Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 88 / Friday, May 6, 2022 / Notices 27131 

than military readiness activities. The 

MMPA does not define small numbers 

and so, in practice, where estimated 

numbers are available, NMFS compares 

the number of individuals taken to the 

most appropriate estimation of 

abundance of the relevant species or 

stock in our determination of whether 

an authorization is limited to small 

numbers of marine mammals. When the 

predicted number of individuals to be 

taken is fewer than one third of the 

species or stock abundance, the take is 

considered to be of small numbers. 

Additionally, other qualitative factors 

may be considered in the analysis, such 

as the temporal or spatial scale of the 

activities. 

The amount of authorized take is 

below one third of the estimated 

population abundance of all species 

(Gerrodette and Palacios 1996; NMFS 

2015b). In fact, take of individuals is 

less than 8 percent of the abundance of 

any affected population. 

Based on the analysis contained 

herein of the planned activity (including 

the required mitigation and monitoring 

measures) and the anticipated take of 

marine mammals, NMFS finds that 

small numbers of marine mammals will 

be taken relative to the population size 

of the affected species or stocks. 

Unmitigable Adverse Impact Analysis 

and Determination 

There are no relevant subsistence uses 

of the affected marine mammal stocks or 

species implicated by this action. 

Therefore, NMFS has determined that 

the total taking of affected species or 

stocks would not have an unmitigable 

adverse impact on the availability of 

such species or stocks for taking for 

subsistence purposes. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

In compliance with Executive Order 

(E.O.) 12114, the NSF prepared an 

Environmental Analysis to consider the 

direct, indirect and cumulative effects to 

the human environment resulting from 

this marine geophysical survey in the 

Eastern Tropical Pacific. The NSF’s 

Environmental Analysis tiers to the 

2011 Final Programmatic Environmental 

Impact Statement/Overseas 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

marine-related research funded by the 

NSF, which was prepared under E.O. 

12114 and the National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA). 

NMFS determined that the form and 

substance of the Environmental 

Analysis satisfies all the requirements of 

an Environmental Assessment under 

NEPA, as implemented by the 

regulations published by the Council on 

Environmental Quality (CEQ; 40 CFR 

parts 1500–1508) and includes adequate 

information analyzing the effects on the 

human environment of issuing the IHA. 

The NSF’s draft Environmental Analysis 

was made available to the public for 

review and comment. In compliance 

with NEPA and CEQ regulations, as well 

as NOAA Administrative Order 216–6A, 

NMFS has reviewed the NSF’s 

Environmental Analysis, determined it 

to be sufficient, and adopted that 

Environmental Analysis. The NSF’s 

Environmental Analysis and NMFS’ 

Determination are available at https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/ 

marine-mammal-protection/incidentaltake-authorizations-research-and-otheractivities. 

Endangered Species Act 

Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973 (ESA: 16 U.S.C. 

1531 et seq.) requires that each Federal 

agency insure that any action it 

authorizes, funds, or carries out is not 

likely to jeopardize the continued 

existence of any endangered or 

threatened species or result in the 

destruction or adverse modification of 

designated critical habitat. To ensure 

ESA compliance for the issuance of 

IHAs, NMFS consults internally 

whenever we propose to authorize take 

for endangered or threatened species. 

The NMFS OPR ESA Interagency 

Cooperation Division issued a Biological 

Opinion under section 7 of the ESA, on 

the issuance of an IHA to L–DEO under 

section 101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA by the 

NMFS OPR Permits and Conservation 

Division and the NSF’s funding of L– 

DEO’s survey. The Biological Opinion 

concluded that the action is not likely 

to jeopardize the continued existence of 

ESA-listed blue whales, fin whales, sei 

whales, sperm whales, Mexico DPS 

humpback whales, Central America DPS 

humpback whales, and Guadalupe fur 

seals. 

Authorization 

As a result of these determinations, 

NMFS has issued an IHA to L–DEO for 

conducting geophysical surveys of the 

Guerrero Gap in the Eastern Tropical 

Pacific in spring 2022, provided the 

previously mentioned mitigation, 

monitoring, and reporting requirements 

are incorporated. 

Dated: May 2, 2022. 

Kimberly Damon-Randall, 

Director, Office of Protected Resources, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–09792 Filed 5–5–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

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; Southeast Region Vessel 

Monitoring System (VMS) and Related 

Requirements 

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 January 12, 

2022, during a 60-day comment period. 

This notice allows for an additional 30 

days for public comments. 

Agency: National Oceanic & 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

Title: Southeast Region Vessel 

Monitoring System and Related 

Requirements. 

OMB Control Number: 0648–0544. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Request: Regular submission 

(extension of a current information 

collection). 

Number of Respondents: 901. 

Average Hours per Response: Annual 

VMS maintenance, 2 hours; Installation/ 

Activation of VMS unit, 5 hours; 

Installation and activation checklist, 20 

minutes; power-down exemption 

request, 5 minutes; and trip declaration, 

1 minute. 

Total Annual Burden Hours: 2,628. 

Needs and Uses: The NMFS, Office of 

Law Enforcement, Southeast 

Enforcement Division is submitting this 

request for an extension of a currently 

approved information collection. 

