0475 ss 060209rev

SUPPORTING STATEMENT
NORTHEAST MULTISPECIES DAYS-AT-SEA LEASING PROGRAM
OMB CONTROL NO. 0648-0475

A.

JUSTIFICATION

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is requesting a three-year renewal of
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval of the information collections
described in OMB Control No. 0648-0475 to continue management of the days-at-sea
(DAS) Leasing Program for the Northeast (NE) Multispecies Fishery Management Plan
(FMP), developed under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Conservation and
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
The reduction in the DAS allocated to permit holders through several management
actions has limited the ability of some vessels to participate in the fishery, resulting in a
loss of revenue and/or the ability to operate at a profit. The DAS Leasing Program was
established in Amendment 13 to the NE Multispecies FMP (0648-AN17 (69 FR 22906)).
The DAS Leasing Program has enabled vessels to increase their revenue either by leasing
additional DAS from another vessel and using them to increase their participation in the
fishery, or by leasing allocated DAS that they may not use to another vessel, however,
vessels may only lease to other vessels that have a horsepower rating of no greater than
20% and a length overall measurement of no greater than 10% of the vessel’s baseline
specifications. Therefore, the ability for vessel owners to downgrade their baseline
length and horsepower to the specifications of the current vessel for the purposes of
leasing was approved under a revision to OMB Control No. 0648-0475 as part of
Framework Adjustment (FW) 40B to the FMP (0648-AS33 (70 FR 31323). This
program has not only provided flexibility to the fishery, but it has also enabled NMFS to
examine the effectiveness of this management tool. The DAS Leasing Program was
temporarily renewed once through an emergency action, and has since been permanently
renewed via the measures in FW 42 which became effective October 23, 2006 (0648AT24, (71 FR 62156)). Regulations implementing the program appear at 50 CFR Part
648.
All eligible vessels with a valid limited access multispecies DAS permit are able to
participate in the leasing program by submitting an application to NMFS. However, a
permit eligibility currently held in Confirmation of Permit History (CPH 1 ) cannot
participate in the DAS leasing program. In addition, NE Multispecies Large Mesh permit
holders may not lease out the 36 percent increase in their DAS allocation that they
receive for using large mesh nets. An Interim Rule (RIN 0648-AW87 (74 FR 17030) that
became effective on May 1, 2009 eliminated the prohibition on leasing DAS between
sector and common pool vessels in order to increase flexibility and efficiency in the DAS
leasing market. In addition, this Rule eliminated a maximum number of DAS that vessels
1

A place holder for permits when a vessel is sold, destroyed or sinks.

may lease. Under the program, permit holders may request to lease DAS at any point
during the fishing year; however, for administrative purposes, applications must be
received by March 1. No sub-leasing of DAS is allowed, and leased DAS do not carry
over to the next fishing year. Therefore, once a DAS is leased, it must be used by the
lessee prior to the end of the fishing year in which the lease occurred. Further, vessel
owners may elect to use their downgrade provision only once during the lifetime of the
leasing program.
2. Explain how, by whom, how frequently, and for what purpose the information
will be used.
The information requested is used by several NMFS offices to implement the DAS
Leasing Program and to track DAS usage. Owner name and permit number are common
ownership identifiers used by NMFS. During the operation of the DAS Leasing
Program, this information is used to verify the existence of current, valid permits aboard
vessels participating in the leasing program. Vessel name and official number are
commonly used as vessel identifiers. This information is necessary to verify the status of
vessel permits, identify the horsepower and length overall baseline specifications of the
vessel, determine available DAS to be used in the leasing request, and execute the DAS
lease. Signatures of the participants in the program are necessary to acknowledge the
DAS transfer by both parties. Without both signatures, the leasing request would not be
processed.
One of the requirements of the leasing program is to limit the potential of increases in
effort resulting from smaller vessels leasing DAS to larger vessels. For the purposes of
this program, horsepower baseline and length overall specifications are the vessel’s
horsepower (HP) and length overall (LOA) as of the January 29, 2004. To remain
consistent with other programs, vessels may lease to other vessels that have a horsepower
rating of no greater than 20% and a length overall measurement of no greater than 10% of
the vessel’s baseline specifications. Permit numbers are used to reference baseline
specifications for the vessels within NMFS’s databases.
Vessel owners intending to downgrade their DAS Leasing Program baseline are required
to specify the current vessel’s LOA and HP specifications.
Enforcement offices within NMFS currently track the DAS usage of permit holders.
Information collected through this information request would enable enforcement
officials, including the U.S. Coast Guard, to monitor compliance with the provisions of
the FMP, including those governing DAS usage.
Information relating to the total price paid for the DAS is used by offices within NMFS
as well as by the Fishery Management Council to assess the value of DAS to permit
holders. With the reductions of DAS enacted through recent management measures, it is
estimated that the value of DAS will increase. This information could be used in the
evaluation of the effects of future management measures on individual permit holders as

