3912 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 14 / Monday, January 22, 2024 / Notices 

(6) Small Sablefish release—identify 

sablefish DMR (discard mortality 

rate) for analysis 

(7) Research Priorities—Plan Teams 

reports 

The agenda is subject to change, and 

the latest version will be posted at 

https://meetings.npfmc.org/Meeting/ 

Details/3030 prior to the meeting, along 

with meeting materials. 

In addition to providing ongoing 

scientific advice for fishery management 

decisions, the SSC functions as the 

Council’s primary peer review panel for 

scientific information, as described by 

the Magnuson-Stevens Act section 

302(g)(1)(e), and the National Standard 

2 guidelines (78 FR 43066). The peerreview process is also deemed to satisfy 

the requirements of the Information 

Quality Act, including the OMB Peer 

Review Bulletin guidelines. 

Tuesday, February 6, 2024 Through 

Friday, February 9, 2024 

The Advisory Panel agenda will 

include the following issues: 

(1) NSRKC ABC/OFL—Set 

Specifications, Crab Plan Team 

Report 

(2) BBRKC Closure Areas—Initial 

Review 

(3) Pelagic Trawl Gear Definition 

Changes—review NMFS report 

(4) Cook Inlet Salmon—Status 

Determination Criteria, harvest 

specifications 

(5) GOA (Gulf of Alaska) Tanner Crab 

protections—review discussion 

paper 

(6) Programmatic Evaluation of 

management policies—Council 

direction and workshop planning 

(7) AFA Program Review—review 

workplan 

(8) Staff Tasking 

Thursday, February 8, 2024 Through 

Monday, February 12, 2024 

The Council agenda will include the 

following issues. The Council may take 

appropriate action on any of the issues 

identified. 

(1) B Reports (Executive Director 

including research presentation on 

effects of fishing on benthic habitat, 

NMFS Management including 

annual cost recovery updates and ELogbooks Exempted Fishing Permit, 

NOAA GC, AFSC, ADF&G, USCG, 

USFWS, IPHC report, Advisory 

Panel, SSC report) 

(2) NSRKC ABC/OFL—Set 

Specifications, Crab Plan Team 

Report 

(3) BBRKC Closure Areas—Initial 

Review 

(4) Cook Inlet Salmon—Status 

Determination Criteria, harvest 

specifications 

(5) Pelagic Trawl Gear Definition 

Changes—review NMFS report 

(6) GOA Tanner Crab protections— 

review discussion paper 

(7) Programmatic Evaluation of 

management policies—Council 

direction and workshop planning 

(8) AFA Program Review—review 

workplan 

(9) Staff Tasking 

Connection Information 

You can attend the meeting online 

using a computer, tablet, or smart 

phone; or by phone only. Connection 

information will be posted online at: 

https://www.npfmc.org/upcomingcouncil-meetings. For technical support, 

please contact our administrative staff, 

email: npfmc.admin@noaa.gov. 

If you are attending the meeting inperson, please refer to the COVID 

avoidance protocols on our website, 

https://www.npfmc.org/upcomingcouncil-meetings/. 

Public Comment 

Public comment letters will be 

accepted and should be submitted 

electronically through the links at 

https://www.npfmc.org/upcomingcouncil-meetings. The Council strongly 

encourages written public comment for 

this meeting, to avoid any potential for 

technical difficulties to compromise oral 

testimony. The written comment period 

is open from January 12, 2024, to 

February 2, 2024, and closes at 12 p.m. 

Alaska Time on Friday, February 2, 

2024. 

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

Dated: January 16, 2024. 

Rey Israel Marquez, 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–01067 Filed 1–19–24; 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; Commercial Operator’s 

Annual Report (COAR) 

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, 

comments regarding this proposed 

information collection must be received 

on or before March 22, 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– 

0428 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 Gabrielle 

Aberle, National Marine Fisheries 

Service, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 

99802–1668, gabrielle.aberle@noaa.gov 

or 323–372–0062. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

The National Marine Fisheries Service 

(NMFS), Alaska Regional Office, is 

requesting renewal of the currently 

approved information collection for the 

Commercial Operator’s Annual Report 

(COAR). 

The COAR is a State of Alaska report 

that is required to be completed and 

submitted by direct marketers, catcher 

processors, catcher exporters, buyer 

exporters, shore-based processors, and 

floating processor permit holders 

pursuant to Alaska Administrative Code 

(5 AAC 39.130) and Federal regulations 

at 50 CFR 679. Under 50 CFR 679.5(p), 

NMFS requires motherships and catcher 

processors that are issued a Federal 

fisheries permit to annually complete 

and submit the appropriate sections of 

the COAR. 

