[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 199 (Tuesday, October 17, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Page 48215]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-22483]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of 
information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. Chapter 35).
    Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
    Title: Highly Migratory Species Vessel Logbooks and Cost-Earnings 
Data Reports.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-0371.
    Form Number(s): NOAA Form 88-191.
    Type of Request: Regular (revision and extension of a currently 
approved information collection).
    Number of Respondents: 7,213.
    Average Hours per Response: 10 minutes for cost/earnings summaries 
attached to logbook reports, 30 minutes for annual expenditure forms, 
12 minutes for logbook catch trip and set reports, 2 minutes for 
negative logbook catch reports; cost-earning trip reports and annual 
expenditure reports, 30 minute each.
    Burden Hours: 31,033.
    Needs and Uses: This request is for revision and extension of a 
current information collection.
    Under the provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service 
(NMFS) is responsible for management of the nation's marine fisheries. 
In addition, NMFS must comply with the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of 
1975 (16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.), under which the agency implements 
recommendations by the International Commission for the Conservation of 
Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), as necessary and appropriate.
    This information collection is being revised to include modified 
trip summary and cost-earnings logbook forms for the Atlantic Tunas 
General Category, Swordfish General Commercial, and Atlantic Highly 
Migratory Species (HMS) Charter/Headboat fisheries. Reporting burden 
associated with logbooks for the Atlantic Tunas General Category and 
HMS Charter/Headboat fisheries has been authorized under previous 
versions of this information collection, but the reporting burden 
associated with the Swordfish General Commercial permit is new as it 
was implemented only in 2014, and the category has not previously been 
selected for logbook reporting.
    NMFS collects information via vessel logbooks to monitor the U.S. 
catch of Atlantic swordfish, sharks, billfish, and tunas in relation to 
the quotas, thereby ensuring that the United States complies with its 
domestic and international obligations. The HMS logbook program, OMB 
Control No. 0648-0371, was specifically designed to collect the vessel 
level information needed for the management of Atlantic HMS, and 
includes set forms, trip forms, negative reports, and cost-earning 
requirements for both commercial and recreational vessels. The 
information supplied through the HMS logbook program provides the catch 
and effort data on a per-set or per-trip level of resolution for both 
directed and incidental species. In addition to HMS fisheries, the HMS 
logbook program is also used to report catches of dolphin and wahoo by 
commercial and charter/headboat fisheries by vessels that do not 
possess other federal permits. Additionally, the HMS logbook collects 
data on incidental species, including sea turtles, which is necessary 
to evaluate the fisheries in terms of bycatch and encounters with 
protected species. While most HMS fishermen use the HMS logbook 
program, HMS can also be reported as part of several other logbook 
collections including the Northeast Region Fishing Vessel Trip Reports 
(0648-0212) and Southeast Region Coastal Logbook (0648-0016).
    These data are necessary to assess the status of HMS, dolphin, and 
wahoo in each fishery. International stock assessments for tunas, 
swordfish, billfish, and some species of sharks are conducted through 
ICCAT's Standing Committee on Research and Statistics periodically and 
provide, in part, the basis for ICCAT management recommendations which 
become binding on member nations. Domestic stock assessments for most 
species of sharks and for dolphin and wahoo are used as the basis of 
managing these species.
    Supplementary information on fishing costs and earnings has been 
collected via the HMS logbook program. This economic information 
enables NMFS to assess the economic impacts of regulatory programs on 
small businesses and fishing communities, consistent with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Executive Order 12866, the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act, and other domestic laws.
    Affected Public: Business and other for-profit organizations; 
individuals or households.
    Frequency: Annually and on occasion.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    This information collection request may be viewed at reginfo.gov. 
Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce collections 
currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#26696f7467797553444b4f55554f494866494b440843495608414950"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d996908b98868aacbbb4b0aaaab0b6b799b6b4bbf7bcb6a9f7beb6af">[email protected]</span></a> or fax to (202) 395-5806.

    Dated: October 12, 2017.
Sarah Brabson,
NOAA PRA Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2017-22483 Filed 10-16-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P


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