[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 175 (Thursday, September 10, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 54554]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-22708]


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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: Regional Economic Data Collection Program for Southwest 
Alaska.
    OMB Control Number: 0648-xxxx.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: Regular (request for a new information 
collection).
    Number of Respondents: 1,602.
    Average Hours per Response: 45 minutes.
    Burden Hours: 600.
    Needs and Uses: This request is for a new information collection.
    Regional or community economic analysis of proposed fishery 
management policies is required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and 
Executive Order 12866, among others. To satisfy these mandates and 
inform policymakers and the public of the likely regional economic 
impacts associated with fishery management policies, appropriate 
economic models and the data to implement them are needed. Much of the 
data required for regional economic analysis of Southwest Alaska 
fisheries are either unavailable or unreliable. Accurate fishery-level 
data on employment, labor income, and expenditures in the Southwest 
Alaska fishery and related industries are not generally available but 
are needed to estimate the role of fisheries and effects of fishery 
policies on local, regional and national economies. The Southwest 
region for this survey includes six boroughs and census areas (BCAs)--
Aleutians East Borough, Aleutians West Census Area, Bristol Bay 
Borough, Dillingham Census Area, Lake and Peninsula Borough, and Kodiak 
Island Borough.
    In 2007-2008, a similar data collection project was administered 
for the Southwest Alaska region by obtaining 2006 annual data. However, 
that data is now outdated and incomplete. In the proposed survey, 2013 
or 2014 annual data for important regional economic variables will be 
collected from fish harvesting and seafood processing businesses 
operating in the region (2012 data on these variables will be collected 
if more recent vessel landings and processed products data are not 
available at the time the data collection begins). The data will be 
used to develop Southwest regional and BCA-level models that will 
provide more reliable impact estimates and significantly improve 
policymakers' ability to assess effects on fishery-dependent 
communities in Southwest Alaska. A departure from the prior survey 
effort is that more information will be collected this time on the 
source locations of business expenditures by catcher vessels and 
seafood processors. The survey will be conducted one time only.
    A mail survey will be used to collect data on employment, labor 
income, and expenditures from owners of 2,731 catcher vessels whose 
boats delivered fish to Southwest Alaska processors. Key informant 
interviews will be conducted to gather additional information from 30 
seafood processors, including catcher-processor and floating processor 
vessels, and 20 local businesses that supply inputs to regional fish 
harvesters and seafood processors. The interviews will be used to 
determine relative expenditures for inputs made in nine geographical 
areas--(1) each of the six BCAs within the Southwest region, (2) non-
Southwest Alaska region, (3) West Coast, and (4) the rest of US and 
elsewhere. Personal interviews with input suppliers will gather 
additional information on (i) the level of supplier sales to regional 
seafood industry businesses, and (ii) the portion of business 
expenditures for labor and non-labor inputs that were made in each of 
the above nine geographical areas.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
    Frequency: One time.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    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: September 3, 2015.
Sarah Brabson,
NOAA PRA Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-22708 Filed 9-9-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P