[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 235 (Friday, December 6, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73499-73500]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-29104]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Atlantic Sea 
Scallops Amendment 10 Data Collection

AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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[[Page 73500]]

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 February 4, 
2014.

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 [email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should 
be directed to Emily Gilbert, 978-281-9244 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    This request is for an extension of a currently approved 
information collection.
    National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Northeast Region manages 
the Atlantic sea scallop (scallop) fishery of the Exclusive Economic 
Zone (EEZ) off the East Coast under the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP). The regulations implementing the FMP are at 50 
CFR Part 648. To successfully implement and administer components of 
the FMP, OMB Control No. 0648-0491 includes the following information 
collections for scallop vessel owners, operators, and fishery 
participants: vessel monitoring system (VMS) trip declarations for all 
scallop vessels, including powerdown declarations; notification of 
access area trip termination for limited access scallop vessels; 
submission of access area compensation trip identification; submission 
of broken trip adjustment and access area trip exchange forms; VMS 
purchase and installation for individuals that purchase a federally 
permitted scallop vessel; submission of ownership cap forms for 
individual fishing quota (IFQ) scallop vessels; submission of vessel 
replacement, upgrade and permit history applications for IFQ, Northern 
Gulf of Maine (NGOM), and Incidental Catch (IC) scallop vessels; 
submission of VMS pre-landing notification form by IFQ vessels; 
enrollment into the state waters exemption program; submission of 
requests for IFQ transfers; payment of cost recovery bills for IFQ 
vessels; sector proposals for IFQ vessels and industry participants; 
and sector operations plans for approved sector proposals.
    Data collected through these programs are incorporated into the 
NMFS database and are used to track and confirm vessel permit status 
and eligibility, scallop landings, and scallop vessel allocations. 
Aggregated summaries of the collected information will be used to 
evaluate the management program and future management proposals.

II. Method of Collection

    Participants will submit electronic VMS transmissions and paper 
applications by mail, facsimile, or email.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0648-0491.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission (extension of a currently 
approved collection).
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 783.
    Estimated Time per Response: VMS trip declaration, trip 
termination, compensation trip identification, powerdown provision, 2 
minutes; broken trip adjustment and access area trip exchange, 10 
minutes; VMS purchase and installation, 2 hours; IFQ ownership cap 
forms, 5 minutes; vessel replacement, upgrade and permit history 
applications, 3 hours; VMS pre-landing notification form, 5 minutes; 
VMS state waters exemption program, 2 minutes; quota transfers, 10 
minutes; cost recovery, 2 hours; sector proposals, 150 hours; sector 
operations plans, 100 hours; IFQ, Northern Gulf of Maine, and 
incidental catch vessel VMS requirements, 2 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 2,804.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $775,719.

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: December 2, 2013
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-29104 Filed 12-5-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P