The National Marine Fisheries Service
seeks to renew a collection-of-information for the continued
management of the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program for
fixed-gear Pacific halibut and sablefish fisheries off Alaska as
well as the Western Alaska Community Development Quota Program
(CDQ) halibut fishery. The IFQ program allocates annual total catch
limits for the halibut and sablefish fisheries among individual
fishermen and Gulf of Alaska Non-profit Organizations holding QS.
The CDQ halibut program allocates annual total catch limits for the
halibut fishery among individual CDQ fishermen. Fishermen are
assigned Quota Shares (QS) for the fisheries, and then annually
receive an IFQ and/or CDQ. Applications and reporting are required
to manage and track the program. This request removes the
notarization requirement from the hired master application,
removing notary time and notary and postage costs and adding fax
time and costs. It also removes the password information
requirement, with no burden or cost changes estimated.
PL:
Pub.L. 94 - 265 303 Name of Law: Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act as amended in 2006
Dropping the notary requirement
for the hired master application and allowing submittal by fax will
make the permitting process faster and maybe a bit less expensive
for constituents, potentially increasing their operational
efficiency. This notary removal will result in a cost savings. The
costs of faxing instead of notarizing the application are about the
same ($3,750), however, the cost of postage would be saved (0.44 x
750 = $330); thus, the cost would be reduced overall by about $330.
Overall, for an estimated 750 applications annually submitted for a
hired master permit x 10 minutes saved by faxing instead of
notarizing is estimated to result in a savings of 125 hr.
$204,750
No
No
Uncollected
Uncollected
No
Uncollected
Patsy Bearden 907
586-7008
No
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.