35506 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 112 / Friday, June 10, 2022 / Notices 

VI. Recommendation 

[FR Doc. 2022–12474 Filed 6–9–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–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; Northwest Region Federal 

Fisheries Permits 

AGENCY: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of information collection, 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Commerce, in accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA), 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 preceding submission of the 

collection to OMB. 

DATES: To ensure consideration, 

comments regarding this proposed 

information collection must be received 

on or before August 9, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments to 

Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer, 

at NOAA.PRA@noaa.gov. Please 

reference OMB Control Number 0648– 

0203 in the subject line of your 

comments. 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 Matt 

Dunlap, Fishery Policy Analyst, NOAA 

Fisheries/West Coast Region, 7600 Sand 

Point Way NE, Bldg. 1, Seattle, WA 

98115, (206–316–7944), and 

matthew.dunlap@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

This request is for extension of a 

currently approved information 

collection. The Magnuson-Stevens Act 

(16 U.S.C. 1801) provides that the 

Secretary of Commerce is responsible 

for the conservation and management of 

marine fisheries resources in Exclusive 

Economic Zone (3–200 miles) of the 

United States (U.S.). NOAA Fisheries 

manages the Pacific Coast Groundfish 

Fishery in the Exclusive Economic Zone 

(EEZ) off Washington, Oregon, and 

California under the Pacific Coast 

Groundfish Fishery Management Plan. 

The regulations implementing the 

Pacific Groundfish Fishery require that 

those vessels participating in the limited 

entry fishery be registered to a valid 

limited entry permit. Participation in 

the fishery and access to a limited entry 

permit has been restricted to control the 

overall harvest capacity. 

NOAA Fisheries seeks comment on 

the extension of permit information 

collections required for: (1) renewal and 

transfer of Pacific Coast Groundfish 

limited entry permits; (2) 

implementation of certain provisions of 

the sablefish permit stacking program as 

provided for at 50 CFR 660.231 and 

660.25; and (3) issuing and fulfilling the 

terms and conditions of certain 

exempted fishing permits (EFPs). The 

regulations implementing the limited 

entry program are found at 50 CFR part 

660, subpart G. 

In addition, NOAA Fisheries requires 

an information collection to implement 

certain aspects of the sablefish permit 

stacking program, which prevents 

excessive fleet consolidation. As part of 

the annual renewal process, NOAA 

Fisheries requires a corporation or 

partnership that owns or holds (as 

vessel owner) a sablefish endorsed 

permit to provide a complete ownership 

interest form listing all individuals with 

ownership interest in the entity. 

Similarly, any sablefish endorsed permit 

transfer involving registration of a 

business entity requires an ownership 

interest form if either the permit owner 

or vessel owner is a corporation or 

partnership. This information is used to 

determine if individuals own or hold 

sablefish permits in excess of the limit 

of three permits. Also, for transfer 

requests made during the sablefish 

primary season (April 1st through 

October 31st), the permit owner is 

required to report the remaining tier 

pounds not yet harvested on the 

sablefish endorsed permit at the time of 

transfer. 

Applicants for an exempted fishing 

permit (EFP) must submit written 

information that allows NOAA Fisheries 

and the Pacific Fishery Management 

Council to evaluate the proposed 

exempted fishing project activities and 

weigh the benefits and costs of the 

proposed activities. The Council makes 

a recommendation on each EFP 

application and for successful 

applicants, NOAA Fisheries issues the 

EFPs that contains terms and conditions 

for the project including various 

reporting requirements. The information 

included in an application is specified 

at 50 CFR 600.745(b)(2) and the Council 

Operating Procedure #19. Permit 

holders are required to file preseason 

harvest plans, interim and/or final 

summary reports on the results of the 

project, and in some cases individual 

vessels and other permit holders are 

required to provide data reports (i.e., 

logbooks and/or catch reports). The 

results of EFPs are commonly used to 

explore ways to reduce effort on 

depressed stocks, encourage innovation 

and efficiency in the fishery, provide 

access to constrained stocks by directly 

measuring the bycatch associated with 

such strategies, and evaluate/revise 

current and proposed management 

measures. 

Letters of Authorization (LOAs) and 

Exempted Educational Activity 

Authorizations (EEAAs) were 

historically collected under OMB 

control number 0648–0309. LOAs and 

EEAAs were combined into this 

collection (0648–0203) in 2019. 

NMFS may grant exemptions from 

fishery regulations for educational or 

other activities (e.g., using nonregulation gear). An EEAA is a permit 

issued by the Regional Office to 

accredited educational institutions that 

authorize, for educational purposes, the 

target or incidental harvest of species 

managed under an FMP or fishery 

regulations that would otherwise be 

prohibited. EEAAs are generally of 

limited scope and duration, and 

authorize the take of the amount of fish 

necessary to demonstrate the lesson. 

Researchers are requested to submit 

reports of their scientific research 

activity after its completion. 

LOAs are required under Section 

101(a)(5)(A) of the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972 for the 

incidental take of marine mammals 

during fisheries surveys and related 

research activities conducted by the 

Northwest Fisheries Science Center 

(NWFSC), NMFS. Management of 

certain marine mammals falls under the 

jurisdiction of the NMFS under the 

MPA and Endangered Species Act (ESA) 

and mechanisms exist under both the 

ESA and MMPA to assess the effect of 

incidental takings and to authorize 

appropriate levels of take. 

