[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 11 (Friday, January 16, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2393-2394]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-00606]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


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 88-191.
    Type of Request: Regular (extension of a currently approved 
information collection).
    Number of Respondents: 10,216.
    Average Hours per Response: Cost/earnings summaries attached to 
logbook reports, 10 minutes; annual expenditure forms, 30 minutes; 
logbook catch reports, 12 minutes; negative logbook catch reports, 2 
minutes.
    Burden Hours: 36,189.
    Needs and Uses: This request is for extension of a currently 
approved 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.), which implements the International 
Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) 
recommendations.
    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. HMS logbooks are verified using 
observer data that is collected under OMB Control No. 0648-0593 
(Observer Programs' Information That Can Be Gathered Only Through 
Questions). In addition to HMS fisheries, the HMS logbook is also used 
to report catches of dolphin and wahoo by commercial and charter/
headboat fisheries. The HMS logbooks collect data on incidentally-
caught species, including sea turtles, which is necessary to evaluate 
the fisheries in terms of bycatch and encounters with protected 
species. For both directed and incidentally caught species, the 
information supplied through vessel logbooks also provides the catch 
and effort data on a per-set or per-trip level of resolution.
    These data are necessary to assess the status of highly migratory 
species, dolphin, and wahoo in each fishery. International stock 
assessments for tunas, swordfish, billfish, and some species of sharks 
are conducted and presented to the ICCAT periodically and provide, in 
part, the basis for ICCAT management recommendations which

[[Page 2394]]

are binding on member nations. Domestic stock assessments for most 
species of sharks and for dolphin and wahoo are often used as the basis 
of managing these species.
    Supplementary information on fishing costs and earnings has been 
collected via this vessel 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 or other for-profit organizations; 
individuals or households.
    Frequency: Annually and per trip.
    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 [email protected] or fax to (202) 395-5806.

    Dated: January 13, 2015.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-00606 Filed 1-15-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P