MBNMS SS v1 Part A V1 10.13.15

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

SOCIOECONOMICS OF GUIDED WILDLIFE VIEWING OPERATIONS IN THE MONTEREY BAY NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY

OMB CONTROL No. 0648-XXXX

A. JUSTFICATION

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.

This request is for a new information collection to benefit natural resource managers in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS). The National Ocean Service (NOS) proposes to collect information from wildlife watching operations to ascertain the market value of marine wildlife via the ocean recreational industry in the Monterey Bay region.

Up-to-date socioeconomic data is needed to support the conservation and management goals of MBNMS to strengthen and improve conservation of marine wildlife, including whales, pinnipeds, sea otters, and seabirds within the jurisdiction of the sanctuary and to satisfy legal mandates under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq), Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq), Marine Mammal Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq), National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321), Executive Order 12866 (EO 12866), and other pertinent statutes.

MBNMS is currently in the process of updating the 2008 Management Plan, and has identified a lack of baseline socioeconomic information on ocean recreation businesses. The information is not available to assess the possible economic benefits of marine wildlife protection to the local economy, or the potential impact on ocean recreation businesses. The type of data targeted for this collection; that is, information on costs and earnings from the marine wildlife watching industry, are only currently available for recreational and commercial fishing. Thus, current economic information on the importance of marine wildlife to the local tourism industry is required. The primary focus for the survey will be to gather data on the non-consumptive, market value of marine wildlife. Specifically, researchers will collect data to determine the contribution of marine wildlife watching operations to the economy in the Monterey Bay region.

Secondarily, during the process of updating the 2008 Management Plan, MBNMS may consider new approaches to reduce wildlife disturbance occurring as a result of close public interaction with the marine wildlife in the Monterey Bay region. Collaborating with the wildlife viewing industry, MBNMS will work with the Sanctuary Advisory Council to explore options for reducing disturbance to whales, pinnipeds, sea otters and seabirds, while minimizing the economic impact on industry. Achieving this requires that we also collect spatial data of the operations wildlife viewings. Ocean recreation businesses include whale watching, seabird charters, kayaking, SCUBA diving, and paddleboarding. A non-regulatory approach to reducing disturbance to marine wildlife could include increased education, outreach and interpretive enforcement programming provided to work more directly with wildlife viewing businesses and the general public. A regulatory approach could include establishing an “approach distance” for encounters with whales, which could require a new prohibition for spectators to remain a defined stand-off distance from particular whales species. Large whales such as humpbacks, grays and blues, as well as orcas, tend to attract spectators who may approach whales during feeding, resting and/or transiting. The latter approach may be explored for implementation on a voluntary basis or for future regulatory action by MBNMS. MBNMS management plan update process will identify alternatives that offer the most logical approach for protecting marine wildlife, while fostering robust, sustainable ocean recreation businesses in the region.

Collection of this data will provide estimates of the potential economic benefits of the diversity of marine wildlife in this region and the spatial use of operations. Additionally, should MBNMS choose to move forward with a regulatory approach to establish an approach distance between wildlife and operators, the information and tools developed from this data collection would be required before conducting a socioeconomic impact analyses under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory Impact Review) and an Initial and Final Regulatory Flexibility Analyses (impacts on small businesses).

2. Explain how, by whom, how frequently, and for what purpose the information will be used. If the information collected will be disseminated to the public or used to support information that will be disseminated to the public, then explain how the collection complies with all applicable Information Quality Guidelines.

General Overview

The purpose of this information collection is to obtain the information necessary to calculate estimates and build tools that can be used by natural resource managers at the MBNMS to evaluate the value of whales, pinnipeds, sea otters, and seabirds within the sanctuary, as well as estimating potential impacts of alternative management options on the local tourism industry. Socioeconomic data will be gathered from commercial whale and marine wildlife observation operations and will be used to develop social and demographic profiles of business owners/operators. Cost and earnings data will be gathered to develop estimates of the value of these businesses to the local economy. Spatial data documenting, where commercial, non-consumptive marine wildlife viewing activities occur in the region, will be used to assess the cost or benefit of alternative management scenarios to the whale and marine wildlife watching industry.