well as communities. This information may also be used in future vessel buy-back
programs and other effort-reducing programs.
Although it is unknown how many DAS leasing requests an individual permit holder
would submit, it is anticipated that not every permit holder would submit a request.
There is the possibility that an individual permit holder would submit several DAS
leasing requests, both as a lessor and a lessee. Based on the previous three year’s
participation data, an estimated 700 lease requests are expected to be processed in a year.
Participation in the DAS Leasing Program’s baseline downgrade program is available
once to each vessel with a limited access NE Multispecies DAS permit.
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 to Question 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.
This information is submitted in hard copy, delivered through the mail or in person. The
need to obtain an original signature of both permit holders involved in a DAS lease
necessitates paper format and prevents electronic formats from being viable means of
exchange. No improved information collection technology has been identified to reduce
this burden further. Every effort will be made in the future to use computer technology to
reduce the public burden. The form used to collect the information needed to operate this
leasing program is available in a fillable format at the NOAA Northeast Regional Office
(NERO) website (www.nero.noaa.gov).
4. Describe efforts to identify duplication.
Other than information needed to identify participants such as the vessel owner’s name,
vessel name, permit number and official number, no information will be collected that is
already collected through other means.
5. If the collection of information involves small businesses or other small entities,
describe the methods used to minimize burden.
Only the minimum data to meet the requirements of the above data needs are requested
from all participants. Since most of the respondents are small businesses, separate
requirements based on the size of the business are not necessary.

6. Describe the consequences to the Federal program or policy activities if the
collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently.
The DAS Leasing Program is designed to offer opportunities to the fishing industry to
recover some of the potential financial losses emanating from the recent reductions in
DAS. This program is an optional program and is not mandated by any regulation. If
this information is not collected, thereby preventing permit holders from recovering
potential losses from reduced DAS allocations, some vessels would be unable to continue
participating in the fishery.
7. Explain any special circumstances that require the collection to be conducted in a
manner inconsistent with OMB guidelines.
The data collection is consistent with 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 Federal Register Notice published on January 29, 2009 (74 FR 5148) solicited public
comments on the renewal of this information collection. No comments were received.
9. Explain any decisions to provide payments or gifts to respondents, other than
remuneration of contractors or grantees.
Neither payments nor gifts are given to the respondents.
10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis
for assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.
All data will be kept confidential as required by NOAA Administrative Order 216-100,
Confidentiality of Fisheries Statistics, and will not be released for public use except in
aggregate statistical form (and without identifying the source of data, i.e., vessel name,
owner, etc.). Only authorized personnel have access to this information as necessary to
implement the DAS leasing program.
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.
There are no questions of a sensitive nature.

