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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 15 (Friday, January 24, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8121-8122]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-01718]

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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; Economic Surveys of Specific U.S. Commercial Fisheries

AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 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 on the 
proposed new information collection prior to the submission of the 
information collection request (ICR) to OMB for approval.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written or on-line comments must be 
submitted on or before March 25, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to 
Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer, at [email protected]. Please 
reference OMB Control Number 0648-0773 in the subject line of your 
comments. All comments received are part of the public record and will 
generally be posted on https://www.regulations.gov without change. 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 Joe Terry, Office of Science and Technology, 1315 East West Hwy., 
Bldg. SSMC3, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3282, (858) 454 -2547, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    This is a request for extension of an approved information 
collection.
    The Nation Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Office of Science and 
Technology is sponsoring the collection Economic Surveys of Specific US 
Commercial Fisheries.
    The requested information includes different components of 
operating costs/expenditures, earnings, ownership, vessel 
characteristics, effort/gear descriptors, employment, and demographic 
information for the various types of fishing vessels operating in the 
16 U.S. commercial fisheries or groups of fisheries listed below.

1. West Coast Limited Entry Groundfish Fixed Gear Fishery
2. West Coast Open Access Groundfish, Non-tribal Salmon, Crab, and 
Shrimp Fisheries
3. American Samoa Longline Fishery
4. Hawaii Longline Fishery
5. Hawaii Small Boat Fishery
6. American Samoa Small Boat Fishery
7. American Samoa (ESAS), Guam, and The Commonwealth of The Northern 
Mariana Islands (CNMI) Small Boat-Based Fisheries
8. Mariana Archipelago Small Boat Fishery
9. USVI Small-Scale Fisheries
10. Puerto Rico Small-Scale Fisheries
11. Gulf of Mexico Inshore Shrimp Fishery
12. Golden Crab Fisheries in the U.S. South Atlantic Region
13. West Coast Coastal Pelagic Fishery
14. West Coast Swordfish Fishery
15. West Coast North Pacific Albacore Fishery
16. Greater Atlantic Region Commercial Fisheries

    A variety of laws, Executive Orders (E.O.s), and NOAA strategies 
and policies include requirements for economic data and the analyses 
they support. When met adequately, those

[[Page 8122]]

requirements allow better-informed conservation and management 
decisions on the use of living marine resources and marine habitat in 
federally managed fisheries. Obtaining these data improves the ability 
of NOAA Fisheries and the Regional Fishery Management Councils 
(Councils) to monitor, explain and predict changes in the economic 
performance and impacts of federally managed commercial fisheries. 
Measures of economic performance include costs, earnings, and 
profitability (net revenue); productivity and economic efficiency; 
capacity; economic stability; the level and distribution of net 
economic benefits to society; and market power. The economic impacts 
include sector, community or region-specific, and national employment, 
sales, value-added, and income impacts. Economic data are required to 
support more than a cursory effort to comply with or support the 
following laws, E.O.s, and NOAA strategies and policies:

1. Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA)
2. Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA)
3. Endangered Species Act (ESA)
4. National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
5. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)
6. E.O. 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review)
7. The NOAA Fisheries Guidelines for Economic Reviews of Regulatory 
Actions
8. NOAA FY22-26 Strategic Plan, Building a Climate Ready Nation
9. The NOAA Fisheries Strategic Plan 2022-2025 (Strategic Plan)
10. The NOAA Fisheries Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management (EBFM) Road 
Map
11. The NOAA Fisheries National Bycatch Reduction Strategy
12. NOAA's Catch Share Policy

    Data collections will focus each year on a different set of the 16 
commercial fisheries or groups of fisheries. This cycle of data 
collection will facilitate economic data being available and updated 
for all those commercial fisheries.
    There will be an effort to coordinate the data collections in order 
to reduce the additional burden for those who participate in multiple 
fisheries. To further reduce the burden, the requested information for 
a specific fishery will be limited to that which is not available from 
other sources. Participation in these data collections will be 
voluntary.

II. Method of Collection

    The information will be collected by mail, internet, phone, and in-
person interviews. In general, respondents will receive a mailed copy 
of the survey instrument in advance of a phone or in-person interview. 
Where feasible, survey respondents will have the option to respond to 
an on-line survey. If phone and in-person interviews are not feasible 
or not desired by the potential respondents, the information will be 
collected by mail or internet.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0648-0773.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission (extension of a currently 
approved collection).
    Affected Public: Individuals or households and business or other 
for-profit organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,655.
    Estimated Time per Response
    West Coast Open Access Groundfish, Non-Tribal Salmon, Crab, and 
Shrimp Economic Data Collection: 3 hours.
    West Coast Limited Entry Groundfish Fixed Gear Economic Data 
Collection: 3 hours.
    American Samoa Longline Survey: 1 hour.
    Hawaii Longline Survey: 1 hour.
    Hawaii Small Boat Economic Survey: 45 minutes.
    American Samoa Small Boat Survey: 45 minutes.
    Economic Surveys of American Samoa (ESAS), Guam, and The 
Commonwealth of The Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Small Boat-Based 
Fisheries (an add-on to a creel survey): 10 minutes.
    Cost Earnings Survey of Mariana Archipelago Small Boat Fleet: 45 
minutes.
    Economic Expenditure Survey of Golden Crab Fishermen in the U.S. 
South Atlantic Region: 30 minutes.
    USVI Fisheries Economic Survey (Socio-Economic Profile of Small-
Scale Commercial Fisheries (SSCF) in the U.S. Caribbean): 15 minutes.
    Puerto Rico Fisheries Economic Survey (Socio-Economic Profile of 
Small-Scale Commercial Fisheries (SSCF) in the U.S. Caribbean): 1 hour.
    Gulf of Mexico Inshore Shrimp Fishery Economic Survey: 28 minutes.
    West Coast Swordfish Fishery Cost and Earnings Survey: 30 minutes.
    West Coast Coastal Pelagic Fishery Economic Survey: 3 hours.
    West Coast North Pacific Albacore Fishery Economic Survey: 1 hour.
    Greater Atlantic Region Commercial Fisheries Economic Data 
Collection: 1 hour.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,757.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act.

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 information collection request. 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,
Departmental PRA Compliance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2025-01718 Filed 1-23-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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