0519 ss ren 051408 rev

SUPPORTING STATEMENT
VESSEL MONITORING SYSTEM REQUIREMENT
FOR AMERICAN SAMOA PELAGIC LONGLINE FISHERY
OMB CONTROL NO. 0648-0519

INTRODUCTION
This Supporting Statement describes a renewal of the existing information collection under
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control No. 0648-0519.
A.

JUSTIFICATION

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.
The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act)
established regional fishery management councils, such as the Western Pacific Fishery
Management Council (WPFMC or Council), to develop fishery management plans (FMP) for
fisheries in the United States (U.S.)Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). These plans, if approved
by the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary), are implemented by National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS) via Federal regulations that are enforced by the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, Office for Law Enforcement (NOAA OLE) and U.S. Coast Guard
(USCG), in cooperation with State agencies to the extent possible. FMP regulate fishing to
ensure the long-term productivity and optimum yield of the resources for the benefit of the U.S.
The WPFMC has management jurisdiction over fisheries in the Pacific Ocean seaward of
American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands, and certain other remote U.S.
Pacific island possessions 1 . The Council has prepared, and the Secretary has approved and
implemented through regulations, FMP for crustaceans, precious coral, pelagic, and
bottomfish/seamount groundfish fisheries and coral reef ecosystems in the western Pacific
region. The regulations include, but are not limited to, permit requirements, gear restrictions,
temporal and spatial closures, harvest guidelines, reporting requirements, and protected species
mitigation measures.
Regulations at 50 CFR Part 665.25, implementing the Fishery Management Plan for Pelagic
Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region (Pelagics FMP), require all large vessels (greater than 50
ft in overall length) registered for use with American Samoa longline limited access permits to
maintain and operate VMS on their vessels after they have been advised by NOAA OLE of a
requirement to carry such units. NOAA OLE provides the units and installs them at no cost to the
permit holders. NOAA OLE arranges installation at times when the vessel is in port between
trips to ensure minimal disruption of other activities by the vessel.

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Howland, Baker, Jarvis, Wake and Palmyra Islands, Johnston Atoll and Kingman Reef.

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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.
On a broad level, the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) vessel location reports are used to
facilitate enforcement of the 50 nautical mileage vessel prohibited area around American Samoa
(50 CFR 665.37). The reports provide NOAA OLE and USCG real-time vessel location and
activity information. The VMS reports also can be used to check the accuracy of vessel position
information reported by the vessel operator in the daily fishing logbooks required by the
regulations. This is important in determining or verifying locations of catch by species and time
as well as locations in which there were interactions with protected species, such as endangered
and threatened sea turtles. The information provides a basis for determining whether changes in
management are needed to protect sensitive species or to address fishery interaction problems
and for evaluating the impacts of potential changes.
The information collected will not be disseminated to the public inasmuch as it is primarily for
use internally by NOAA OLE and USCG. The information will enable both agencies
to effectively monitor any potential for violations of the American Samoa large vessel prohibited
area regulation. The information may be used by NMFS scientists to cross-check the accuracy of
logbook information submitted to NMFS by the vessel operators. Any of the information that
might be used to support publicly disseminated information would first be aggregated and/or
summarized to maintain the confidentiality of the information pertaining to the individual
vessels. See response #10 of this Supporting Statement for more information on confidentiality
and privacy. If NMFS makes public non-confidential information, then 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.
The VMS requirement integrates current information technology in the fishery management and
monitoring process. The collection of information is automatic and invisible. Many vessel
owners have taken advantage of this technology by linking personal computers to VMS units to
improve communication with other vessels. Although not related directly to VMS, the system
could be used by fishermen to transmit their catch and effort data to NMFS on a real-time basis.
The NMFS is implementing a program to enable electronic reporting to take the place of paper
logbooks. This program is expected to be operational by the end of 2008 or early 2009.
4. Describe efforts to identify duplication.
There are no similar comparable programs to collect real-time vessel location information.
Requiring vessel operators to make at-sea reports of vessel locations are much more costly and
difficult, and would impose a direct reporting burden on the vessel operator. The VMS unit is
passive and automatic, requiring no reporting time of the vessel operator.