12. Provide an estimate in hours of the burden of the collection of information.
There is an increase in burden hours from the previous submission for this collection of
information, based upon increased use of the Leasing Program. Based on the last three
years of data from the program, we are increasing the estimated number of DAS Leasing
requests. This program is restricted to the limited access permit holders in the NE
Multispecies FMP (approximately 1,400 vessels). From April, 2006, through March,
2009, NMFS processed a total of 1832 lease applications, with approximately 676 lease
applications being processed in fishing year 2007. The estimated number of potential
lease requests for this program, based on previous participation, is approximately 700
lease applications per year.
Permit holders wishing to participate in the DAS Leasing Program are required to fill out
a NE Multispecies DAS Leasing Program Application form. One form is required in
order to process an individual DAS leasing request. Both participants in the lease
agreement (the lessor and the lessee) need to enter information particular to their permit
onto the form and sign the form at the bottom, indicating their agreement with the
specifics of the lease. This results in a total of 1400 responses (2 individual responses per
DAS leasing application). It is estimated that the public reporting for the DAS leasing
application will continue to average 5 minutes per response. Using an estimated
average burden of 5 minutes per response, a total of 117 hours (1,400 responses x 5
minutes/60 minutes) is estimated to be the burden for participants in this data
collection.
The estimated burden for the one-time permit baseline characteristics downgrade for the
DAS Leasing Program is approximately 1 hour to fill out the request form and assemble
any necessary documentation for the potential 1,400 participants. Since few vessels have
downgraded their baseline over the lifetime of the DAS leasing program, this would
possibly result in a total burden of 1,400 hours (1 hour per submission x 1,400
submissions), or an annualized burden of 467 hours (and 467 responses). Therefore, the
estimated additional burden for this aspect of the program is 467 hours per year.
The total annualized responses for this collection are 1,867 (1,400 DAS lease
applications + 467 baseline downgrade requests). The total annualized requested
hours are 584 (117 + 467). These figures are summarized in Table 1.
13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to the respondents or
record-keepers resulting from the collection (excluding the value of the burden
hours in #12 above).
This information collection does not require respondents to purchase new or additional
equipment or services. Most computers, telephones and/or facsimile machines utilized
by the respondents would have already been purchased as part of customary and usual
business practices, thus start up costs associated with these programs are negligible. The

estimates of the total annual cost burden to respondents resulting from this collection are
summarized in Table 1 below.
For each DAS leasing request, two respondents would have to enter information onto the
DAS application form and sign the form at the bottom. It is not known whether DAS
leasing agreements between individuals would occur in person, or through other means.
Accordingly, participants may mail the DAS application form to the other participant to
complete the transaction. This form would then have to be mailed to NMFS for
processing. With 700 applications (1,400 responses) anticipated per year for the DAS
Leasing Program, there would be a cost of $616 (1400 stamps x $0.44/stamp).
Participants may wish to retain a copy of the DAS leasing application for their own
records. Using an estimate of $0.10 per page for copying costs, participants would incur
an additional $70 cost ($0.10 x 700 1-page copies) for copying services related to the
DAS leasing program. Postage and copying costs would total $686.
For the one-time opportunity to downgrade a vessel’s DAS Leasing Program baseline,
vessels would be required to submit a completed downgrade request form and mail it to
NMFS. Participants may wish to make copies of supporting documents when submitting
this information to NMFS. Assuming every individual vessel would elect to downgrade
their baseline, the total cost for mailing DAS Leasing Program baseline downgrade
request forms amounts to $616 for postage and copying:
Postage: 1,400 requests x $0.44/request, or an annualized burden of $205.
Copying costs associated with this provision would total approximately $700 (1,400
participants x 5 pages copied/participant x $0.10/copy), or an annualized burden of $234.
Together, the annualized costs for the downgrade provision amounts to $439.
In total, the costs to individuals participating in the DAS Leasing Program for
record-keeping and application purposes total $1,125 ($686 + $439).
14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government.
There is a change from the previous submission regarding the estimate in annualized cost
to the Federal Government from this collection of information. The estimates of the
annual administrative costs to the Federal Government from this program are
summarized in Table 2.
Costs associated with the lease program reflect a cost of $15/hour to the government at
the ZP-02 level. The cost to the government for the DAS Leasing Program requires 10
minutes per request. This results in an estimated annualized cost to the government of
$1,754 (700 applications x 10 minutes/60 minutes/response x $15/hour) for reviewing
DAS leasing requests.
Additional costs incurred by the government include the costs of distributing receipts of
the DAS lease to both participants. It is estimated that one toner cartridge will be
necessary to print these receipts at approximately $40. These receipts are mailed to

