Gear-marking requirements assist NMFS
in obtaining detailed information about which fisheries or specific
parts of fishing gear are responsible for the incidental mortality
and serious injury of right, humpback, and fin whales. Generally,
only a portion of gear is recovered from an entangled whale and it
is almost impossible to link that portion of gear to a particular
fishery. Therefore, requiring fishermen to mark surface buoys and
the buoy line provides NMFS with an additional source of
information, which could then be used to determine the gear
responsible for and the location of the entanglement event. The
following fisheries areaffected by this information collection:
Northeast and Mid-Atlantic lobster trap/pot fisheries; Atlantic
blue crab trap/pot fisheries; Atlantic mixed species trap/pot
fisheries targeting crab (red, Jonah, and rock), hagfish, finfish
(black sea bass, scup, tautog, cod, haddock, pollock, redfish, and
white hake), conch/whelk, and shrimp; Northeast anchored gillnet;
Northeast drift gillnet; Mid-Atlantic gillnet; Southeast Atlantic
gillnet; and Southeastern U.S. Atlantic shark gillnet.
US Code:
16 USC
31 Name of Law: Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972
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.