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

authorizes the Gulf of Mexico Fishery 

Management Council (Gulf Council) and 

South Atlantic Fishery Management 

Council (South Atlantic Council) to 

prepare and amend fishery management 

plans for any fishery in Federal waters 

under their respective jurisdictions. 

NMFS and the Gulf Council manage the 

reef fish fishery in the Gulf of Mexico 

(Gulf) under the Fishery Management 


JSPEARS on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
27132 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 88 / Friday, May 6, 2022 / Notices 

Plan (FMP) for the Reef Fish Resources 

of the Gulf of Mexico. NMFS and the 

South Atlantic Council manage the 

fishery for rock shrimp in the South 

Atlantic under the FMP for the Shrimp 

Fishery in the South Atlantic Region. 

The vessel monitoring system (VMS) 

regulations for the Gulf reef fish fishery 

and the South Atlantic rock shrimp 

fishery may be found at 50 CFR 622.28 

and 622.205, respectively. 

The FMPs and the implementing 

regulations contain several specific 

management areas where fishing is 

restricted or prohibited to protect 

habitat or spawning aggregations, or to 

control fishing pressure. Unlike size, 

bag, and trip limits, where the catch can 

be monitored on shore when a vessel 

returns to port, area restrictions require 

at-sea enforcement. However, at-sea 

enforcement of offshore areas is difficult 

due to the distance from shore and the 

limited number of patrol vessels, 

resulting in a need to improve 

enforceability of area fishing restrictions 

through remote sensing methods. In 

addition, all fishing gears are subject to 

some area fishing restrictions. Because 

of the sizes of these areas and the 

distances from shore, the effectiveness 

of enforcement through over flights and 

at-sea interception is limited. An 

electronic VMS allows a more effective 

means to monitor vessels for intrusions 

into restricted areas. 

The VMS provides effort data and 

significantly aids in enforcement of 

areas closed to fishing. All position 

reports are treated in accordance with 

NMFS existing guidelines for 

confidential data. As a condition of 

authorized fishing for or possession of 

Gulf reef fish or South Atlantic rock 

shrimp in or from Federal waters, vessel 

owners or operators subject to VMS 

requirements must allow NMFS, the 

United States Coast Guard, and their 

authorized officers and designees, 

access to the vessel’s position data 

obtained from the VMS. 

The information collected on the 

‘‘Vessel Monitoring System Installation 

and Activation Certification for the Reef 

Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico’’ 

form provides NMFS assurance that 

vessels are compliant with the 

requirements to install and activate an 

approved VMS unit. Information 

collected on the ‘‘Vessel Monitoring 

System Mobile Transceiver Unit (MTU) 

Power-Down Exemption Request for 

Vessels in the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish 

Fishery’’ form provides information that 

allows NMFS to exempt a vessel from 

their the VMS reporting requirement 

under specific criteria. 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations. 

Frequency: VMS unit installation, 

once; installation and activation 

checklist, once; power down exemption 

request, variable but on average less 

than once per year; trip declaration, 

variable but an average of 9 annually per 

vessel; and annual maintenance once 

per year. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Submission 

of the Installation and Activation 

certification is and mandatory. 

Transmission of fishing activity report is 

mandatory. Submission of a Power 

down Exemption Authorization request 

is required to obtain or retain benefits. 

Legal Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 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 0648–0544. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Chief Information Officer, Commerce 

Department. 

[FR Doc. 2022–09820 Filed 5–5–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

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; Fisheries Certificate of Origin 

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 January 24, 

2022 during a 60-day comment period. 

This notice allows for an additional 30 

days for public comments. 

Agency: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

Title: Fisheries Certificate of Origin. 

OMB Control Number: 0648–0335. 

Form Number(s): NOAA Form 370. 

Type of Request: Regular submission, 

extension of a current information 

collection. 

Number of Respondents: 540. 

Average Hours per Response: 25 

minutes. 

Total Annual Burden Hours: 5,833. 

Needs and Uses: This request is for an 

extension of a current information 

collection sponsored by NMFS’ Office of 

International Affairs, Trade, and 

Commerce. The information required by 

the International Dolphin Conservation 

Program Act, amendment to the Marine 

Mammal Protection Act, is needed to: 

(1) Document the dolphin-safe status of 

frozen and/or processed tuna import 

shipments; (2) verify that import 

shipments of fish were not harvested by 

large-scale, high seas driftnets; and (3) 

verify that tuna was not harvested by an 

embargoed nation or one that is 

otherwise prohibited from exporting 

tuna to the United States. 

Collected information includes the 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

Entry Identification, date of entry, and 

contact details on the exporting and 

importing companies. Collected 

information also includes harvest 

characteristics such as fishing vessel 

name, fishing trip dates, vessel flag, 

vessel gear type, and ocean area of 

harvest, as well as the declaration of the 

dolphin-safe status of the shipment, and 

if applicable, the attachment of required 

certifications. Forms are submitted by 

importers and processors. NMFS uses 

this information to verify the dolphinsafe status of tuna shipments. 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations. 

Frequency: Per applicable tuna 

importation. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory. 

Legal Authority: Marine Mammal 

Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) 

and the Dolphin Protection Consumer 

Information Act (16 U.S.C. 1385). 

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/ 


JSPEARS on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1