The unit of measurement is the operation. The interviewer doesn’t select the appropriate person to interview. Instead, the business owner selects the appropriate person (i.e. most knowledgeable) for each type of information. This is a records based data collection where we send out a team to the business establishment and obtain the majority of information from their records. The only information that is tied to a particular person in the operation is the demographics. Demographic information applies to the business owner. This is done so we can meet the requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (impacts on small entities—primarily small businesses) in analyzing the socioeconomic impacts of regulations.

Who will use this information?

Data gathered during this collection will be used by MBNMS and, more generally, the Office of the National Marine Sanctuaries. The surveys will be conducted by staff and graduate students at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California at Santa Barbara. MBNMS will use this data to inform their upcoming management plan update.

How frequently will this information be used?

This one-time collection will last one to two months. It is anticipated that the data gathered from this collection will be used on an as-needed basis. Some of the elements of this submission may be replicated to support socioeconomic monitoring in future years.

For what purpose will the information be used?

Data gathered during this collection will be used by MBNMS and, more generally, the Office of the National Marine Sanctuaries, to support a stakeholder outreach process conducted in and by Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Completing this information collection will give MBNMS stakeholders fair representation in the design of management strategies by providing information to support the assessment of socioeconomic impacts of management alternatives. The data may potentially be used for conduct of socioeconomic impact analyses under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory Impact Review) and an Initial and Final Regulatory Flexibility Analyses (impacts on small businesses). Finally, the information collected also has potential to be used by resource managers for outreach and education purposes.

Summary of Survey Questions and Mapping Activity

The questions that will be included in this collection are similar to those submitted under OMB Control Number 0648-0408, Expiration Date: 6/30/2003 for the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and OMB Control Number 0648-0717 for CINMS approved 7/1/2015. The questions have been slightly modified to meet the data requirement for the present management purpose. The survey items can be categorized into two primary components: general information and economic information. Below is a discussion of type of information that is being collected and its importance for the study.

General Information

Respondent ID Number

A respondent identification number will be assigned to each operator for data collection purposes.

All questions should be answered by the business owner, unless the owner has specified someone better suited to provide a response.

Questions 1-5 are regarding the business owner.

1. Which of the following includes your age?

2. Are you Hispanic or Latino?

3. What is your race? (Mark one or more)

4. What is your gender?

These four demographic questions will be used to develop profiles of the wildlife viewing tour operators in the Monterey Bay region. The race and ethnicity questions are written per guidelines issued by OMB. The demographics are specifically for the owner of the business to support socioeconomic impacts of regulations on small entities (primarily small businesses) under the Regulatory Flexibility Act.

5. How many family members do you support (including yourself)?

In combination with economic information gathered, this question will provide information on the degree to which operators (business owners) are dependent upon whale watching as their primary source of income for supporting their household and their vulnerability if this income were to decline.

6. What is your primary port/marina/location?

7. Do you have a secondary port/marina/location from where you operate part of the year?

7a. If YES, which one? __________________________________________________

Questions 6 and 7 ask about the primary and secondary ports and/or marinas that the wildlife viewing operation utilizes. This information is important for assessing the region of operation as well as travel distance and resulting expenses.

8. How many years have you been an ocean recreation business operator?

This information will help determine how established and dependent the operation is in the local whale watching and marine wildlife viewing industry and may explain differences in attitudes and perceptions of management strategies and regulations.

9. How many years have you been an ocean recreation business operator in the Monterey Bay region?

Question 9 is similar to the prior question in terms of purpose, but collects information regarding the Monterey Bay region, specifically.

10. Do you visit state marine protected areas (reserves/conservation areas) specifically during your tours? (Interviewer—Please show map to identify specific quadrants)

10a. Why or why not?

10b. How often?

10c. If YES, how many years have you conducted guided wildlife tours in state marine protected areas?

This information is important for understanding visitation rates to, as well as the importance of, the state marine protected areas and sanctuaries to business operations. Also asked is why and how often they visit the state MPAs. This qualitative information is important to ascertain their reasons for visiting the state MPAs, which will be of use to sanctuary managers.

Question 11 is for whale watching operators only:

11. Do you currently have a naturalist on board during whale watching trips?

11a. If NO, would you be interested in having one on board if you had more information about the role they play with whale watching operators?

In the Monterey Bay region, naturalists will often come aboard for whale watching trips to talk with customers and collect data on the location and species of whales seen per trip. Question 11 asks if operators participate in this naturalist program, meaning that they allow naturalists on board during whale watching trips. This question will help researchers and sanctuary workers better understand the participation rate of operators in the naturalist program, as well as interest among operators for program expansion.

