Justification for change

JUSTIFICATION FOR CHANGE
SOUTHEAST REGION GEAR IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
OMB CONTROL NO. 0648-0359
A change is requested for 50 CFR part 622.6, Vessel and Gear identification, in conjunction with
Final Rule 0648-BA04, Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic; Reef
Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Red Grouper Management Measures.
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council and National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Service are proposing to require that buoys be marked with
the official vessel number if buoy gear is used or possessed in the Gulf EEZ. Buoy gear is listed
as an authorized gear in the hook-and-line component of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) reef fishery
under the Allowable Gear Rule (600.725, 64 FR 67511).
Many Gulf reef fish bottom longline vessels began using buoy gear to continue fishing in areas
where bottom longlines were prohibited through emergency regulations initiated May, 2009, and
revised October, 2009, to protect sea turtles. Subsequently, reef fish vessels that did not qualify
for a bottom longline endorsement through the regulations implementing Amendment 31 to the
Gulf Reef Fish Fishery Management Plan (75 FR 21512, April 26, 2010) are converting to buoy
gear to continue fishing for reef fish in the eastern Gulf.
The requirement to mark each buoy with the vessel identification number (Coast Guard
certificate of documentation or state registration number) will require a burden of approximately
20 minutes per buoy for preparation and marking. Most vessels operate with 15 to 20 buoy lines.
Thus, the individual burden for this marking requirement, using the maximum number of buoys
per vessel, is: 20 buoys x 20 minutes per buoy or 6 hours, 40 minutes. With a total of 951
vessels operating in the Gulf reef fish fishery, the maximum total public burden to add to OMB
Control No. 0648-0359 is an additional 6,340 hours for permit holders with active, renewable
and transferable vessel permits. This information is provided in Table 1 below.
Table 1. Estimated burden hours to mark buoy gear for Gulf of Mexico reef fish permit holders
with active, renewable and transferrable permits.

Gulf of Mexico

# of
Vessels

# Buoys
per
Vessel

Total #
of
Buoys

Burden
Minutes
per Buoy

# of
Hours

Total
Reporting
Cost @
$1 per
buoy

951

20

19,020

20

6,340

$19,020

# Vessels = Vessels with active, renewable, and
transferable permits