WCCE ss new 0071607_Part A

SUPPORTING STATEMENT
WEST COAST COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DATA COLLECTION
OMB CONTROL NO.: 0648-xxxx

A.

JUSTIFICATION

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS) proposes to collect information, pertaining to the economic utilization of marine
resources by coastal communities on the West Coast, that will improve fishery management;
satisfy legal mandates under Executive Order 12866 and National Standard 8 of the Magnuson
Steven Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSFCMA) (U.S.C. 1801 et seq.); and
quantify achievement of the performances measures in the NMFS Strategic Operating Plans.
National Standard 8 of the MSFCMA states:
“Conservation and management measures shall, consistent with the
conservation requirements of this Act (including the prevention of
overfishing and rebuilding of overfished stocks), take into account the
importance of fishery resources to fishing communities in order to (A)
provide for the sustained participation of such communities, and (B) to the
extent practicable, minimize adverse economic impacts on such
communities”.
Economic data for selected U.S. coastal communities will be collected for each of the following
groups of operations: (1) locally operated businesses; (2) resident households; and (3) visitors.
Data collected from each of these groups will focus on determining the impact of marine
resources on community economies. In general, local businesses will be asked questions
concerning their sources of revenue, location and levels of expenditures, ownership, dependence
on the fisheries and other marine resources, and fishery employment. Households will be asked
questions concerning their sources of income, the location of expenditures made, and their
dependence on fishing and other marine resources. Visitors will be asked questions concerning
region of residence, expenditures made while visiting, and reasons for visiting. The data
collection efforts will be coordinated to reduce the additional burden for those who own multiple
businesses. Participation in these data collections will be voluntary.
The data will be used to construct a regional economic simulation model to analyze the
economic impacts of fishery management alternatives and to investigate the degree of economic
dependence on marine resources in the respective communities. Regional economic impact
modeling involves examining the linkages that a given industry has in the broader regional
economy. For example, expansion of charter boat activity in a coastal community generates
additional activity in businesses who sell tackle, fuel and other goods to charter boats and who,
in turn, buy additional inputs and hire more labor in order to meet increased charter boat demand.
If charter boat operations contract, the multiplier effect works in reverse.

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2. Explain how, by whom, how frequently, and for what purpose the information will be
used. If the information collected will be disseminated to the public or used to support
information that will be disseminated to the public, then explain how the collection
complies with all applicable Information Quality Guidelines.
Data will be collected from a random sample of the owners and operators of businesses,
households, and visitors to eight communities on the West Coast. The communities are listed in
Part B and were chosen as a representative sample of small to medium size communities in this
geographic area. Data collection will involve in-person interviews and/or mail questionnaires
sent to selected members of each of the different survey groups. In many cases, individuals may
receive the questionnaire in advance to allow them to prepare their responses but may be
interviewed via telephone or in person to ensure the clarity of their responses. To the extent
practicable, the data collected will be that which the respondents maintain for their own business
purposes. Therefore, the collection burden will consist principally of transcribing data from their
internal records to the survey instrument and participating in personal interviews. In addition,
current data reporting requirements will be evaluated to determine if they can be modified to
provide improved economic data at a lower cost to the Agency and with reduced burden on
potential respondents.
As explained in the preceding paragraphs, the information gathered has utility. NMFS will retain
control over the information and safeguard it from improper access, modification, and
destruction, consistent with NOAA standards for confidentiality, privacy, and electronic
information. See response #10 of this Supporting Statement for more information on
confidentiality and privacy. The information collection is designed to yield data that meet all
applicable information quality guidelines. Prior to dissemination, the information will be
subjected to quality control measures and a pre-dissemination review pursuant to Section 515 of
Public Law 106-554.
3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological techniques or other forms of
information technology.
Survey questionnaires for businesses and households will be available in both paper and
electronic forms. The electronic forms will be available for download online and will be
available in both a fillable Portable Document Format (PDF) and a fillable and savable MS Word
format.
4. Describe efforts to identify duplication.
This program represents the only known effort to collect regional economic and visitor use data
from coastal communities on the West Coast. Additionally, state and other federal agencies will
be notified of this project to insure that no other agency is collecting similar data. No other
process for obtaining statistically valid descriptions of community economic and visitor use data
of coastal communities exists. No other previous research initiative has attempted to gather this
level of community economic data. This project fills a critical void for NMFS and its mandate to
fulfill the requirements of National Standard 8. Data collected in this study will be combined
with other publicly available data. No data will be collected that can be obtained from other
publicly available sources.
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5. If the collection of information involves small businesses or other small entities,
describe the methods used to minimize burden.
The support and backing of the local city government will be a prerequisite to conducting this
data collection in a specific coastal city. City Council and Chamber of Commerce officials have
been consulted and their suggestions have been incorporated into the survey instrument as it was
developed.
6. Describe the consequences to the Federal program or policy activities if the collection is
not conducted or is conducted less frequently.
Availability of this data would substantially enhance the amount and quality of information
available to fishery managers, fishery participants and the public. If this data is not collected, the
ability of managers to fulfill the requirements of National Standard 8 of the MSFCMA with
respect to the impacts of management actions on coastal communities would be greatly
diminished and quite possibly eliminated.
7. Explain any special circumstances that require the collection to be conducted in a
manner inconsistent with OMB guidelines.
This collection is consistent with the guidelines.
8. Provide a copy of the PRA Federal Register notice that solicited public comments on the
information collection prior to this submission. Summarize the public comments received
in response to that notice and describe the actions taken by the agency in response to those
comments. Describe the efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their
views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and
recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be
recorded, disclosed, or reported.
The notice of the agency’s intent to revise and extend this collection was published in the Federal
Register on 03/21/2007 (72 FR 13249-13250). One public comment was received. The
comment stated that data should be collected from a wide range of communities and that data
should be as recent as possible. The data will be collected in 2008 and will be for records kept in
2007. Eight small to medium sized communities along the West Coast were chosen to be
surveyed in this study. Budget constraints preclude surveying additional communities at this
time. The eight communities chosen do represent a broad range of small to medium sized
communities along the West Coast. Further comments related to the economic model that will
partially utilize some of the data collected from this study. The economic model is not explicitly
dealt with in this submission; however, the comments will be considered when the economic
model is built.
9. Explain any decisions to provide payments or gifts to respondents, other than
remuneration of contractors or grantees.
Visitors to these communities are potentially going to be intercepted while they are on vacation
or while visiting an attraction. It is reasonable to assume that they will be reluctant to take time,
even 15 minutes, out of their day to fill out a survey. To encourage responses, all people
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intercepted will be asked the 4 questions on page one of the visitor survey. These questions are
expected to take less than a minute to respond to. Then, if the person is there from out of town
for the purpose of recreation/vacation, they will be asked to complete a short, 3-page, 15 minute
questionnaire about their visit. In return, they will be offered a NMFS tee shirt. The tee shirt
will be designed to be attractive and unique to provide a strong incentive to the respondents to
take 15 minutes out of their visit to complete the survey.
It is estimated that the shirts will cost between $4 and $5 dollars to produce. This value is
consistent with other token gifts that have been offered to survey respondents.
10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for
assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.
Personally identifiable data will be collected only on the businesses survey. No personally
identifiable date will be collected on the household survey or the visitor survey. For the business
survey, data that are deemed financial in nature will be held confidential under the provisions of
Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act.
11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual
behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered
private.
No sensitive questions of this nature will be asked.
12. Provide an estimate in hours of the burden of the collection of information.
Estimated Number of Respondents: A total of 8 communities will be surveyed for an annualized
estimated total of 400 businesses, 840 households and 1,691 visitors (all completing the initial
four screening questions and 1,014 of these completing the additional questions) per year. Each
community and each respondent will be surveyed only once.
Estimated Time Per Response: 45 minutes per survey of businesses; 30 minutes per survey of
households and 20 minutes per survey of individual recreational visitors (5 minutes for initial 4
questions and 15 minutes for follow-up questionnaire);
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours:
Businesses: 45 minutes x 400 = 300 hours.
Households: 30 minutes x 840 = 420 hours.
Visitors: 1,691 x 5 minutes = 141 hours.
1,014 x 15 minutes = 254 hours.
Total hours = 1,115.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $27,875 (using an hourly estimate of $25).