12. Are customers asking to see specific wildlife species when they go on a guided tour?

12a. If YES, please list:

This information will allow researchers to roughly ascertain the species of viewing preference among whale/marine wildlife watching customers in the region.

13. How would you describe the wildlife viewing operation? (Mark one or more)

___ Full-time whale watching operation ___ Part-time whale watching operation

___ Seasonal whale watching operation

___ Full-time kayaking operation ___ Part-time whale watching operation ___Seasonal kayaking operation

___ Full-time dive/snorkeling operation ___ Part-time whale watching operation

___ Seasonal dive/snorkeling operation

___ Full-time seabird viewing operation ___ Part-time whale watching operation

___ Seasonal seabird viewing operation

___ Full-time sailing/boating operation ___ Part-time whale watching operation ___Seasonal sailing/boating operation

___ Full-time recreational fishing operation ___ Part-time whale watching operation

___ Seasonal recreational fishing operation

__ Full-time combination whale watching, recreational cruises, kayaking, diving/snorkeling, and wildlife observation operation

__ Part-time combination whale watching, recreational cruises, kayaking, diving/snorkeling, and wildlife observation

__ Seasonal combination whale watching, recreational cruises, kayaking, diving/snorkeling, and wildlife observation.

13a. If part time or seasonal, which months? ________________________________________________________________________

14. Number of boats/vessels at the operation: ____ (number of vessels)

Questions 13 and 14 ascertain the type and size of the operation. This information will be used to develop a profile of the business, which will inform cost and earnings calculations.

Question 15-19 are for specific types of operators:

15. Average number of whale watching participants per vessel in operation:

Vessel 1: ____watchers     Vessel 2: ____watchers

Vessel 3: ____watchers      Vessel 4: ____watchers

16. Average number of participants per vessel in recreational fishing cruise operation:

Vessel 1: ____ participants    Vessel 2: ____participants

Vessel 3: ____ participants      Vessel 4: ____participants

17. Average number of kayakers and kayaks per guided tour:

____kayakers   ____kayaks  

18. Average number of divers/snorkelers per vessel in operation:

Vessel 1: ____divers/snorkelers     Vessel 2: ____divers/snorkelers

Vessel 3: ____divers/snorkelers     Vessel 4: ____divers/snorkelers

19. Average number of wildlife observers (seabirds and other) per vessel in operation (capacity):

Vessel 1: ____seabird observers ____ other wildlife observers    

Vessel 2: ____seabird observers ____ other wildlife observers   

Vessel 3: ____seabird observers ____ other wildlife observers      

Vessel 4: ____seabird observers ____ other wildlife observers   

Questions 15-19 ask about the capacity of vessels in terms of the number of participants for each of the operator’s different vessels for each activity. This information will help assess supply capacity and will be used in cost/earnings calculations.

20. Number of employees at the operation:

Full time ____________

Part time____________

Seasonal____________

Question 20 will gather data on the number of employees at the operation. Employee numbers and status will help determine the size of the operation and costs.

21. Number of vessel trips/guided tours per day (primary purpose):

Whale watching ___________

Recreational cruise (sailing, boating) ___________

Fishing ___________

Kayaking ___________

Diving/snorkeling ___________

Seabird viewing ___________

Question 21 gathers information on the number of trips per day and will help researchers understand the magnitude of participants/customers in the area, as well as the percentage of business that is dedicated to wildlife viewing, as opposed to other services.

Question 22 should be answered only if the person responding has been in the guided wildlife tour industry for 10 years or more.

22. In your opinion, on a scale of 1 to 5, how has the quality of the guided wildlife tour industry changed in the last 10 years?

1 – Much worse   

2 – Somewhat worse   

3 – No change   

4 – Somewhat better   

5 – Much better 

No opinion

22a. If you believe that the quality of guided tours has changed, could you tell us how it’s changed?

22b. Are you the owner of the business you are representing?

___YES ___NO

This series of questions asks the operations to indicate if the quality of wildlife viewing has changed in the last 10 years. This information will be helpful in gauging the status of the industry from an “insider’s” point of view. Question 22a elicits detailed feedback on what factors affected a change in quality. Together, this information will allow researchers to understand what factors are believed to be most associated with changes in quality in the industry. Question 22b is included to differentiate if the opinion recorded is of the business owner or from an employee the owner has identified as the best person to answer the survey questions.

