30720 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 108 / Friday, June 5, 1998 / Notices

for the requirements imposed in the

Southwest Region’s pelagic longline,

crustaceans, bottomfish and seamount

groundfish, precious corals, and

northern anchovy fisheries.

II. Method of Collection

In these fisheries, the official number

of the vessel must be clearly displayed

on the port and starboard sides of the

deck house or hull and on a weather

deck. Minimum marking sizes are set as

well as a requirement to keep the

numbers visible without interference

from gear or rigging.

III. Data

OMB Number: None (Previously

cleared under 0648–0306).

Form Number: N/A.

Type of Review: Regular submission.

Affected Public: Business and other

for-profit organizations.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

175.

Estimated Time Per Response: 15 per

marking, 45 minutes per vessel.

Estimated Total Annual Burden

Hours: 169 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Cost to

Public: $2,500.

IV. Request for Comments

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether

the proposed collection of information

is necessary for the proper performance

of the functions of the agency, including

whether the information shall have

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the burden

(including hours and cost) of the

proposed collection of information; (c)

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on respondents, including through the

use of automated collection techniques

or other forms of information

technology.

Comments submitted in response to

this notice will be summarized and/or

included in the request for OMB

approval of this information collection;

they also will become a matter of public

record.

Dated: June 1, 1998.

Linda Engelmeier,

Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office

of Management and Organization.

[FR Doc. 98–14944 Filed 6–4–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

Southwest Region Gear Identification

Requirements

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment

request.

SUMMARY: The Department of

Commerce, as part of its continuing

effort to reduce paperwork and

respondent burden, invites the general

public and other Federal agencies to

take this opportunity to comment on

proposed and/or continuing information

collections, as required by the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,

Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C.

3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: Written comments must be

submitted on or before August 4, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments

to Linda Engelmeier, Departmental

Forms Clearance Officer, Department of

Commerce, Room 5327, 14th and

Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington

DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or

copies of the information collection

instrument(s) and instructions should

be directed to Alvin Katekaru, Pacific

Islands Area Office, Southwest Region,

NMFS, 2570 Dole Street, Honolulu, HI

96822–2396 (808) 973–2985.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

Under the provisions of the

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act (16

U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) NOAA is

responsible for management of the

Nation’s marine fisheries. As part of its

efforts to enforce fishery regulations,

NOAA has included in some of those

regulations requirements that fishing

gear be marked. The ability to link gear

to its owner or operator is essential for

enforcement in these fisheries, and the

identification of gear is also useful in

actions concerning the damage or loss of

gear. NOAA has previously received

Paperwork Reduction Act clearance for

all of its gear-marking requirements

under one Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) control number, 0648–

0305, but for internal management

reasons NOAA intends that future

clearances will be obtained on a

regional or fishery basis. This notice is

for the requirements imposed in the

Southwest Region’s pelagic longline and

crustaceans fisheries.

II. Method of Collection

Fishermen in these fisheries must

mark their fishing gear. Longline vessel

operators must ensure that the official

number of the vessel is affixed to every

longline float and buoy, whether or not

the float or buoy is deployed. The

lobster vessel’s official number must be

marked legibly on all traps and floats.

III. Data

OMB Number: None (Formerly

cleared under 0648–0305).

Form Number: N/A.

Type of Review: Regular submission.

Affected Public: Business and other

for-profit organizations.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

175.

Estimated Time Per Response: 2–5

minutes per mark.

Estimated Total Annual Burden

Hours: 2,202 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Cost to

Public: $33,000.

IV. Request for Comments

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether

the proposed collection of information

is necessary for the proper performance

of the functions of the agency, including

whether the information shall have

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the burden

(including hours and cost) of the

proposed collection of information; (c)

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on respondents, including through the

use of automated collection techniques

or other forms of information

technology.

Comments submitted in response to

this notice will be summarized and/or

included in the request for OMB

approval of this information collection;

they also will become a matter of public

record.

Dated: June 1, 1998.

Linda Engelmeier,

Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office

of Management and Organization.

[FR Doc. 98–14945 Filed 6–4–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

Gear Marking and Call-in

Requirements for Atlantic Large Whale

Take Reduction Plan

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment

request.
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 108 / Friday, June 5, 1998 / Notices 30721

SUMMARY: The Department of

Commerce, as part of its continuing

effort to reduce paperwork and

respondent burden, invites the general

public and other Federal agencies to

comment on proposed information

collections, as required by the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,

Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C.

3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: Written comments must be

submitted on or before August 4, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments

to Linda Engelmeier, Departmental

Forms Clearance Officer, Department of

Commerce, Room 5327, 14th and

Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington

DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or

copies of the information collection

instructions should be directed to Kevin

Chu, National Marine Fisheries Service,

166 Water St., Woods Hole, MA 02543,

(508) 495–2367.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

Two collections of information are

proposed. First, persons setting lobster

or gillnet gear in some areas of the

Atlantic Ocean would be required to

paint or otherwise mark their gear with

two color codes, one color designating

the type of gear, the other designating

the area where the gear is set. These

marking requirements would apply in

right whale critical habitats and in areas

described below as the Southeast

Observer Area and as the Stellwagen

Bank/Jeffreys Ledge Restricted Area.

