80214 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 191 / Wednesday, October 2, 2024 / Notices 

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; Western and Central Pacific 

Fisheries Convention Vessel 

Information Family of Forms 

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 June 6, 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: Western and Central Pacific 

Fisheries Convention Vessel 

Information Family of Forms. 

OMB Control Number: 0648–0595. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Request: Regular submission 

[Revision and extension of a current 

information collection]. 

Number of Respondents: 226. 

Average Hours per Response: 3.5 total 

hours. 2 hours for Foreign EEZ form, 1 

hour for WCPFC Area Endorsement 

form, and 0.5 hour for Request for IMO 

Ship Identification Number. 

Total Annual Burden Hours: 44 

hours. 

Needs and Uses: This request is for a 

revision and extension of the current 

information collection. The revision 

will include the following: A section at 

the beginning of the Area Endorsement 

form, paper, and online format, was 

added for vessel IMO numbers to be 

included, alongside the Official Number 

and Vessel Name sections. 

National Marine Fisheries Service 

(NMFS) administers regulations that 

implement decisions of the Commission 

for the Conservation and Management of 

Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the 

Western and Central Pacific Ocean 

(WCPFC or Commission). The 

regulations require for the owners or 

operators of U.S. vessels to (1) apply for 

and obtain a WCPFC Area Endorsement 

if the vessel is used for fishing for 

highly migratory species (HMS) on the 

high seas in the WCPFC area (or 

Convention Area) (50 CFR 300.212), (2) 

complete and submit a Foreign 

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Form if 

the vessel is used for fishing for HMS in 

the Convention Area in areas under the 

jurisdiction of any nation other than the 

United States (50 CFR 300.213), and (3) 

request and obtain an IMO number if 

the vessel is used for fishing for HMS on 

the high seas or in areas under the 

jurisdiction of any nation other than the 

United States (50 CFR 300.217(c)). 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations; individuals or 

households. 

Frequency: Annually. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory. 

Legal Authority: The Western and 

Central Pacific Fisheries Convention 

Implementation Act (WCPFCIA); 16 

U.S.C. 6901 et seq. 

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 0648–0595. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Departmental PRA Clearance Officer, Office 

of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, 

Commerce Department. 

[FR Doc. 2024–22594 Filed 10–1–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XE190] 

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to 

Specified Activities; Taking Marine 

Mammals Incidental to a Marine 

Geophysical Survey of the Chain 

Transform Fault in the Equatorial 

Atlantic Ocean 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; issuance of an incidental 

harassment authorization. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

regulations implementing the Marine 

Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as 

amended, notification is hereby given 

that NMFS has issued an incidental 

harassment authorization (IHA) to the 

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of 

Columbia University (L–DEO) to 

incidentally harass marine mammals 

during survey activities associated with 

a marine geophysical survey at the 

Chain Transform Fault in the equatorial 

Atlantic Ocean. 

DATES: The authorization is effective 

from September 27, 2024 through 

September 26, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the 

application and supporting documents, 

as well as a list of the references cited 

in this document, may be obtained 

online at: https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

marine-mammal-protection/incidentaltake-authorizations-research-and-otheractivities. In case of problems accessing 

these documents, please call the contact 

listed below. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jenna Harlacher, Office of Protected 

Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The MMPA prohibits the ‘‘take’’ of 

marine mammals, with certain 

exceptions. Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and 

(D) of the MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et 

seq.) direct the Secretary of Commerce 

(as delegated to NMFS) to allow, upon 

request, the incidental, but not 

intentional, taking of small numbers of 

marine mammals by U.S. citizens who 

engage in a specified activity (other than 

commercial fishing) within a specified 

geographical region if certain findings 

are made and either regulations are 

proposed or, if the taking is limited to 

harassment, a notice of a proposed IHA 

is provided to the public for review. 

Authorization for incidental takings 

shall be granted if NMFS finds that the 

taking will have a negligible impact on 

the species or stock(s) and will not have 

an unmitigable adverse impact on the 

availability of the species or stock(s) for 

taking for subsistence uses (where 

relevant). Further, NMFS must prescribe 

the permissible methods of taking and 

other ‘‘means of effecting the least 

practicable adverse impact’’ on the 

affected species or stocks and their 

habitat, paying particular attention to 

rookeries, mating grounds, and areas of 

similar significance, and on the 

availability of the species or stocks for 


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