Justification for change

JUSTIFICATION FOR CHANGE

ALASKA REGION LOGBOOK FAMILY OF FORMS

OMB CONTROL NO. 0648-0213

Justification: The Mothership Check-in/Check-out Report is reinstated. It was inadvertently omitted from the last request.

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. (Magnuson-Stevens Act) authorizes the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) to prepare and amend fishery management plans for any fishery in waters under its jurisdiction. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Alaska Region manages: 1) the crab fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) waters off the coast of Alaska under the Fishery Management Plan for Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab; 2) groundfish under the Fishery Management Plan for the Groundfish Fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area; and 3) groundfish under the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska.

A catcher/processor or mothership that is carrying onboard an operational vessel monitoring system (VMS) (see OMB Control No. 0445) is exempt from submitting a check-in/check-out report to NMFS. The information previously collected only through check-in/check-out reports may be obtained through a combination of VMS and the Interagency Electronic Reporting System (IERS) and eLandings (see OMB Control No. 0648-0515). Only one mothership is required to submit this form.

The check in/check out information was originally used by NMFS inseason managers to monitor the fishing capacity and effort in fishery allocations and quotas. The information also was used by the USCG to monitor vessel location. Many of the items are now provided through eLandings and VMS.

When the VMS exception went into effect, it was presumed by the person preparing the ICR that all of the catcher/processors and motherships carried VMS. So, the mothership check-in/check-out report form was removed from the information collection and the information collection was not included in the 2013 revision/extension.

However, there is one mothership that does not carry VMS, and thus is required to submit a mothership check-in/check-out report. This mothership has continued to submit a check-in/check-out report to NMFS.

Before a mothership commences receipt of groundfish, the operator must submit a check-in report (BEGIN message) within specific time limits and a check-out report (CEASE message) with groundfish receipt stops.

It is estimated that this report, estimated to be submitted 25 times per year, can be completed and submitted in 7 minutes, with a recordkeeping cost of $6 per faxed response. Thus, this request reinstates the 25 responses, 3 hours and $150 for this information collection.

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