II. Method of Collection 

Renewal forms are mailed to all 

permit owners. They can complete their 

renewals online, submit by mail, or in 

person. Ownership interest forms and 

permit transfer forms are available from 

the region’s website but must be 

submitted to NOAA Fisheries by mail or 

in person. Applications for an exempted 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 112 / Friday, June 10, 2022 / Notices 35507 

fishing permit must be submitted in a 

written format. The exempted fishing 

permit data reports may be submitted in 

person, faxed, submitted by telephone 

or emailed by the monitor, plant 

manager, vessel owner or operator to 

NOAA Fisheries or the states of 

Washington, Oregon, or California. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 0648–0203. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Review: Regular submission 

(extension of a current information 

collection). 

Affected Public: Individuals, Nonprofit institutions, State, local, or tribal 

government; business or other for-profit 

organizations. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

539. 

Estimated Time per Response: Permit 

renewals: 20 minutes; Permit transfers: 

30 minutes; Sablefish ownership 

interest form: 10 minutes; EFP 

Applications: 32 hours; EFP Trip 

Notifications: 2 minutes; EFP Harvest 

Plans: 16 hours; EFP Data Reports: 2 

hours; EFP Summary Reports: interim 

report, 4 hours; final report, 20 hours; 

Letters of Authorization: 6 hours; 

Exempted Educational Activities 

Authorizations, 6 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 2,011 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost to 

Public: $56,468. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Required to 

Obtain Benefits. 

Legal Authority: Magnuson-Stevens 

Act (16 U.S.C. 1801). 

IV. Request for Comments 

We are soliciting public comments to 

permit NOAA Fisheries to: (a) Evaluate 

whether the proposed information 

collection is necessary for the proper 

functions of the agency, 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 ICR. 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, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Chief Information Officer, Commerce 

Department. 

[FR Doc. 2022–12592 Filed 6–9–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Solicitation for Applications for 

Advisory Councils Established 

Pursuant to the National Marine 

Sanctuaries Act and Executive Order 

AGENCY: Office of National Marine 

Sanctuaries (ONMS), National Ocean 

Service (NOS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Department of Commerce (DOC). 

ACTION: Notice of solicitation. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

ONMS will solicit applications to fill 

non-governmental seats on its 15 

established national marine sanctuary 

advisory councils and the Northwestern 

Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem 

Reserve Advisory Council (advisory 

councils), under the National Marine 

Sanctuaries Act and the Northwestern 

Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem 

Reserve Executive Order, respectively. 

The list of 16 established advisory 

councils in the Contact Information for 

Each Site section includes the advisory 

council established for the Proposed 

Lake Ontario National Marine 

Sanctuary. Vacant seats, including 

positions (i.e., primary and alternate), 

for each of the advisory councils will be 

advertised differently at each site in 

accordance with the information 

provided in this notice. This notice 

contains web page links and contact 

information for each site, as well as 

additional resources on advisory 

council vacancies and the application 

process. 

DATES: Please visit individual site web 

pages, or reach out to a site as identified 

in this notice’s SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section on Contact 

Information for Each Site, regarding the 

timing and advertisement of vacant 

seats, including positions (i.e., primary 

or alternate), for each of the advisory 

councils. Applications will only be 

accepted in response to current, open 

vacancies and in accordance with the 

deadlines and instructions included on 

each site’s website. 

ADDRESSES: Vacancies and applications 

are specific to each site’s advisory 

council. Contact information for each 

site is contained in the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information on a particular 

advisory council or available seats, 

please contact the site as identified in 

this notice’s SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section on Contact 

Information for Each Site, below. For 

general inquiries related to this notice or 

ONMS advisory councils established 

pursuant to the National Marine 

Sanctuaries Act or Executive Order 

13178, contact Katie Denman, Office of 

National Marine Sanctuaries Policy and 

Planning Division (katie.denman@

noaa.gov; 240–533–0702). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

315 of the National Marine Sanctuaries 

Act (NMSA) (16 U.S.C. 1445A) 

authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to 

establish advisory councils to advise 

and make recommendations regarding 

the designation and management of 

national marine sanctuaries. Executive 

Order 13178 similarly established a 

Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve Council 

pursuant to the NMSA for the 

Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral 

Reef Ecosystem Reserve. In this 

Supplementary Information section, 

NOAA provides details regarding the 

Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, 

the role of advisory councils, and 

contact information for each site. 

Office of National Marine Sanctuaries 

(ONMS) 

ONMS serves as the trustee for a 

network of underwater parks 

encompassing more than 620,000 square 

miles of marine and Great Lakes waters 

from Washington state to the Florida 

Keys, and from Lake Huron to American 

Samoa. The network includes a system 

of 15 national marine sanctuaries and 

Papaha ̄naumokua ̄kea and Rose Atoll 

marine national monuments. National 

marine sanctuaries protect our Nation’s 

most vital coastal and marine natural 

and cultural resources through active 

research, management, and public 

engagement. These activities sustain 

healthy environments that are the 

foundation for thriving communities 

and local economies. 

One of the many ways ONMS ensures 

public participation in the designation 

and management of national marine 

sanctuaries is by convening advisory 


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