23. Are you aware that wildlife in the region are sometimes harassed unintentionally?

23a. If YES, how concerned are you that harassment to wildlife (whales, pinnipeds, sea otters, and seabirds) may be having a negative impact on your business, with 1 being not concerned and 5 being extremely concerned?

Question 23 queries the operation on the issue of wildlife disturbance in the region. Gauging awareness of the issue would help local resource managers plan future education and outreach efforts among guided tours. Question 23a gathers information on the level of concern among wildlife viewing operations about the impact of wildlife harassment on their businesses. This question will help managers to understand how interested stakeholders from this group are about wildlife conservation issues relative to wildlife disturbance.

24. Currently, there are no regulations in MBNMS that require an "approach distance" to whales and other wildlife. However, there are official NOAA Fisheries guidelines that recommend wildlife viewing vessels maintain a minimum distance of 100 yards/meters from whales and wildlife. Does your operation have any kind of established policy regarding a minimum distance your vessels maintain from whales and wildlife? ___YES ___NO

24a. If YES, what is your company's approach distance policy?

25. Please give a brief explanation of how you think your business could be affected if a mandatory regulation were to be passed that would require an approach distance to whales and other wildlife.

Questions 24 and 25 provide important information for MBNMS should we choose to move forward with a regulatory approach to establish an approach distance between wildlife and operators. It is beneficial to know if wildlife viewing tour operators already are adhering to official NOAA Fisheries guidelines or even a self-imposed approach distance policy. Collecting this information will give MBNMS stakeholders fair representation in the design of management strategies by providing information to support the assessment of socioeconomic impacts of management alternatives. The information collected also has potential to be used by resource managers for future outreach and education purposes.

26. The Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program authorizes a group of unpaid volunteers to respond to sightings of whales entangled in fishing gear and other debris. This group is called the Whale Entanglement Team (WET), and they respond to a 24/7 WET hotline at (877) SOS-WHALE.

26a. Have you ever heard of the Whale Entanglement Team?

___YES ___NO

26b. Have you/any of your employees ever called the WET hotline?

___YES ___NO

Please explain your response (i.e. reason why you called, did not call because you were not aware of program, did not call because you never encountered an entangled whale, etc.)

26c. Does your company have a policy about responding to injured or entangled wildlife?

___YES ___NO

If YES, what is your company’s policy about responding to injured or entangled wildlife?

27. Would you be interested in learning more about how your company can respond to injured or entangled wildlife?

___YES ___NO

27a. If YES, how would you like to receive information? (Check all options that apply)

___ Attend a seminar during business hours with other interested local wildlife tour operators

___ Attend a seminar after business hours with other interested local wildlife tour operators

___ Attend a webinar/online seminar with other interested local wildlife tour operators

___ Receive physical pamphlets/handouts/reading materials that are mailed to the business

___ Receive electronic pamphlets/handouts/reading materials that are emailed to the business

___ Receive an in-person training from an trained expert during business hours at your business

Questions 26 and 27 are regarding whale and marine wildlife entanglement and injury. It is beneficial to know if wildlife viewing tour operators are already aware of programs in place to assist injured marine animals, as well as to understand what operators may or may not be doing about it. The information collected also has potential to be used by resource managers for future outreach and education purposes. Question 27 will help resource managers to understand how best to communicate information to business operators regarding marine wildlife entanglement.

28. Please rank the status/condition of the following resources in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary by its change in status/condition since the Sanctuary’s designation in 1992, where 1 is much better and 5 is much worse.

RESOURCE Better Worse

a. Water Quality 1 2 3 4 5 N/A

b. Marine Debris/Ocean Pollution 1 2 3 4 5 N/A

c. Wildlife (whales, otters, pinnipeds) 1 2 3 4 5 N/A

d. Habitats (tidepools, beaches, kelp forests) 1 2 3 4 5 N/A

e. Introduced Species 1 2 3 4 5 N/A

f. Sensitive Areas

(haulout, roosting, nesting) 1 2 3 4 5 N/A

29. MBNMS is mostly responsible for the status/condition of the resources that you rated in the previous question.

___YES ___NO ___I DON’T KNOW

29a. In which of the categories listed above has MBNMS been most successful (list all that apply)?

29b. In which of the categories listed above has MBNMS been least successful?

