The American Fisheries Act (AFA),
signed into law in October 1998, established a new allocation
program for the pollock fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian
Islands Management Area (BSAI). Under the AFA, only vessels and
processors that meet specific qualifying criteria are eligible to
fish for and process pollock in the BSAI. Furthermore, the BSAI
pollock quota is to be suballocated to groups of vessel owners who
form fishing vessel cooperatives under the AFA. To implement this
program, NMFS must establish a permitting program under which
qualified owners of pollock fishing vessels, pollock processors,
and....
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.