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13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to the respondents or recordkeepers resulting from the collection (excluding the value of the burden hours in #12
above).
There are no expected costs to respondents to complete the postage-paid survey.
14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government.
The response to this question covers the actual costs the agency will incur as a result of
implementing the information collection. The estimate covers the entire life cycle of the
collection and include costs, if applicable, for:
•
Employee labor and materials for developing, printing, storing forms
•
Employee labor and materials for developing computer systems, screens, or
reports to support the collection
•
Employee travel costs
•
Cost of contractor services or other reimbursements to individuals or
organizations assisting in the collection of information
•
Employee labor and materials for collecting the information
•
Employee labor and materials for analyzing, evaluating, summarizing, and/or
reporting on the collected information
This research initiative is funded as a part of the NMFS economic data collection efforts. The
total amount allocated to this project is $120,000, or an annualized cost of $40,000. These
monies have already been requested and authorized.
15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reported in Items 13 or
14 of the OMB 83-I.
This is a new collection.
16. For collections whose results will be published, outline the plans for tabulation and
publication.
Data from this survey will be used to estimate the economic dependence of selected communities
on marine resources. The following data will be reported:
1.
Total revenue of businesses aggregated by 2-digit North American Industry
Classification System (NAICS) code
2.
Average revenue collected by businesses aggregated by 2-digit NAICS code
3.
Total expenditures by category for businesses aggregated by 2-digit NAICS code
4.
Average expenditures by category for businesses aggregated by 2-digit NAICS
code
5.
Average proportion of expenditures by category that were purchased out of the
home city and proportion that were purchased out of home city
6.
Household use of marine resources
7.
Location of household expenditures
8.
Visitor utilization of marine resources
9.
Visitor expenditure profiles
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If there are enough observations (more than 3) for individual NAICS codes in an individual
county and we get an adequate response rate, the data may be used to estimate the economic
contributions of specific fishery related sectors in individual counties. However, data will never
be reported where there are less than three observations or in other potential cases where
individual respondents could be personally identifiable. In these cases, data will be aggregated at
the industry code level and at a geographic level to protect respondent anonymity.
17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the
information collection, explain the reasons why display would be inappropriate.
Not applicable
18. Explain each exception to the certification statement identified in Item 19 of the
OMB 83-I.
There are no exceptions.

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