participants resulting in postage costs of $616 (1400 responses x $0.44 postage). This
results in an additional cost of $656 to the government for the management of the DAS
leasing program.
The DAS Leasing Program baseline downgrade provision would result in an overall total
cost to the government of $42,000 (1,400 applications x 2 hours x $15/hour) to process
the downgrade requests, or an annualized cost to the government of $14,000, assuming 3year approval of this information collection. Note that the costs associated with the DAS
Leasing Program baseline downgrade provision are a conservative estimate and would
only be realized one time for each vessel participating.
In total, the costs to the government from the DAS leasing program are
approximately $16,410 ($1,754 + $656 +$14,000). Annualized costs to the Federal
government for these programs include staff costs and system operation associated with
processing the information.
15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments.
Adjustments: The burden hour and cost estimates for DAS Leasing Applications have
been increased to more accurately reflect usage of the program by eligible participants
(increase of 400 responses, 34 hours and $269). NOTE: in ROCIS, the increase appears
to be only $125, as the previous cost was rounded up to $1,000 when the collection was
migrated to the system.
16. For collections whose results will be published, outline the plans for tabulation
and publication.
Results from this collection may be used in scientific, management, technical or general
informational publications such as Fisheries of the United States which follows
prescribed statistical tabulations and summary table formats. Data are available to the
general public on request in summary form only; data are available to NMFS employees
in detailed form on a need-to-know basis only.
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.
NA.
18. Explain each exception to the certification statement identified in Item 19 of the
OMB 83-I.
NA.

B. COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL
METHODS
No statistical methods are employed in the information collection procedures.
Table 1. Burden hours and Cost
Collection Number Items
Total
Cost ($) Response Total Cost ($) to Cost
of
per
Number
of
Time
Burden
Gov’t
($) to
Entities Entity of Items Materials
Hours
Public
per vessel
DAS
Leasing
700
2
1,400
$0.49
5 minutes
117
$2,410
$686
Request to
Downgrade
467
1
467
$0.94
1
467
$14,000
$439
TOTALS
1867
584
$16,410
$1,125
Table 2. Cost to Federal Government
Collection
Salary at ZP-02
Total
level per hour
Number of
Items
DAS
$15
700
Leasing
Request to
$15
467
Downgrade

Response
Time

Total Cost ($) of
Materials and
Postage
10 minutes $656

Total Cost ($)
to Government

2 hours

$14,000

$0

$2,410

ATTACHMENT 1:
INFORMATION THAT MUST BE DISPLAYED ON FORMS
USED TO COLLECT INFORMATION FROM THE PUBLIC
1.

The policy reasons for collecting the information.
This collection of information is necessary to continue to implement and manage
the days-at-sea (DAS) leasing program for the Northeast (NE) Multispecies Fishery
Management Plan (FMP), specified in 50 CFR 648.82(k) . This program has been
permanently renewed by FW 42 (71 FR 11060) to the NE Multispecies FMP. The DAS
Leasing Program was temporarily renewed once through an emergency action, and has
since been permanently renewed via the measures in FW 42 which became effective
October 23, 2006 (71 FR 62156).

This program has not only provided flexibility to the fishery, but it also enables NMFS to
examine the effectiveness of this management tool.
2.
The way in which the information will be used to further performance of agency
functions.
The information requested in the DAS Leasing Application is used by several
offices of NMFS to implement the DAS Leasing Program and to track DAS usage. This
information is necessary to verify the status of vessel permits, identify the horsepower
and length overall baseline specifications of the vessel, determine available DAS to be
used in the leasing request, and execute the DAS lease. Information collected through
this information request enables enforcement officials, including the U.S. Coast Guard, to
monitor compliance with the provisions of the FMP, including those governing DAS
usage. Data gathered on the price paid to lease DAS is in the evaluation of the affects of
management measures on individual permit holders as well as communities, by providing
an estimate of the value of a DAS in the multispecies fishery.
3.

An estimate of the average burden using the specified format.
This information has been provided at the bottom of the information collection
form included with this package.
4.
Whether responses are voluntary, required to obtain or retain a benefit, or
mandatory.
This information has been provided at the bottom of the information collection
form included with this package.
5.

The nature and extent of confidentiality to be provided, if any.
Information obtained from the lease application is held confidential as required by
NOAA Administrative Order 216-100, Confidentiality of Fisheries Statistics, and would
be used only in summarized form (without identifying the source of data, i.e., vessel
name, owner, etc.) for management of the fishery in the future. Results form this
collection may be used in scientific, management, technical or general informational
publications such as Fisheries of the United States which follows prescribed statistical

tabulations and summary table formats. Data are available to the general public on
request in summary form only; data are available to NMFS employees in detailed form
on a need-to-know basis only.
6.

A particular sentence involving the OMB Control Number.
This information has been provided at the bottom of the information collection
form included with this package.