Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 180 / Tuesday, September 19, 2017 / Notices 43745 

0648–0743 (Alaska Notification of Intent 

to Process Aleutian Islands Pacific Cod) 

will be merged into this collection. 

Under that collection, the City Manager 

of Adak and the City Administrator of 

Atka notify NMFS of their city’s intent 

to process Pacific cod in the upcoming 

year. 

II. Method of Collection 

Paper logbooks and paper and 

electronic reports are required from 

participants. Methods of submittal 

include mail, Internet, and facsimile 

transmission of paper forms. 

The notification from the City 

Manager of Adak and the City 

Administrator of Atka of their city’s 

intent to process Pacific cod must be 

submitted by certified mail through the 

United States Postal Service. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 0648–0213. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Review: Regular submission 

(revision/extension of a current 

information collection). 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households; business or other for-profit 

organizations. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

606. 

Estimated Time per Response: 35 

minutes per active response and 5 

minutes per inactive response for 

Catcher Vessel Longline and Pot Gear 

DFL; 18 minutes for active response and 

5 minutes for inactive response for 

Catcher Vessel Trawl Gear DFL; 7 

minutes for Mothership Check-in/ 

Check-out Report; 50 minutes per active 

response and 5 minutes per inactive 

response for Catcher/processor Longline 

and Pot Gear DCPL; 5 minutes for 

Shoreside Processor Check-in/Check-out 

Report; 20 minutes for Product Transfer 

Report; 14 minutes for Vessel Activity 

Report; and 30 minutes for Notification 

of Intent to Process Aleutian Islands 

Pacific Cod (currently approved under 

0648–0743). 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 15,692 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost to 

Public: $9,536 in recordkeeping/ 

reporting costs. 

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. 

Dated: September 14, 2017. 

Sarah Brabson, 

NOAA PRA Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2017–19887 Filed 9–18–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XF657 

Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative 

Management Act Provisions; General 

Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; 

Application for Exempted Fishing 

Permits 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Assistant Regional 

Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries, 

Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, has 

made a preliminary determination that 

an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) 

renewal application from the 

Commercial Fisheries Research 

Foundation (CFRF) contains all of the 

required information and warrants 

further consideration. This permit 

would exempt participating commercial 

fishing vessels from Federal lobster 

escape vent, trap limit, and trap tag 

regulations, as well as restrictions on 

temporary possession of egg-bearing and 

v-notched female and sublegal-sized 

juvenile lobsters, to facilitate research 

on the abundance and distribution of 

juvenile American lobster and Jonah 

crab along the northwest Atlantic coast. 

Regulations under the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act and the Atlantic 

Coastal Fisheries Cooperative 

Management Act require publication of 

this notification to provide interested 

parties the opportunity to comment on 

applications for proposed Exempted 

Fishing Permits. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before October 4, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit written 

comments by any of the following 

methods: 

• Email: NMFS.GAR.EFP@noaa.gov. 

Include in the subject line ‘‘Comments 

on CFRF Lobster Study Fleet EFP.’’ 

• Mail: John K. Bullard, Regional 

Administrator, NMFS, Greater Atlantic 

Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great 

Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. 

Mark the outside of the envelope 

‘‘Comments on CFRF Lobster Study 

Fleet EFP.’’ 

• Fax: (978) 281–9135. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Cynthia Hanson, Fishery Management 

Specialist, 978–281–9180, 

Cynthia.Hanson@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Commercial Fisheries Research 

Foundation submitted a complete 

application to renew an existing 

Exempted Fishing Permit on August 10, 

2017, to conduct fishing activities that 

the regulations would otherwise restrict. 

The EFP would authorize 18 vessels to 

conduct a study using ventless traps to 

survey the abundance and distribution 

of juvenile American lobster and Jonah 

crab in regions and times of year not 

covered by traditional surveys. Overall, 

this EFP proposes to use a total of 54 

ventless lobster traps throughout lobster 

management areas 2, 3, 4, and 5; 

covering statistical areas 514, 515, 521, 

522, 525, 526, 533, 534, 537, 538, 539, 

541, 542, 543, 561, 562, 613, 615, 616, 

622, 623, 624, 626, 627, 628, 629, 632, 

633, 634, 636, 637, 638, and 640. Maps 

depicting these areas are available on 

request. The study is designed to aid 

and inform management by addressing 

the questions of changing reproduction 

and recruitment dynamics of lobster, 

and developing a foundation of 

knowledge for the emergent Jonah crab 

fishery. 

Funding for this study has been 

awarded through the Campbell 

Foundation and the Saltonstall-Kennedy 

Grants Program (Grant 

#NA17NMF4270208). For this research, 

CFRF is requesting exemptions from the 

following Federal lobster regulations: 

1. Gear specification requirements in 

50 CFR 697.21(c) to allow for closed 

escape vents and smaller trap mesh and 

entrance heads; 

2. Trap limit requirements, as listed in 

§ 697.19, for areas 2, 3, 4 and 5, to be 

exceeded by 3 additional traps per 

fishing vessel for a total of 54 additional 

traps; 

3. Trap tag requirements, as specified 

in § 697.19(j), to allow for the use of 

untagged traps (though each 


asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES
43746 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 180 / Tuesday, September 19, 2017 / Notices 

experimental trap will have the 

participating fisherman’s identification 

attached); and 

4. Possession restrictions in 

§§ 697.20(a), 697.20(d), and 697.20(g) to 

allow for temporary possession of 

juvenile, v-notched, and egg-bearing 

lobsters for onboard biological 

sampling. 

