Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 64 / Monday, April 6, 2009 / Notices 15459 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Proposed Information Collection; 

Comment Request; Reporting 

Requirements for Commercial 

Fisheries Authorization Under Section 

118 of the Marine Mammal Protection 

Act 

AGENCY: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

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. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before June 5, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

to Diana Hynek, Departmental 

Paperwork Clearance Officer, 

Department of Commerce, Room 7845, 

14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20230 (or via the 

Internet at dHynek@doc.gov). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the information collection 

instrument and instructions should be 

directed to Patricia Lawson, (301) 713– 

2232 or Patricia.Lawson@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

Reporting injury to and/or mortalities 

of marine mammals is mandated under 

Section 118 of the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act. This information is 

required to determine the impacts of 

commercial fishing on marine mammal 

populations. This information is also 

used to categorize commercial fisheries 

into Categories I, II, or III. Participants 

in the first two categories must be 

authorized to take marine mammals, 

while those in Category III are exempt 

from that requirement. All categories 

must report injuries or mortalities on a 

National Marine Fisheries Service form. 

II. Method of Collection 

Reports are required from 

participants, and methods of submittal 

include Internet, mail and facsimile 

transmission of paper forms. 

III. Data 

OMB Number: 0648–0292. 

Form Number: None. 

Type of Review: Regular submission. 

Affected Public: Not-for-profit 

institutions; and business or other forprofits organizations. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

200. 

Estimated Time Per Response: 15 

minutes. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 50. 

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. 

Gwellnar Banks, 

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. E9–7677 Filed 4–3–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Proposed Information Collection; 

Comment Request; Groundfish 

Tagging Program 

AGENCY: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

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. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before June 5, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

to Diana Hynek, Departmental 

Paperwork Clearance Officer, 

Department of Commerce, Room 7845, 

14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20230 (or via the 

Internet at dHynek@doc.gov). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the information collection 

instrument and instructions should be 

directed to John Clary, (206) 526–4039 

or e-mail john.c.clary@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

The groundfish tagging program 

provides scientists with information 

necessary for effective conservation, 

management, and scientific 

understanding of the groundfish fishery 

off Alaska and the Northwest Pacific. 

The program area includes the Pacific 

Ocean off Alaska (the Gulf of Alaska, the 

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area, 

and the Alexander Archipelago of 

Southeast Alaska), California, Oregon, 

and Washington. Fish movement 

information from recovered tags is used 

in population dynamics models for 

stock assessment. There are two general 

categories of tags. The simple plastic 

tags (spaghetti tags) are external tags 

approximately two inches long printed 

with code numbers. When a tag is 

returned the tag number is correlated 

with databases of released, tagged fish to 

determine the net movement and 

growth rate of the tagged fish. Archival 

tags are microchips with sensors 

encased in plastic cylinders that record 

the depth, temperature or other data, 

which can be downloaded electronically 

from the recovered tags. The groundfish 

tagging and tag recovery program is part 

of the fishery resource assessment and 

data collection that National Marine 

Fisheries Service (NMFS) conducts 

under the Magnuson-Stevens Act 

authority as codified in 16 U.S.C. 

1801(a)(8). 

II. Method of Collection 

This is a volunteer program requiring 

the actual tag from the fish to be 

returned, along with recovery 

information. Reporting forms with preaddressed and postage-free envelopes 

are distributed to processors and catcher 

vessels. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 0648–0276. 

Form Number: None. 

Type of Review: Regular submission. 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations, individuals or 

households. 


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