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 April 21, 2023, during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Commerce.
Title: Tilefish Individual Fishing Quota Program.
OMB Control Number: 0648–0590.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular submission—extension of a current information collection.
Number of Respondents: 12.
Average Hours per Response: 0.33.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 18.
Needs and Uses: This request is for an extension of a currently approved information collection.
NMFS Greater Atlantic Region manages the golden tilefish fishery of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Northeastern United States, through the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council prepared the FMP pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The regulations implementing the FMP are specified at 50 CFR part 648 subpart N.
The recordkeeping and reporting requirements at § 648.294 form the basis for this collection of information. NMFS requests information from tilefish individual fishing quota (IFQ) permit holders to process applications that ensure IFQ allocation holders are provided a statement of their annual catch quota, and for enforcement purposes, to ensure vessels are not exceeding an individual quota allocation. In conjunction with the application, NMFS also collects IFQ share accumulation information to ensure that IFQ allocation holders do not acquire an excessive share of the total limited access privileges, as required by section 303A(d)(5)(C) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
NMFS requests transfer application information to process and track requests from allocation holders to transfer quota allocation (permanent and temporary) to another entity. NMFS also collects information for cost recovery purposes as required under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Cost recovery is used to collect fees to recover the costs directly related to management, data collection and analysis, and enforcement of IFQ programs. Lastly, NMFS collects landings information to ensure that the amounts of tilefish landed and ex-vessel prices are properly recorded for quota monitoring purposes and the calculation of IFQ fees. Having this information results in an increasingly more efficient and accurate database for management and monitoring of fisheries of the Northeastern U.S. EEZ.
Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-profit organizations.
Frequency: Annual and as requested.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to Obtain or Retain Benefits.
Legal Authority: Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq, Section 303).
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 0648–0590.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2023–21178 Filed 9–27–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P