Justification for change

JUSTIFICATION FOR CHANGE
ALASKA REGION LOGBOOK FAMILY OF FORMS
OMB CONTROL NO. 0648-0213

JUSTIFICATION FOR CHANGE: Recordkeeping and reporting regulations and make
other miscellaneous revisions to 50 CFR Part 679 (associated with a proposed rule,
RIN 0648-AX97).
Since implementation and use of eLandings, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has
identified minor regulatory changes needed to improve and update the methods and procedures
of eLandings (applies to this information collection and OMB Control No. 0648-0515), and to
improve the flexibility and efficiency of recordkeeping and reporting requirements for NMFS
Alaska Region fishery programs.
The final rule revises regulations, as follows:
♦ Standardizes data entry time limits for recording discard, disposition, product, and other
required information in the daily fishing logbook, daily cumulative production logbook,
or eLandings to correspond with actual fishing operations.
♦ Sets time limits for recording information in the paper catcher vessel daily fishing
logbooks (DFLs) and mothership and catcher/processor daily cumulative production
logbooks (DCPLs).
♦ Sets time limits to submit landing reports and production reports to NMFS through
eLandings.
♦ Sets time limits to submit electronic logbook (ELB) information through eLandings.
Specifically:
♦ Revises information to be recorded or submitted “by noon of the following day” to read
“by midnight of the following day.”
♦ Revises “noon” and “midnight” in Alaska local time (A.l.t.) to read 1200 hours, A.l.t.,
and 2400 hours, A.l.t., respectively.
♦ Changes the deadline for a vessel operator’s signature entry in the DFLs, DCPLs, and
electronic logbooks (ELBs) from noon to midnight.
♦ Revises the deadline for printing a copy of the ELB logsheet from noon to midnight each
day.
♦ Revises the submittal time limit for the delivery “landed scale weight” entry on shoreside
processor (SSP) or stationary floating processor (SFP) eLandings landing reports.
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♦ Revises the time limit to record scale weights in the DCPL for catcher/processors
participating in the Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish Program.
♦ Revises deadlines for recording scale weights and community development quota (CDQ)
group number in the catcher/processor trawl DCPL.
♦ Clarifies extension of time limits for eLandings production reports from SSPs or SFPs
not taking deliveries over the weekend.
♦ Corrects reporting time limit tables for DCPLs and eLandings.
Additional changes:
♦ Removes detailed NMFS mail, fax, and delivery addresses from regulations and replace
them with one paragraph stating that the form must be submitted in accordance with
instructions on the form.
♦ Provides separate species codes for Arrowtooth flounder, Atheresthes stomias, species
code 121, and for Kamchatka founder, Atheresthes evermanni, species code 117.
♦

Removes the requirement to record the date of landing in the SSP or SFP landing report.

♦

Adds a requirement that the Registered Crab Receiver record the region in which the
stationary floating processor is located at the time of crab delivery.

♦ Makes non-substantive clarification edits and corrections to regulatory text to include the
recording of information in a logbook versus submitting information through eLandings,
record information about crew and observers in eLandings, and the correct use of the
terms “landings” and “landing.”
♦ Makes non-substantive clarifications to regulatory tables.
These changes are intended to remove inconsistencies in the current regulations describing
eLandings. These changes will reduce potential confusion on the part of industry participants,
other interested parties, and the public at large. In addition, these changes will reduce costs for
processors and Registered Crab Receivers using eLandings. The fishing industry currently uses
eLandings to comply with recordkeeping and reporting requirements, so the time and knowledge
it takes to complete an eLandings data entry is already established. The entities upon which
these changes are imposed are existing registered eLandings users.
No economic impacts or additional burden are expected from the revisions in the rule. The
fishing industry currently uses logbooks and eLandings to comply with recordkeeping and
reporting requirements, so the time and knowledge it takes to complete a data entry is already
established.

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This action would create no new costs or burden for NMFS. The groundfish logbook system
may be viewed on the NMFS Alaska Region web site at
http://www.alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/rr/log.htm

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