The COAR is used to gather statewide 

fish and shellfish information 

describing buying (ex-vessel) and 

production (wholesale or retail) 

activities. The information collected in 

the COAR is used to determine the 

value of Alaska’s fisheries resources and 

products. NMFS uses the COAR 

database in annual Federal publications 

on the value of U.S. commercial 

fisheries, in the annual NMFS Stock 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 14 / Monday, January 22, 2024 / Notices 3913 

Assessment and Fishery Evaluation 

reports for the groundfish fisheries of 

the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands and 

the Gulf of Alaska, and in periodic 

reports that describe the fisheries and 

that serve as reference documents to 

management agencies, the industry, and 

others. 

The mothership and catcher processor 

data, when added to the COAR 

information collected from shoreside 

processors and stationary floating 

processors required under State of 

Alaska requirements, yield a complete 

data base of equivalent annual product 

value information for all respective 

processing sectors. The information also 

provides a consistent time series 

according to which groundfish 

resources may be managed more 

efficiently. Use of the information 

generated by the COAR is coordinated 

between NMFS and the Alaska 

Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G). 

The COAR must be submitted by 

April 1 to the ADF&G for the previous 

year’s activity for all operations that are 

required to submit a COAR. NMFS 

requires the owner of a mothership or 

catcher processor to annually complete 

and submit the appropriate forms of the 

COAR, whether the processor operated 

that year or not. If no receipt or 

production took place for that year, the 

owner submits only the COAR 

certification page. 

The COAR requires submission of 

information on seafood purchasing, 

production, and both ex-vessel and 

wholesale values of seafood products. 

The buying information is reported by 

species, harvest area, area of purchase, 

condition of fisheries resources at the 

time of purchase, type of gear used in 

the harvest, pounds purchased, and exvessel value. The ex-vessel value 

includes any post-season adjustments or 

bonuses paid after the fish was 

purchased. The production information 

is reported by species, area of 

processing, process type (e.g., frozen, 

canned, smoked), product type (e.g., 

fillets, surimi, sections), net weight of 

the processed product, and the first 

wholesale value. 

II. Method of Collection 

The COAR may be submitted 

electronically through eLandings, the 

Interagency Electronic Reporting System 

(elandings.alaska.gov). The COAR is 

also available in fillable PDF, Microsoft 

Word, and Microsoft Excel formats on 

the ADF&G Commercial Fish Reporting 

web page at https://

www.adfg.alaska.gov/ 

index.cfm?adfg=fishlicense.coar and 

may be emailed or printed and mailed 

to the ADF&G. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 0648–0428. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Review: Regular submission 

(extension of a current information 

collection). 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households; Business or other for-profit 

organizations. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

72. 

Estimated Time per Response: 

Commercial Operator’s Annual Report: 

8 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 576 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost to 

Public: $360 in recordkeeping and 

reporting costs. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory. 

Legal Authority: Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 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, 

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. 2024–01090 Filed 1–19–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Ocean Research Advisory Panel 

(ORAP) 

AGENCY: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Department of Commerce (DOC). 

ACTION: Notice of public meetings. 

SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the 

schedule and proposed agenda of a 

meeting of the Ocean Research Advisory 

Panel (ORAP). The members will 

discuss issues outlined in the section on 

Matters to be considered. 

DATES: The meeting is scheduled for 

February 26, 2024 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

Eastern Standard Time (EST). This time 

and the agenda topics described below 

are subject to change. 

For the latest agenda please refer to 

the ORAP website: https://

www.noaa.gov/ocean-research-advisorypanel/orap-public-meetings. 

ADDRESSES: The February 26, 2024 

meeting will be virtual. The link for the 

webinar registration will be posted, 

when available, on the ORAP website: 

https://www.noaa.gov/ocean-researchadvisory-panel/orap-public-meetings. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Viviane Silva, ORAP Designated Federal 

Officer (DFO), SSMC3, Room 11320, 

1315 East-West Hwy., Silver Spring, MD 

20910; Phone Number: 240–624–0656; 

Email: DFO.orap@noaa.gov; or visit the 

ORAP website at https://www.noaa.gov/ 

ocean-research-advisory-panel/orappublic-meetings. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Ocean 

Research Advisory Panel (ORAP) 

advises the Ocean Policy Committee 

(OPC) and provides independent 

recommendations to the Federal 

Government on matters of ocean policy. 

Congress directed the establishment 

of the ORAP in Section 1055(c) of the 

William M. (Mac) Thornberry National 

Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

Year 2021 (Pub. L. 116–283), 10 U.S.C. 

8933. 

ORAP’s responsibilities are (1) to 

advise the OPC on policies and 

procedures to implement the National 

Oceanographic Partnership Program; (2) 

to advise the OPC on matters relating to 

national oceanographic science, 

engineering, facilities, or resource 

requirements; (3) to advise the OPC on 

improving diversity, equity, and 

inclusion in the ocean sciences and 

related fields; (4) to advise the OPC on 

national ocean research priorities; and 

(5) any additional responsibilities that 

the OPC considers appropriate. 


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