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5. If the collection of information involves small businesses or other small entities, describe
the methods used to minimize burden.
Vessels in the western Pacific fisheries generally range in size from 20 feet to 100 feet. Those
who participate in the fisheries are categorized as “small businesses” which are affected in a
similar manner by the VMS requirement. In all cases, NOAA OLE notifies the vessel owner
when the requirement would take effect and arranges times when installation of the unit could be
performed to minimize interfering with vessel operations. There is no reporting burden on vessel
owners to arrange for VMS installation.
6. Describe the consequences to the Federal program or policy activities if the collection is
not conducted or is conducted less frequently.
Without VMS, NOAA OLE and USCG would be tasked with monitoring closed areas via air and
surface patrols. The annual cost of relying on traditional surveillance methods using air and
surface patrols for time and area coverage is estimated at more than $25 million. Comparatively,
VMS provides 95 to 98 percent coverage at an estimated cost of $100,000.
There is no reporting frequency requirement for the vessel owner. The frequency with which a
vessel VMS is polled to determine location is set by NOAA OLE and USCG.
7. Explain any special circumstances that require the collection to be conducted in a
manner inconsistent with OMB guidelines.
The collection is consistent with OMB guidelines except that the VMS reports more frequently
than quarterly (multiple times per day). That frequency is necessary for enforcing regulations.
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 Federal Register Notice describing this renewal was published on December 10, 2007 (72 FR
69669). No comments were received. The NOAA Office for Law Enforcement was consulted for
the accuracy of estimates and burden.
9. Explain any decisions to provide payments or gifts to respondents, other than
remuneration of contractors or grantees.
No payments or gifts are provided
10. Describe any assurance or confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for
assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.
Efforts were made in the design of the VMS program to ensure the security of all individual
vessel location data, including analysis and storage. The system includes measures to minimize
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the risk of direct or inadvertent disclosure of fishing location information. Vessel operators
consider these data as proprietary, and NOAA OLE and USCG have taken steps to secure this
information as “official use only” throughout the program design. Information submitted is
confidential under the Magnuson-Stevens Act and NOAA regulations, except under certain
circumstances as outlined in the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Additional protections: Records are stored in computerized databases or CDs in locked rooms;
paper records are stored in file folders in locked metal cabinets and/or locked rooms. Records are
stored in buildings with doors that are locked during and after business hours. Visitors must
register with security guards and must be accompanied by Federal personnel at all times.
Records are organized and retrieved by NOAA internal identification number, name of entity,
permit number, vessel name, or vessel identification number. Electronic records are protected by
a user identification/password. The user identification/password is issued to individuals as
authorized by authorized personnel.
All electronic information disseminated by NOAA adheres to the standards set out in Appendix
III, Security of Automated Information Resources, OMB Circular A-130; the Computer Security
Act; the Government Information Security Reform Act and follows NIST SP 800-18, Guide for
Developing Security Plans for Federal Information Systems; NIST SP 800-26, Security SelfAssessment Guide for Information Technology Systems; NIST SP 800-53, Recommended
Security Controls for Federal Information Systems.
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 questions are asked of a sensitive nature.
12. Provide an estimate in hours of the burden of the collection of information.
Under the American Samoa longline limited access permit program, 35 large vessels (greater
than 50 ft in length) are currently registered in the fishery. The limited access program allows up
to 12 Class A size vessel permits (up to 40 ft in length) to be upgraded to large vessels; four have
already been upgraded and registered. If all remaining permit upgrades are used, the maximum
number of large vessels possible would be 47. It is not likely that all permit upgrades would be
used, however, as Class A vessels are not currently showing a great deal of profit; therefore, the
estimate of 47 will not be used, but rather an estimate of 40 respondents.
This collection includes burden estimates for installation/replacement of a VMS unit and repair
and maintenance of a unit. The actual VMS reporting is automatic and is thus not counted as
respondent burden.
The estimated time per response is 4 hours to install a VMS unit (4 vessels per year estimated)
and 2 hours per year to repair and maintain a VMS unit.
The vessel owner or representative generally observes the initial installation, which involves a
total of about 16 hours (4 vessels x 4 hours per vessel). The vessel owner or representative also
may observe any maintenance or repairs estimated at 80 hours per year (40 vessels x 2 hours per
vessel per year).
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4 vessels x 4 hours per vessel to install unit = 16 hours
40 vessels x 2 hours per year maintenance = 80 hours
Total estimated burden hours = 96 hrs
Total estimated responses = 44.
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).
No direct or indirect costs are imposed on vessel operators by the VMS requirement. The initial
installation and maintenance costs for VMS are sustained by NOAA OLE. The actual position
report airtime costs are paid by the government.
14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government.
The initial cost to the government during the first year of the program included 36 VMS units,
software, installation, and equipment for a base station, with a total estimated cost of
approximately $170,000. For subsequent years, the estimated cost of the total program is
$100,000 per year, primarily for messaging costs.
15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reported in Items 13 or
14 of the OMB 83-I.
Adjustments were made to the burden estimate based on a revised estimate of responses: 1) since
the first request involving 34 vessels, an additional five vessels have been affected and one more
may be added, adding 12 hours for maintenance; however, 2) based on the OMB clarification
that automatic transmission time does not equal burden hours for the respondent, the previous 83
hours for transmission have been removed, and no transmission burden hours have been added
for the six additional vessels.
16. For collections whose results will be published, outline the plans for tabulation and
publication.
No formal scientific publications based on these collections are planned at this time. The NMFS
and the Council will use the data for management reports and fishery management plan
amendments and evaluations. However, subsequent use of the data collected over a series of
years may include scientific papers and publications.
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.
N/A
18. Explain each exception to the certification statement identified in Item 19 of the
OMB 83-I.
N/A
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B. COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS
No statistical methods are employed.

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