[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 177 (Thursday, September 12, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74215-74216]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-20664]


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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; Social and Economic Survey of Hired Captains and Crew in 
Commercial Fisheries

    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 May 7, 2024 during a 60-day comment period. This 
notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
    Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Commerce.
    Title: Social and Economic Survey of Hired Captains and Crew in 
Commercial Fisheries.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0636.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular submission [revision and extension of a 
current information collection].
    Annual Number of Respondents: 1,353.
    Average Hours per Response: 15 minutes.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 338.
    Needs and Uses: This request is for a revision and extension to an 
approved collection. The proposed revisions would do the following to 
the currently approved information collection.
    1. Expand the scope from New England, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, 
and Gulf of Mexico commercial fisheries to Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin 
Islands, West Coast, and Pacific Islands commercial fisheries;
    2. Change the title from ``Socio-Economic Survey of Hired Captains 
and Crew in New England, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic and Gulf of 
Mexico Commercial Fisheries'' to ``Social and-Economic Survey of Hired 
Captains and Crew in Commercial Fisheries'';
    a. Replace the survey instrument that OMB approved in 2021, which 
included some region-specific questions, with region-specific survey 
instruments that NMFS produced by eliminating the few irrelevant 
questions for each region, adding a few region-specific questions, 
rewording a few questions to make them region specific, and giving each 
survey a region-specific name.
    Under the revised information collection, the Northeast Fisheries 
Science Center (NEFSC) will conduct the survey for the New England and 
Mid-Atlantic fisheries; the Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) 
will conduct the survey for the South Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, Puerto 
Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands fisheries; the Northwest Fisheries 
Science Center (NWFSC) and the Southwest Fisheries Science Center 
(SWFSC) will jointly conduct the survey for the West Coast fisheries; 
and the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) will conduct 
the survey for the Pacific Islands fisheries. Each Fisheries Science 
Center will conduct a social and economic survey of hired captains and 
crew once in the following three years for its commercial fisheries.
    The Fisheries Science Centers seek to conduct surveys to provide 
for the ongoing collection of social and economic data related to the 
fishing industries in those states. The purpose of this survey is to 
assess and track over time the social and economic conditions of 
commercial fishing crews and hired captains for which little is known. 
This survey will provide data on social and economic impacts for this 
population and the changes in fisheries because of regulatory changes. 
Data to be collected include demographic information on crew, 
individual and community well-being, fishing practices, job 
satisfaction, job opportunities, and attitudes toward fisheries 
management. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Magnuson-
Stevens Conservation and Management Act (MSA) both contain requirements 
for considering the social and economic impacts of fishery management 
decisions. There is a need to understand how such fishery management 
policies and programs will affect the social and economic 
characteristics of those involved in the commercial fishing industry. 
To help meet these requirements of NEPA and MSA, the Fisheries Science 
Centers will collect data on an ongoing basis to track how the social 
and economic characteristics of fisheries are changing over time and 
the impact of fishery management policies and programs implemented for 
the New England, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, Puerto 
Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, West Coast, and Pacific Islands commercial 
fisheries.

[[Page 74216]]

    Affected Public: Individuals (i.e., hired captains and other crew 
members in commercial fisheries).
    Frequency: Once.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 
Magnuson-Stevens Conservation and Management Act (MSA).
    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 either the title of the collection or the OMB 
Control Number 0648-0636.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-20664 Filed 9-11-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P