LOA for reopened section of Georges Bank, per FR 0648-BC21

A TLANTIC SURFCLAM AND OCEAN QUAHOG HARVESTING GEORGES BANK CLOSED AREA LETTER OF AUTHORIZATION

The above vessel is authorized to enter, fish, or be in the open portion of the Georges Bank Closed Area during the XXXX fishing year and under the following conditions (50 CFR Part 648.76(a)(4):

1. This certificate must be carried on board the vessel during the period of participation specified above and must accompany a copy of the testing protocol;

2. The vessel owner or operator must declare his/her intent to fish any portion of a trip within the open portion of the GB Closed Area through the vessel’s vessel monitoring system;

3. The vessel owner or operator must follow all the terms and conditions of the approved paralytic shellfish poisoning testing protocol as adopted into the National Shellfish Sanitation Program, and a copy of the approved protocol must accompany this letter of authorization; and

4. Violation of any condition or provision contained herein or of 50 CFR Part 648 automatically voids this certificate.

The Open portion of the GB Closed Area is that area defined by straight lines connecting the following points in the order stated:

Point	N. Latitude	W. Longitude
ROA1	42°00'	68°50'
ROA2	42°00'	67°57'
ROA3	41°34'	67°57'
ROA4	41°34'	67°20'
ROA5	41°00'	67°20'
ROA6	41°00'	67°10'
ROA7	40°40'	67°10'
ROA8	40°40'	68°30'
ROA9	41°30'	68°30'
ROA10	41°30'	68°50'

PRIVACY ACT STATEMENT: Under the provision of the Privacy Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-579), no agency shall disclose any record which is contained in a system of records by any means of communication to any person, or to another agency, except pursuant to a written request by, or with the prior written consent of, the individual to whom the record pertains.

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BURDEN STATEMENT: The LOA to harvest surfclams and ocean quahogs in the open portion of the GB Closed Area is approved under OMB Control #0648-0202. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 5 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or suggestions for reducing this burden to National Marine Fisheries Service, Fishery Management Operation Division, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-2298.

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Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act, unless that collection of information displays a currently valid OMB Control Number.

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* Both pages of this certificate must be on board the vessel named above during the participation period specified above.