Question 28 is designed to understand how the respondent feels the sanctuary has changed since the designation of MBNMS. This information will help resources managers identify which areas need more attention in regards to regulation or research, as well as understand the opinions and perceptions of the general public. Question 29 provides information to better understand the public’s perception of the role and responsibility of the Sanctuary. Information gained from Questions 29a and 29b will help identify which areas resource managers should focus on, and could also illuminate which areas public education and outreach programs should address.

Economic Information

This section addresses costs and earnings of the wildlife viewing businesses. This section was designed to conform to other studies being conducted on the economics of recreational for-hire and guided tour operations, but modified to account for the differences for whale watching and marine wildlife observation businesses.

30. What approximate percentage of the TOTAL business income is derived from guided wildlife viewing operations?

Question 30 will provide information about how much of a respondent’s business income is dependent solely on wildlife viewing services, as opposed to other goods or services offered as a part of their business (e.g., the operation may offer fishing tours as well). This information will allow researchers to assess the degree of dependency of these businesses on wildlife viewing ventures.

31. What approximate percentage of your TOTAL household income is derived from guided wildlife viewing operations?

Question 31 will be used, in combination with other information gathered, to determine the degree of dependency of the business owners on wildlife viewing tourism for their household support. This question, in combination with Question 5, will help researchers to understand the economic vulnerability of owners’ households should management options or other factors impact the industry. This will help us meet the needs of socioeconomic impact analysis of regulations under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, which applies to small entities (primarily small businesses).

32. Please list any outstanding balance on loan amounts for vessels and equipment.

$______________

33. Please provide your best estimate for the following expenses last year:

Permits/licenses $ ______________

Docking fees $ ______________

Interest payments on vessel(s) $ ______________

P&I insurance on vessel(s) $ ______________

Maintenance/repair on vessel/electronic equipment $ ______________

Maintenance/repair on dive/snorkel gear $ ______________

Maintenance/repair on rods/reels $ ______________

Maintenance/repair on compressors $ ______________

Maintenance/repair on other equipment $ ______________

Other dive equipment costs $ ______________

Advertising $ ______________

Office rent/mortgage $ ______________

Office utilities (electric, water, telephone, Internet) $ ______________

Depreciation of vessels and equipment $ ______________

Business taxes $ ______________

Other (specify):

_______________________________________ $ ______________

_______________________________________ $ ______________

_______________________________________ $ ______________

33a. Please provide your best estimate of the replacement value of the following items that you used last year (fill in year _____):

Vessel(s) and electronic equipment $ ______________

Diving and snorkeling gear $ ______________

Compressors $ ______________

Rods/reels $ ______________

Other gear (specify):

_______________________________________ $ ______________

_______________________________________ $ ______________

_______________________________________ $ ______________

Information gathered from Question 32 and 33 will be used with revenues to assess the profitability of the operation that can be used to assess the impacts of management options or other factors on individual businesses and the industry as a whole.

34. Please provide your best estimate for the following trip related expenses last year:

Dive equipment costs $ ______________

Fuel/oil $ ______________

Ice $ ______________

Food/supplies $ ______________

Bait $ ______________

Captain wages & salaries (if not owner-captain) $ ______________

Crew wages & salaries Number ______ $ ______________

Other (specify):

_______________________________________ $ ______________

_______________________________________ $ ______________

_______________________________________ $ ______________

Question 34 asks about additional annual expenses from the previous year. This information will help researchers to calculate the operation’s total operating costs.

35. Please provide your best estimate of your total business revenues last year.

Question 35 asks about the operation’s total revenue from last year. Revenue information is essential for understanding profits and the size of the local industry.

36. Please provide your best estimate of your total revenues and/or percent of total revenue last year in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. $ ______________ % _____

Question 36 focuses on total whale watching and marine wildlife observation operation revenues for the past year in MBNMS.

Questions 37 – 39 pertain to whale watching operators only:

37. What is the minimum number of whales that need to be seen per trip in order to make the trip worthwhile financially?

38. What is the minimum number of customers/attendants that need to be booked per trip in order to make the trip worthwhile financially?

39. If you do not see any whales on the trip, do you reimburse customers?

39a. If YES, how do you reimburse customers?

Questions 37 – 39 gather information on the threshold of probable success before a vessel operator agrees to go out, as well as the impact of unsuccessful trips, meaning trips made when no whales are spotted. The latter information is useful in determining how much loss is associated if whales are not encountered during a whale watching trip.

40. Use by activity and month:

Question 40 collects information on the person-days by activity type for the business over a twelve-month period. A person-day is one person doing an activity for a whole day or any part of the day. This measurement corresponds generally to what the operations record in their logbooks as the number of passengers taken to a specific location on a specific day. There is some potential for double-counting across activities, so totals across activities is asked and it is not required that the sum by activity equal the total. This type of information has been collected previously by ONMS to ascertain the spatialized recreational value of marine protected areas in the CINMS and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.¹

41. Mapping Exercise: Map the Distribution of Each Activity

Respondents will be advised to provide information on their anticipated spatial use of the Monterey Bay. This anticipated spatial use may be the same as their current use or it may be different. Respondents will be given a 100 penny budget, meaning one penny equals one percent of passenger activity. The respondent will allocate his or her budget across all map cells. Codes will be recorded on the coding sheet. The map cells will be referenced by column and row: For example, C1R1 1% means 1% of activity is in cell Column 1 Row 1. The percent of each activity must add up to 100.

42. Does this map reflect where you presently operate? ___YES ___NO

42a. If NO, please explain why future operations may be different than where you have historically operated.

Question 41 is needed to obtain a detailed spatial resolution of “expected person-days”. The purpose of this information is to assess the potential impacts of alternative management scenarios on the wildlife viewing industry. This evaluation is by its nature forward looking, thus past spatial distribution of effort may not be a good representation of future impact. Wildlife viewing tour operators will be asked to provide the percent distribution of where they expect to undertake their future effort (i.e., their anticipated spatial use area) by type of activity at spatial resolutions of 1-minute by 1-minute of one nautical square mile grid cells. It is important to note that a respondent’s future anticipated spatial use area might be similar or identical to their current or past use area. Detailed maps will be provided with NOAA nautical chart layers with latitude and longitude lines, as well as key reference points such as benthic structure and depth contours. The person-day totals provided in Question 41 will provide the information to weight percentage distributions across operations when extrapolating to population totals by spatial unit. A copy of the map that will be used for data collection is included with this package. This type of information has been collected previously by ONMS to ascertain the influence of a marine protected area designation on the economic condition of commercial fishermen and recreational boat operators in CINMS and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.² Additionally, similar data have been collected for the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico, although data from this report have not been published to date.

Questions 42 and 42a clarify if the distribution is for current or future movements.

Compliance with Information Quality Guidelines

It is anticipated that the information collected will be disseminated to the public or used to support publicly disseminated information. NOAA National Ocean Service, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries will retain control over the information and safeguard it from improper access, modification, and destruction, consistent with NOAA standards for confidentiality, privacy, and electronic information. See response to Question 10 of this Supporting Statement for more information on confidentiality and privacy. The information collection is designed to yield data that meet all applicable information quality guidelines. Prior to dissemination, the information will be subjected to quality control measures and a pre-dissemination review pursuant to Section 515 of Public Law 106-554. All analyses and reports developed in this project will be peer reviewed before release to the public.

3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological techniques or other forms of information technology.

No automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological or other forms of information technology are being used. All surveys with whale and marine wildlife watching operators will be conducted face-to-face and will be recorded on paper forms.

4. Describe efforts to identify duplication.

The research team consulted with resource managers at the MBNMS to determine what types of socioeconomic data collection activities were planned or presently ongoing in the region related to whale and marine wildlife watching industries. To avoid survey fatigue and overburdening business owners with data collections, the team consulted with researchers who have projects underway or planned to determine if there was overlap of target populations. We identified no projects that included our target population of whale and marine wildlife watching operators for collections. The literature review did not reveal any more recent efforts completed or underway to collect similar information. Additionally, representatives of the ocean recreation industry were consulted to inquire about whether they were currently or recently involved in the same or similar type research. The response from both individuals was negative.

Researchers conducted a literature review to determine if and to what extent existing information might meet the needs of MBNMS.

5. If the collection of information involves small businesses or other small entities, describe the methods used to minimize burden.