If the EFP is approved, this research 

would take place during the regular 

fishing activity of the participating 18 

federally permitted commercial fishing 

vessels: 6 ‘‘inshore’’ vessels in lobster 

management area 2 and 12 ‘‘offshore’’ 

vessels in lobster management areas 3, 

4, and 5. Each participating vessel 

would have up to three modified traps 

attached to a standard, Atlantic Large 

Whale-compliant trap trawl. No more 

than 54 total modified traps would be in 

the water at any time. Modifications to 

conventional lobster traps used in this 

study include a closed escape vents, 

single parlors, and smaller mesh sizes 

and entrance heads, all to allow for the 

capture of juvenile lobsters and Jonah 

crabs. Sampling would occur during 

regular fishing activity on each vessel 

weekly in area 2, and every 10 days in 

the other areas. 

During sampling, all lobsters and 

Jonah crabs will be counted, sexed, and 

measured. Other biological information 

will be recorded on both lobster and 

Jonah crab catch, including shell 

hardness and presence of eggs. The 

possession exemptions are required to 

temporarily hold catch onboard for 

biological sampling before animals are 

promptly returned to the sea. No catch 

of any species from experimental traps 

will be landed for sale. All data 

collected will be made available to state 

and Federal management agencies to 

improve and enhance the available data 

for these two crustacean species. 

If approved, the applicant may 

request minor modifications and 

extensions to the EFP throughout the 

study period. EFP modifications and 

extensions may be granted without 

further notice if they are deemed 

essential to facilitate completion of the 

proposed research and have minimal 

impacts that do not change the scope or 

impact of the initially approved EFP 

request. Any fishing activity conducted 

outside the scope of the exempted 

fishing activity would be prohibited. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. 

Dated: September 14, 2017. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–19925 Filed 9–18–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Proposed Information Collection; 

Comment Request; Individual Fishing 

Quotas for Pacific Halibut and 

Sablefish in the Alaska Fisheries 

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 November 20, 

2017. 

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 

Paperwork Clearance Officer, 

Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 

14th and Constitution Avenue NW., 

Washington, DC 20230 (or via the 

Internet at pracomments@doc.gov). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the information collection 

instrument and instructions should be 

directed to Stephanie Warpinski, (907) 

586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

This request is for revision and 

extension of a currently approved 

information collection. 

The National Marine Fisheries Service 

(NMFS) established the Individual 

Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program to improve 

the long-term productivity of the 

sablefish and Pacific halibut fisheries by 

further promoting the conservation and 

management objectives of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act, 16 

U.S.C. 1801 et seq., (with respect to 

sablefish) and the Northern Pacific 

Halibut Act of 1982 (with respect to 

Pacific halibut) while retaining the 

character and distribution of the fishing 

fleets as much as possible. The IFQ 

Program includes several provisions, 

such as ownership caps and vessel use 

caps that protect small harvesters and 

processors, part-time participants, and 

entry-level participants that otherwise 

could be adversely affected by excessive 

consolidation. 

The IFQ Program also includes other 

restrictions to prevent the halibut and 

sablefish fisheries from domination by 

large boats or by any particular vessel 

class. NMFS designed the requirements 

to maintain a predominantly owneroperated fishery, which was a key 

characteristic of the halibut and 

sablefish fisheries prior to the 

implementation of the IFQ Program. The 

IFQ Program provides each fisherman 

an IFQ that can be used any time during 

the open season to allow each fisherman 

to set his/her own pace and fishing 

effort. 

Under the IFQ Program, quota share 

(QS) represents a harvesting privilege 

for a person. Annually, NMFS issues 

IFQ to QS holders to harvest specified 

poundage. The specific amount of IFQ 

held by a person is determined by the 

number of QS units held, the total 

number of QS units issued in a specific 

regulatory area, and the total pounds of 

sablefish or halibut allocated for the IFQ 

fisheries in a particular year. Fishermen 

may harvest the IFQ over the entire 

fishing season, which extends 

approximately from March through 

November 15. 

The IFQ Manual Landing Report form 

will be removed from this information 

collection. This form is approved under 

OMB Control Number 0648–0515 

(Alaska Interagency Electronic 

Reporting System (IERS)) and will 

remain in that collection. 

II. Method of Collection 

‘‘Fillable’’ forms and applications are 

available from the NMFS Alaska Region 

Web site at https://

alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/fisheriesapplications, except for those forms 

completed by NOAA Office of Law 

Enforcement officers via the telephone. 

These forms and applications may be 

completed on the computer by the 

participant, downloaded, printed, and 

faxed to NMFS. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 0648–0272. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Type of Review: Regular submission 

(revision and extension of a current 

information collection). 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations; Individuals or 

households; Not-for-profit institutions. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

1,639. 

Estimated Time per Response: 

Application for Eligibility to receive QS/ 

IFQ (TEC), QS holder form 

(Identification of Ownership Interest), 

Application for Transfer of QS/IFQ 

(includes sweep-up); Application for 

Military Transfer, and Application for 


asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES