Justification for change

JUSTIFICATION FOR CHANGE

SOUTHEAST REGION PERMIT FAMILY OF FORMS

OMB CONTROL NO. 0648-0205

Several changes are requested on the Federal Permit Application Form for Vessels Fishing in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) (Federal Permit Application Form). The final rule for Amendment 18A to the South Atlantic Snapper-Grouper FMP (RIN 0648-BB56, 77 FR 32408, June 1, 2012) implements black sea bass pot endorsements for the snapper-grouper fishery in the South Atlantic. The other changes are from a final rule that was published previously, or for requirements that no longer apply.

1. In Section 2, "For Lobster Tailing Permit Applicants Only," the Restricted Species checkbox will be removed because it is not possible to have a Crawfish Endorsement on the Florida Saltwater Products License without having a Restricted Species Endorsement, making the collection redundant (no related rule).

2. In Section 3, "Limited Access/Moratorium Permits and Endorsements," a Black Sea Bass Pot Endorsement is added as a new permit type. Check boxes are added for Permit Number, Transfer, or Renewal.

A Black Sea Bass Pot Endorsement is a new permit type proposed in South Atlantic Snapper-Grouper Amendment 18A. Applicants would check boxes on the Federal Permit Application Form for permit no., renewal, or transfer of a Black Sea Bass Pot Endorsement. The estimated time burden to applicants completing these check boxes approximates 1 minute per response. The estimated number of Black Sea Bass Pot Endorsements for 2012 is 31. Thus, the number of burden hours is 31 minutes.

There is a $25 permit application charge for the Black Sea Bass Pot Endorsement that is administered by SERO. The application charges for 31 applicants would total $775.00 (31 responses x $25.00 = $775.00). Additionally, fishermen would incur postage costs. The total annual cost to the public for mailing in the form would be $13.95 (31 applications x $0.45 = $13.95).

3-5. In Section 4, Individual Vessel Owner (s) and Lessee Information," Section 5,"Business Vessel Owner (s) and Lessee Information" and Section 6,"Officer/Shareholder Information for Business(es) That Own or Lease the Vessel," yes or no checkboxes are added to determine "Is this person a United States Citizen or permanent resident alien?"

This is a new requirement in Gulf Reef Fish IFQ programs. This requirement was included in a final rule that became effective December 5, 2011 (76 FR 68339, November 4, 2011). The requirement is that any entity that wishes to participate in one of the Gulf Reef Fish IFQ Programs must be either a U.S. Citizen or permanent resident alien.

These checkboxes are covered by the existing burden hour estimate for the Federal Permit Application Form, so there would be no additional time burden for this request.

6. In Section 8, "Sea Bass Pots or Golden Crab Traps," a check box is added to indicate if the Floy Tags requested are for the Sea Bass Pot tags or the Golden Crab Trap tags.

The addition of a Black Sea Bass Pot Endorsement as a new permit type is a new requirement proposed in South Atlantic Snapper-Grouper Amendment 18A. This requirement adds an additional checkbox on the Federal Permit Application Form for purchased Floy Tags. Floy Tags are issued for both Sea Bass pots and Golden Crab traps. There are 31 Black Sea Bass Pot Endorsements and 11 Golden Crab permit holders. The estimated time burden to applicants completing these check boxes approximates 1 minute per response, or 42 minutes. There is a cost of $1.80 per tag. The maximum number of Sea Bass Pot tags per endorsement is 35. Thus, 31 participants multiplied by 35 tags, equates to 1,085 tags. The maximum additional cost would be $1,953.00 (1,085 x $1.80).

7. In General Instructions, the requirement for the Gulf of Mexico Charter permit applicants to submit copies of the Captain’s License is removed because this is no longer a requirement (no related rule).

8. In General Instructions, the requirement to provide a copy of the valid U.S. Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection (COI) is added, if you are renewing or transferring a Gulf of Mexico charter/headboat vessel permit on a vessel rated for more than 6 passengers. A valid temporary COI will be accepted (no related rule).

Form/Notification/Endorsement	Total Number of Respondents	Annual Number of Responses	Time per Response	Total Time Hours
Lobster Tailing Permit Checkbox Removal	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Black Sea Bass Pot Endorsement Check boxes	31	31	1 minute	31 minutes (1 hour)
U.S. Citizen Checkboxes	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Sea Bass Pot or Golden Crab Trap Floy Tag Checkboxes	42	42	1 minute	42 minutes (1 hour)
Gulf of Mexico Charter Boat Captains License Info Removal	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Gulf of Mexico charter/headboat permit copy of COI submission*	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Total Changes	73	73		2 hours
Previous Total	11,606	21,807		3,891
New Total	11,679	21,880		3,893

*Removal of one document and addition of another result in a zero net burden change.

The current total annual cost to the public from OMB Control No. 0648-0205 is $688,899.00.

The combined new total annual costs under this modification would be $691,640 ( $688,899 (current cost) + $775 + $13.75 ($14) +$1953).

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