All the business entities in this information collection request can be classified as small businesses. Our approach is not to send out questionnaires to be filled out by respondents. Rather, to increase efficiency and reduce the respondent’s burden, we will send out an information collection team to the home or office of the business owner/operator. The information collection team will work with the respondent to complete the information collection. When arranging information collection interviews, our approach is to discuss the types of information we will be asking for during the interview. This enables the respondent to prepare before the interview, gathering any important records or documents that might be needed by the team. For example, for the cost-and-earnings questions, financial records are needed. Similarly, for the spatial use information, access to trip logbooks is generally required.

6. Describe the consequences to the Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently.

Without this collection, a critical data gap will remain that could inhibit the ability for resource managers to conduct a thorough social impact assessment that will inform the Management Plan Review process.

7. Explain any special circumstances that require the collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with OMB guidelines.

All data collection will be consistent with OMB guidelines.

8. Provide information on the PRA Federal Register Notice that solicited public comments on the information collection prior to this submission. Summarize the public comments received in response to that notice and describe the actions taken by the agency in response to those comments. Describe the efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported.

A Federal Register Notice published on March 5, 2015 (80 FR 11976), solicited public comments. No comments were received. The draft survey was also presented to the MBNMS Sanctuary Advisory Council and shared with other resource managers for review and comment.

9. Explain any decisions to provide payments or gifts to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.

No payments or gifts will be provided to respondents.

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy

Procedures have been established to protect the proprietary information provided by respondents. All personal identification information will be removed from all databases sent to NOAA or distributed to the public. Each individual respondent will be assigned an identification number in the database so the data from different portions of the survey can be linked for analysis. Release of proprietary information is further protected by the Freedom of Information Act (5 USC 522 (b) (4)) concerning trade secrets or proprietary information, such as commercial business and financial records. All non-personal or non-proprietary information will be available for distribution. This data will be scrubbed of any personal identifying information before being shared to protect the information of each individual and business.

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private.

No such questions will be asked.

_{12. Provide an estimate in hours of the burden of the collection of information.}

The affected public for this collection are the owners or managers of whale/marine wildlife watching businesses in the Monterey Bay Region. We estimate that there are 56 or fewer relevant businesses in the region. We expect that it will require an average of 2.5 hours of interview/record compilation time to complete each data collection per respondent. This time can be roughly divided into 1 hour for record compilation by the respondent in preparation for the interview, and then 1.5 hours of working with our interviewers to fill out and check the forms completed during the actual interview. We anticipate completing interviews with the entire population of commercial whale/marine wildlife watching operators in the study area. We anticipate full cooperation with the clear understanding that responses to the survey questions remain anonymous. The members of this business community are interested in understanding their contribution to the local economy and the value of wildlife to their operation. Thus, we are requesting a total of 140 burden hours for this collection.

13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to the respondents or record- keepers resulting from the collection (excluding the value of the burden hours in Question

12 above).

There will be no cost to respondents beyond burden hours.

_{14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government.}

The cost to the Federal government for contract services, supplies, equipment, travel, etcetera, is approximately $28,000 for FY2015. There is no anticipated cost in these budget categories for FY2016. The total annual cost for Federal labor on the project is approximately $42,000 for FY2015 and $42,000 for FY2016. Averaging the totals of $70,000 ($28,000 + $42,000) and $42,000, the annualized total is $56,000.

15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments.

There are no program changes or adjustments.

16. For collections whose results will be published, outline the plans for tabulation and publication.

All reports will be peer reviewed per NOAA standards under the Information Quality Act and posted on the ONMS Socioeconomic Web site:

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/science/socioeconomic

A new page(s) will be set up on this website to provide the project report to the general public. All data and documentation will be put on CD-ROM and will be made available to the general public, subject to any masking of the data required to protect privacy.

17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons why display would be inappropriate.

Not applicable.

18. Explain each exception to the certification statement.

Not applicable.

1 Leeworthy, V.R. and P Wiley. 2003. Socioeconomic Impact Analysis of Marine Reserve Alternatives for the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Silver Spring, MD: U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA.; Jeffrey, C.F.G., V.R. Leeworthy, M.E. Monaco, G. Piniak, M. Fonseca (eds.). 2012. An Integrated Biogeographic Assessment of Reef Fish

2 Leeworthy, V.R. and P Wiley. (2003); Jeffrey, et al. (2012). Populations and Fisheries in Dry Tortugas: Effects of No-take Reserves. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 111. Prepared by the NCCOS Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment Biogeography Branch. Silver Spring, MD. 147 pp.

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