The Department of Commerce will submit the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on October 4, 2023 during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
Agency: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
Title: U.S.-Canada Albacore Treaty Reporting System.
OMB Control Number: 0648–0492.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular submission (extension of current information collection).
Number of Respondents: 50.
Average Time per Response: Five minutes for the request to be placed on the eligible list per year; 3 hours for required vessel markings; 10 minutes for logbook entries; 5 minutes for each set of two hail reports for border crossings per year.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 20 hours.
Needs and Uses: This request is for an extension of a current information collection. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), West Coast Region (WCR), manages the United States (U.S.)—Canada Albacore Tuna Treaty of 1981 (Treaty). Owners of vessels that fish from U.S. West Coast ports for albacore tuna (Thunnus alalunga) are required to notify the NMFS WCR of their desire to be on the list of vessels provided to Canada each year indicating vessels eligible to fish for albacore tuna in waters under the jurisdiction of Canada. Additionally, vessel operators are required to report in advance their intention to fish in Canadian waters prior to crossing the maritime border as well as to mark their fishing vessels to facilitate enforcement of the effort limits under the Treaty. Vessel operators are also required to maintain and submit a logbook of all catch and fishing effort. The regulations implementing the reporting and vessel marking requirements under the Treaty are at 50 CFR part 300.172–300.176. If a vessel enters into Canadian waters without adhering to these regulations, they will be in violation of the treaty and Canadian enforcement may issue a fine or a warning.
The estimated burden below includes hours to complete the logbook requirement, although it is assumed that most if not all of the respondents already complete the required logbook under the mandatory West Coast Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan (HMS FMP), OMB Control No. 0648–0223. Duplicate reporting under the Treaty and HMS FMP is not required. Most years, there will be much less fishing (and thus less reporting) under the Treaty than the level on which the estimate is based.
Affected Public: Businesses and other for-profit institutions.
Frequency: Annually.
Legal Authority: Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
This information collection request may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view the Department of Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function and entering either the title of the collection or the OMB Control Number 0648–0492.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2023–27764 Filed 12–15–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P