0433 ss ren _rev 040208

SUPPORTING STATEMENT
REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE OCEAN SALMON FISHERY OFF THE
COASTS OF WASHINGTON, OREGON, AND CALIFORNIA
OMB CONTROL NO.: 0648-0433

A.

JUSTIFICATION

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.
Based on the management regime specified each year, designated regulatory areas in the
commercial ocean salmon fishery off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California may be
managed by numerical quotas (by salmon species). Quotas are necessary to ensure that the
allowable levels of ocean harvest of salmon are not exceeded in these areas. To accurately
assess catches relative to quota attainment during the fishing season, catch data by regulatory
area must be collected in a timely manner. Requirements to land salmon within specific time
frames and in specific areas may be implemented in the preseason regulations to aid in timely
and accurate catch accounting for a regulatory area.
If unsafe weather conditions or mechanical problems prevent compliance with landing
requirements, fishermen are exempt from these landing requirements so long as the appropriate
notifications are made by at-sea radio and cellular telephone and information on catch and other
required information is given. The preseason regulations will specify annually the contents and
procedure of the notifications, and the entities receiving the notifications. The information
collection is intended to be general in scope by leaving the specifics of the notifications for
annual determination, thus providing flexibility in responding to salmon management concerns
in any given year.
This federal collection of information concerning alternative reporting in unsafe conditions has
implemented uniform reporting requirements across the entire geographic range of the
commercial ocean salmon fishery and, thus, resolves the problem associated with reliance on
each state to independently implement the same requirements in the territorial waters off of each
state (Washington, Oregon, and California).
Authority for the collection is provided by: (1) 50 CFR '' 660.408, and (2) the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1996, 16 USC 1801 et seq., as amended
in 2006, which states at 16 USC 1855(d) that "The Secretary shall have general responsibility to
carry out any fishery management plan or amendment approved or prepared by him, in
accordance with the provisions of this Act."
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.
The alternative reporting information will be collected by a federal or state entity to be specified
annually, and then transmitted to the appropriate state fishery agencies in a timely manner. The
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specific contents of the reports and the procedure for submitting the reports will be specified
annually, and will likely include the name of the vessel, port where delivery will be made,
approximate amount of salmon (by species) on board, and estimated time of arrival.
Regular landings information, although required by NMFS, is already being collected by the
states and thus is not counted in this collection as burden. The state fishery managers will use the
information collected on vessel name, port of delivery, and estimated time of arrival to facilitate
monitoring of the actual catch reports submitted in accordance with state landing requirements
under existing state data collection and reporting systems.
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 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (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.
Although the information collected is not expected to be disseminated directly to the public,
results may be used in scientific, management, technical or general informational publications.
Should NMFS decide to disseminate the information, it will be subject to the quality control
measures and 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.
Information is submitted via the available technology for at-sea radio and cellular telephone
transmissions for reporting during unsafe collections.
Specific information on the reporting requirements is made available in a booklet of federal
regulations which is printed each year. This booklet is mailed to licensed commercial fishermen
in each state (Washington, Oregon, and California).
4. Describe efforts to identify duplication.
Current state reporting systems do not regularly collect this specific type of inseason radio
report. This federal information collection requirement provides consistency in reporting
throughout the area covered.
5. If the collection of information involves small businesses or other small entities, describe
the methods used to minimize burden.
The burden on small entities to report information during unsafe conditions is minimized by
requiring this alternative notification when unsafe conditions prevent normal compliance with
landing requirements and notification procedures.

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6. Describe the consequences to the Federal program or policy activities if the collection is
not conducted or is conducted less frequently.
If the collection could not be conducted, a safe alternative to regulatory requirements would not
be available to fishermen when dealing with unsafe weather conditions or mechanical problems.
The collection is made on occasion as necessary, so thus could not be conducted less frequently.
The consequences of this collection not occurring would be the inaccurate management of the
fishery during the fishing season. During normal conditions the collection of information by the
states of Washington, Oregon, and California provide fishery managers with up to date catch
information which is essential to the management of the fisheries. If this information was
collected at the end of the season, all at once for example, there is the risk that the fisheries
would exceed their quotas.
7. Explain any special circumstances that require the collection to be conducted in a
manner inconsistent with OMB guidelines.
The collection will be conducted in a manner consistent with the OMB guidelines.
8. Provide information on 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.
A notice published in the Federal Register on June 15, 2007 (72 FR 33204) solicited public
comment on this information collection renewal request. No comments were received.
The public as well as federal and state fishery management and enforcement agencies are
consulted during all phases of the preseason process for setting the annual management measures
in March and April. Public meetings, public hearings, and written comments provide interested
persons the opportunity to express their views on the availability of data, the frequency of
collection, the clarity of instructions, the amount of burden to be imposed, and ways to minimize
the burden.
9. Explain any decisions to provide payments or gifts to respondents, other than
remuneration of contractors or grantees.
Payment or gift to respondents is not provided by the information collection.
10. Describe any assurance or confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for
assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.
The information will be collected by specified federal or state entities and forwarded to the
appropriate state fishery agencies. Assurance of confidentiality to respondents is based on the
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policies of the federal and/or state agencies involved. The information collected by NMFS is
confidential under section 402(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1881, et seq.). It is
also confidential under NOAA Administrative Order 216-100, which sets forth procedures to
protect confidentiality of fishery statistics.
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.
Not applicable.
12. Provide an estimate in hours of the burden of the collection of information.
The estimated burden of the collection of information during unsafe condition is as follows:
The number of respondents will vary each year depending on the management regime adopted
and the regulatory areas subject to the collection of information, but is expected to average 40
annually; these respondents are expected to respond once each fishing season. Therefore, a total
of 40 responses is expected annually. Response time per respondent is expected to average 15
minutes. Total annual response time is estimated to be 10 hours (40 x 15/60).
Labor costs are based on the wage of $50 per hour (based on the high end of the $20,000100,000 range of the annual income of salmon trollers). The information collection would not
impose additional operational expenses to the respondents because their normal operations
include maintaining catch records for state reporting requirements and operating a radio and/or
cellular phone to monitor, receive, and transmit communications. Using the estimate that 20
percent of the 10 total burden hours (i.e., 2 hours) would impose actual costs to respondents,
total annual costs to all respondents are estimated to be $100, or an average of $2.50 for each of
the 40 respondents annually ($100/40).
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).
During unsafe conditions, respondents will submit their reports during time in transit at zero cost
to the respondents.
14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government.
If the entity collecting the information is a federal agency, the annual costs to the federal
government would be based on the costs of receiving the reports. The U.S. Coast Guard and the
states of the Washington, Oregon, and California are expected to receive these reports during the
course of normal operations. Therefore, no additional costs are expected to be imposed on the
federal government.

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15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reported in Items 13 or14
of the OMB 83-I.
There are no changes.
16. For collections whose results will be published, outline the plans for tabulation and
publication.
The results of the collection will not be published.
17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of
theinformation 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.

B.

COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS

Statistical methods are not used.

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