The goals of this collection of

information are to obtain more

information on where large whales are

being entangled and on what kind of

gear is responsible for the entanglement.

Second, from November 15 to March

31, persons netting for sharks in

Atlantic waters off Florida and Georgia

would be required to call NMFS 48

hours prior to departure to arrange for

an observer. The purpose of this

collection of information is to allow

NMFS to coordinate fisheries observer

coverage of the fishery. Observer

coverage is required not only by the

Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction

Plan, but also by a Biological Opinion

conducted under Section 7 of the

Endangered Species Act. Placement of

observers on these vessels would not

only allow NMFS to quantify the level

of takes of protected species associated

with this fishery, but would ensure that

disentanglement efforts will be

immediately initiated if any northern

right whales, a critically endangered

species, are netted incidental to these

fishing activities.

Method of Collection

A. Gear Marking: The gear marking

requirement would apply to lobster pot

gear and gillnet gear set in specified

areas. The specified areas are: Southeast

U.S. (SEUS) Observer Area, Great South

Channel Critical Habitat for right

whales, Cape Cod Bay Critical Habitat

for right whales, and the Stellwagen

Bank/Jeffreys Ledge Restricted Area.

The SEUS Observer Area consists of the

area from 32°00′ N lat. (near Savannah,

GA) south to 26°46.5′ N lat. (near

Sebastian Inlet, FL), extending from the

shore eastward to 80°00′ W long. The

Stellwagen Bank/Jeffreys Ledge

Restricted Area means all Federal

waters in the Gulf of Maine, except

those designated as the Cape Cod Bay

Critical Habitat, that lie south of the

43°15′N lat. line and west of the

70°00′W long. line. The Great South

Channel Critical Habitat and the Cape

Cod Bay Critical Habitat are as specified

under 50 CFR 216.13(a) and (b).

Starting November 15, 1998, any

person who owns or fishes with lobster

pot gear or gillnet gear in the specified

areas would be required to mark that

gear in accordance with a color code.

All lobster and gillnet gear in

specified areas must be marked with

two color codes, one designating the

gear type, the other indicating the area

where the gear is set. Each of the color

codes must be permanently marked on

or along the buoy lines. After November

15, 1999, gillnets in the Southeast

Observer Area (including strike nets)

also would need to be marked along

both the float line and the lead line at

least once every 100 feet (30.8 m) with

the same color code.

Each color mark would have to be

clearly visible when the gear is hauled

or removed from the water. Each mark

would be at least 4 inches (10.2 cm)

long. The two color marks would be

placed within 6 inches (15.2 cm) of each

other. If the color of the rope is the same

or similar to a color code, a white mark

may be substituted for that color code.

In marking or affixing the color code or

associated neutral band, the line may be

dyed, painted, or marked with thin

colored whipping line, thin colored

plastic or heat shrink tubing, or other

material, or thin line may be woven into

or through the line.

Burden hours for both the gillnet and

lobster fleets from the gear marking

requirements were estimated assuming

that persons would use paint to mark

their lines. Public comments have

indicated that painting would be the

least time-consuming way of applying

marks. However, other methods may

also be used, including ‘‘whipping’’, to

mark lines. If whipping is used, the time

required to mark the lines would be

considerably greater than painting.

Comments are requested on the

assumption that marks would be

painted.

B. Observer requirement. No person

would be allowed to fish with drift or

strikenet gear in the SEUS observer area

from November 15 through March 31

unless the operator of the vessel calls

the SE Regional Office in St. Petersburg,

FL, not less than 48 hours prior to

departing on any fishing trip in order to

arrange for observer coverage. If the

Regional Office requests that an

observer be taken on board a vessel

during a fishing trip at any time from

November 15 through March 31 of the

following year, no person would be

allowed to fish with drift or strikenet

gear aboard that vessel in the SEUS

observer area unless an observer is on

board that vessel during the trip.

III. Data

OMB Number: None.

Form Number: None.

Type of Review: Regular submission.

Affected Public: Business and other

for-profit (persons participating in the

lobster and gillnet fisheries in specified

areas).

Estimated Number of Respondents:

The gear marking requirements are

expected to affect 1100 lobster

fishermen and 160 gillnet fishermen.

The call-in requirement in the SEUS

Observer Area is expected to affect 30

shark gillnet fishermen.

Estimated Time Per Response: The

estimated time per response for the gear

marking requirement is 3.0 hours per

lobster vessel and 1.5 hours per gillnet

vessel.

The estimated time per response for

the call-in procedure in the SEUS

Observer Area is 10 minutes per call.

