The cooperative management structure, originally implemented by the American Fisheries Act (AFA), has shifted more of the monitoring and enforcement burden to the cooperatives and their members; and has allowed NMFS to manage the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) pollock fishery more precisely. With the flexibility provided by cooperatives, vessels are able to individually (and in aggregate) come very close to harvesting exactly the amount of pollock they were allocated. Allocations of pollock and other species have allowed the AFA fleet the ability to spread their effort in time and space to accommodate Steller Sea Lion conservation measures. This revision provides an additional tool for the cooperatives of the Alaska Cooperatives in the BSAI: ÂSalmon bycatch reduction inter-cooperative agreement (ICA). The ICA will be a tool to lower chinook and chum salmon bycatch in the pollock fisheries.
This change request, per pending Final Rule 0648-AY28 is to combine two reports, a preliminary and a final, into an anuual report.
PL:
Pub.L. 109 - 479 104
Name of Law: Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006
Removing the requirement for an annual preliminary AFA cooperative reportreport which results in a reduction of 308 burden hours.
$1,248
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.