[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 88 (Friday, May 6, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27131-27132]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-09820]


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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; 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

[[Page 27132]]

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 for-profit 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