Estimated Total Annual Burden

Hours: 3,560 (3300 hours for the lobster

fleet based on 3 hours per vessel × 1100

vessels; 240 hours for the gillnet fleet

based on 1.5 hours per vessel × 160

vessels; and 20 hours for the call-in

requirement in the SEUS Observer Area

based on 30 fishers × 4 calls/fisher × 10

minutes/call).

Estimated Total Annual Cost to

Public: $24,460 ($24,100 to paint marks

on the affected gear assuming $0.06 per

mark, and $360 for the call-in

requirement assuming $3.00 per phone

call).

IV. Request for Comments

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether

the proposed collection of information
30722 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 108 / Friday, June 5, 1998 / Notices

is necessary for the proper performance

of the functions of the agency, including

whether the information shall have

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the burden

(including hours and cost) of the

proposed collection of information; (c)

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on respondents, including through the

use of automated collection techniques

or other forms of information

technology.

Comments submitted in response to

this notice will be summarized and/or

included in the request for OMB

approval of this information collection;

they also will become a matter of public

record.

Dated: June 1, 1998.

Linda Engelmeier,

Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office

of Management and Organization.

[FR Doc. 98–14947 Filed 6–4–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

Foreign Fishing Gear Identification

Requirements

ACTION: Proposed collection; comment

request.

SUMMARY: The Department of

Commerce, as part of its continuing

effort to reduce paperwork and

respondent burden, invites the general

public and other Federal agencies to

take this opportunity to comment on

proposed and/or continuing information

collections, as required by the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,

Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C.

3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: Written comments must be

submitted on or before August 4, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments

to Linda Engelmeier, Departmental

Forms Clearance Officer, Department of

Commerce, Room 5327, 14th and

Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington

DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or

copies of the information collection

instrument(s) and instructions should

be directed to Bob Dickinson, Office of

Sustainable Fisheries, International

Fisheries Division, 1315 East West

Highway, Silver Spring, Maryland

20910, (301) 713–2337.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

Under provisions of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and

Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et

seq.), NOAA is responsible for

management of the Nation’s marine

fisheries. As part of its efforts to enforce

fishery regulations, NOAA has included

in some of those regulations

requirements that fishing gear be

marked. The ability to link gear to its

owner or operator is essential for

enforcement in these fisheries, and the

identification of gear is also useful in

actions concerning the damage or loss of

gear. NOAA has previously received

Paperwork Reduction Act clearance for

all of its gear-marking requirements

under one Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) control number, 0648–

0305, but for internal management

reasons NOAA intends that future

clearances will be obtained on a

regional or fishery basis. This notice is

for requirements imposed on foreign

fishing vessels authorized to deploy gear

in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone.

At this time no vessels have such an

authorization.

II. Method of Collection

Deployed gear which is not physically

and continuously attached to the vessel

must be marked by a buoy displaying

the vessel identification of the vessel

that deployed the gear and must have

attached a light visible for two miles at

night in good visibility.

III. Data

OMB Number: None.

Form Number: N/A.

Type of Review: Regular submission. Affected Public: Business and other

for-profit organizations. Estimated Number of Respondents: 0.

Estimated Time Per Response: 30

minutes.

Estimated Total Annual Burden

Hours: 0.

Estimated Total Annual Cost to

Public: $0.

IV. Request for Comments

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether

the proposed collection of information

is necessary for the proper performance

of the functions of the agency, including

whether the information shall have

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the burden

(including hours and cost) of the

proposed collection of information; (c)

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on respondents, including through the

use of automated collection techniques

or other forms of information

technology.

Comments submitted in response to

this notice will be summarized and/or

included in the request for OMB

approval of this information collection;

they also will become a matter of public

record.

Dated: June 1, 1998.

Linda Engelmeier,

Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office

of Management and Organization.

[FR Doc. 98–14948 Filed 6–4–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

Northeast Region Vessel Identification

Requirements

ACTION: Proposed collection; Comment

request.

SUMMARY: The Department of

Commerce, as part of its continuing

effort to reduce paperwork and

respondent burden, invites the general

public and other Federal agencies to

take this opportunity to comment on

proposed and/or continuing information

collections, as required by the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,

Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C.

3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: Written comments must be

submitted on or before August 4, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments

to Linda Engelmeier, Departmental

Forms Clearance Officer, Department of

Commerce, Room 5327, 14th and

Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington

DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or

copies of the information collection

instrument(s) and instructions should

be directed to Mary M. Tokarcik,

Fisheries Management Specialist, One

Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930,

(978) 281–9326.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

Under the provisions of the

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act (16

U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) NOAA is

responsible for management of the

Nation’s marine fisheries. As part of its

efforts to enforce fishery regulations,

NOAA has included in some of those

regulations a requirement that fishing

vessels display the vessel’s official

number in a specific way. The display

of the number assists law enforcement