in a subsequent action. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kellie Foster-Taylor, NMFS Office of 

International Affairs, Trade, and 

Commerce at mmpa.loff@noaa.gov or by 

phone at 301–427–7721. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

The MMPA Import Provisions 

The MMPA, 16 U.S.C. 1371 et seq., 

states that the Secretary of the Treasury 

shall ban the importation of commercial 

fish or products from fish which have 

been caught with commercial fishing 

technology which results in the 

incidental kill or incidental serious 

injury of ocean mammals in excess of 

U.S. standards. For purposes of 

applying this import restriction, the 

Secretary of Commerce shall insist on 

reasonable proof from the government of 

any nation, from which fish or fish 

products will be exported to the United 

States, of the effects on ocean mammals 

of the commercial fishing technology in 

use for such fish or fish products 

exported from such nation to the United 

States. 

In August 2016, NMFS published a 

final rule (81 FR 54390; August 15, 

2016) implementing the fish and fish 

product import provisions in section 

101(a)(2) of the MMPA (MMPA Import 

Provisions). This rule established 

conditions for evaluating a harvesting 

nation’s regulatory programs to address 

incidental and intentional mortality and 

serious injury of marine mammals in 

fisheries operated by nations that export 

fish and fish products to the United 

States. Under the final rule, fish or fish 

products may not be imported into the 

United States from commercial fishing 

operations that result in the incidental 

mortality or serious injury of marine 

mammals in excess of U.S. standards 

(16 U.S.C. 1371(a)(2)). 

The final rule established a 5-year 

exemption period, through December 

31, 2021, before imports would be 

subject to any trade restrictions (see 50 

CFR 216.24(h)(2)(ii)). The Department of 

Commerce and NMFS have revised the 

regulations implementing the Fish and 

Fish Product Import Provisions of the 

MMPA Import Provisions to extend the 

exemption period, most recently on 

November 17, 2023. Following careful 

consideration, the Department of 

Commerce and NMFS concluded that 

additional time is required to effectively 

complete the comparability finding 

evaluation process and issued a Federal 

Register notice (88 FR 80193; November 

17, 2023) extending the exemption 

period to end on December 31, 2025 for 

foreign nations to receive a 

comparability finding for their 

commercial fishing operations to export 

fish and fish products to the United 

States. 

In the 2016 final rule, NMFS stated 

that it may consider emergency actions 

during the exemption period to ban 

imports of fish and fish products from 

a foreign fishery having or likely to have 

an immediate and significant adverse 

impact on a marine mammal stock. (81 

FR 54390; August 15, 2016). In addition, 

pursuant to the MMPA Import 

Provisions rule, nothing prevents a 

nation from implementing a bycatch 

reduction regulatory program and 

seeking a comparability finding during 

the exemption period. The GNZ 

submitted its comparability finding 

application by the November 30, 2021 

regulatory deadline, including 

information pertaining to the West Coast 

North Island multi-species set-net 

fishery and the West Coast North Island 

multi-species trawl fishery. In December 

2022, after the Court of International 

Trade (CIT) enjoined the two fisheries, 

the GNZ submitted supplemental 

documentary evidence regarding its 

monitoring and reporting programs and 

estimates of Ma ̄ui dolphin 

(Cephalorhynchus hectori maui) 

mortality and serious injury pertaining 

to the two enjoined fisheries for NMFS’ 

consideration for comparability 

findings. NMFS is undertaking this 

action in response to the GNZ’s request 

and prior comparability findings, its 

2021 application for comparability 

findings and its submission of 

additional documentary evidence 

regarding its regulatory program to 

reduce mortality and serious injury of 

Ma ̄ui dolphin in the West Coast North 

Island multi-species set-net fishery and 

the West Coast North Island multispecies trawl fishery. 

Petition for Rulemaking and Request 

for a Comparability Finding 

On May 21, 2020, Sea Shepherd New 

Zealand and Sea Shepherd Conservation 

Society (collectively, ‘‘Plaintiffs’’) 

initiated a lawsuit in the CIT 

challenging NMFS’ denial of its 

petition. On June 24, 2020, the GNZ 

announced its final fisheries measures 

for reducing bycatch of Ma ̄ui dolphins 

(effective October 1, 2020) and its final 

Threat Management Plan (TMP). 

On July 15, 2020, the GNZ requested 

that NMFS perform a comparability 

assessment of the TMP and its 

regulatory program as it relates to Ma ̄ui 

dolphins.On November 9, 2020, NMFS 

issued comparability findings for the 

West Coast North Island multi-species 

set-net and trawl fisheries because the 

GNZ had implemented a regulatory 

program governing the bycatch of Ma ̄ui 

dolphin that is comparable in 

effectiveness to U.S. standards. Based 

on NMFS’ decision, Plaintiffs 

subsequently filed a Motion for 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1