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54534

Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 175 / Thursday, September 10, 2015 / Notices

appropriate valid permit, and proof of
identification.

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Workshop Objectives
The Atlantic Shark Identification
Workshops are designed to reduce the
number of unknown and improperly
identified sharks reported in the dealer
reporting form and increase the
accuracy of species-specific dealerreported information. Reducing the
number of unknown and improperly
identified sharks will improve quota
monitoring and the data used in stock
assessments. These workshops will train
shark dealer permit holders or their
proxies to properly identify Atlantic
shark carcasses.
Protected Species Safe Handling,
Release, and Identification Workshops
Since January 1, 2007, shark limitedaccess and swordfish limited-access
permit holders who fish with longline
or gillnet gear have been required to
submit a copy of their Protected Species
Safe Handling, Release, and
Identification Workshop certificate in
order to renew either permit (71 FR
58057; October 2, 2006). These
certificate(s) are valid for 3 years. As
such, vessel owners who have not
already attended a workshop and
received a NMFS certificate, or vessel
owners whose certificate(s) will expire
prior to the next permit renewal, must
attend a workshop to fish with, or
renew, their swordfish and shark
limited-access permits. Additionally,
new shark and swordfish limited-access
permit applicants who intend to fish
with longline or gillnet gear must attend
a Protected Species Safe Handling,
Release, and Identification Workshop
and submit a copy of their workshop
certificate before either of the permits
will be issued. Approximately 214 free
Protected Species Safe Handling,
Release, and Identification Workshops
have been conducted since 2006.
In addition to certifying vessel
owners, at least one operator on board
vessels issued a limited-access
swordfish or shark permit that uses
longline or gillnet gear is required to
attend a Protected Species Safe
Handling, Release, and Identification
Workshop and receive a certificate.
Vessels that have been issued a limitedaccess swordfish or shark permit and
that use longline or gillnet gear may not
fish unless both the vessel owner and
operator have valid workshop
certificates onboard at all times. Vessel
operators who have not already
attended a workshop and received a
NMFS certificate, or vessel operators
whose certificate(s) will expire prior to
their next fishing trip, must attend a

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workshop to operate a vessel with
swordfish and shark limited-access
permits that uses longline or gillnet
gear.
Workshop Dates, Times, and Locations
1. October 7, 2015, 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Hilton
Garden Inn, 1101 North Highway
231, Panama City, FL 32405.
2. October 21, 2015, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.,
Hilton Garden Inn, 1 Thurber
Street, Warwick, RI 02886.
3. November 4, 2015, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.,
Hilton Garden Inn, 6745 Rock
Spring Road, Wilmington, NC
28405.
4. November 18, 2015, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.,
Holiday Inn Express, 210 Seminole
Boulevard, Largo, FL 33770.
5. December 2, 2015, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.,
Hilton Hotel, 901 Airline Drive,
Kenner, LA 70068.
6. December 16, 2015, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.,
Hilton Garden Inn, 3485 Veterans
Memorial Highway, Ronkonkoma,
NY 11779.
Registration
To register for a scheduled Protected
Species Safe Handling, Release, and
Identification Workshop, please contact
Angler Conservation Education at (386)
682–0158.
Registration Materials
To ensure that workshop certificates
are linked to the correct permits,
participants will need to bring the
following specific items with them to
the workshop:
• Individual vessel owners must
bring a copy of the appropriate
swordfish and/or shark permit(s), a copy
of the vessel registration or
documentation, and proof of
identification.
• Representatives of a businessowned or co-owned vessel must bring
proof that the individual is an agent of
the business (such as articles of
incorporation), a copy of the applicable
swordfish and/or shark permit(s), and
proof of identification.
• Vessel operators must bring proof of
identification.
Workshop Objectives
The Protected Species Safe Handling,
Release, and Identification Workshops
are designed to teach longline and
gillnet fishermen the required
techniques for the safe handling and
release of entangled and/or hooked
protected species, such as sea turtles,
marine mammals, and smalltooth
sawfish. In an effort to improve
reporting, the proper identification of
protected species will also be taught at
these workshops. Additionally,

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individuals attending these workshops
will gain a better understanding of the
requirements for participating in these
fisheries. The overall goal of these
workshops is to provide participants
with the skills needed to reduce the
mortality of protected species, which
may prevent additional regulations on
these fisheries in the future.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: September 4, 2015.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015–22836 Filed 9–9–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Proposed Information Collection;
Comment Request; Access-Point
Angler Intercept Survey (APAIS)
National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:

The Department of
Commerce, as part of its continuing
effort to reduce paperwork and
respondent burden, invites the general
public and other Federal agencies to
take this opportunity to comment on
proposed and/or continuing information
collections, as required by the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: Written comments must be
submitted on or before November 9,
2015.
ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments
to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental
Paperwork Clearance Officer,
Department of Commerce, Room 6616,
14th and Constitution Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20230 (or via the
Internet at [email protected]).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information or
copies of the information collection
instrument(s) and instructions should
be directed to Tom Sminkey, Ph.D.,
(301) 427–8177 or Tom.Sminkey@
NOAA.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:

I. Abstract
This request is for extension of a
currently approved information
collection.
Marine recreational anglers are
surveyed to collect catch and effort data,
fish biology data, and angler
socioeconomic characteristics. These

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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 175 / Thursday, September 10, 2015 / Notices
data are required to carry out provisions
of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (16
U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), as amended,
regarding conservation and management
of fishery resources.
Marine recreational fishing catch and
effort data are collected through a
combination of mail surveys, telephone
surveys and on-site intercept surveys
with recreational anglers. Amendments
to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(MSA) require the development of an
improved data collection program for
recreational fisheries. To partially meet
these requirements, NOAA Fisheries
designed and implemented a new
Access-Point Angler Intercept Survey
(APAIS) in 2013 to ensure better
coverage and representation of
recreational fishing activity.
The APAIS intercepts marine
recreational fishers at public-access sites
in coastal counties from Maine to
Louisiana, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, to
obtain information about the justcompleted day’s fishing activity.
Respondents are asked about the time
and type of fishing, the angler’s avidity
and residence location, and details of
any catch of finfish. Species
identification, number, and size are
collected for any available landed catch.
Data collected from the APAIS are used
to estimate the catch per angler of
recreational saltwater fishers. These
APAIS estimates are combined with
estimates derived from independent but
complementary surveys of fishing effort,
the Coastal Household Telephone
Survey and the For-Hire Survey, to
estimate total, state-level fishing catch,
by species, and participation. These
estimates are used in the development,
implementation, and monitoring of
fishery management programs by the
NMFS, regional fishery management
councils, interstate marine fisheries
commissions, and state fishery agencies.

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II. Method of Collection
Information will be collected through
onsite in-person interviews.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0648–0659.
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Regular submission
(extension of a currently approved
information collection).
Affected Public: Individuals or
households.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
100,000.
Estimated Time per Response: 5
minutes for intercepted anglers.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 8,333.

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Estimated Total Annual Cost to
Public: $0 in recordkeeping/reporting
costs.
IV. Request for Comments
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether
the proposed collection of information
is necessary for the proper performance
of the functions of the agency, including
whether the information shall have
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden
(including hours and cost) of the
proposed collection of information; (c)
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and (d) ways to minimize the
burden of the collection of information
on respondents, including through the
use of automated collection techniques
or other forms of information
technology.
Comments submitted in response to
this notice will be summarized and/or
included in the request for OMB
approval of this information collection;
they also will become a matter of public
record.
Dated: September 3, 2015.
Sarah Brabson,
NOAA PRA Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015–22707 Filed 9–9–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XD977

Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to
Specified Activities; Taking Marine
Mammals Incidental to the Mukilteo
Multimodal Project Tank Farm Pier
Removal Project
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; issuance of an incidental
harassment authorization.
AGENCY:

In accordance with the
regulations implementing the Marine
Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as
amended, notification is hereby given
that we, NMFS, have issued an
incidental harassment authorization
(IHA) to the Washington State
Department of Transportation Ferries
System (WSF) to harass, by Level B
harassment only, small numbers of eight
marine mammal species incidental to
construction work associated with the
Mukilteo Ferry Terminal replacement
project in Mukilteo, Snohomish County,
Washington.

SUMMARY:

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54535

This authorization is effective
from September 1, 2015 through August
31, 2016.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Robert Pauline, Office of Protected
Resources, NMFS, (301) 427–8401.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
DATES:

Availability
An electronic copy of WSF’s
application and supporting documents,
as well as a list of the references cited
in this document, may be obtained by
visiting the Internet at:
www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/
incidental/construction.htm. In case of
problems accessing these documents,
please call the contact listed above (see
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
Background
Sections 101(a)(5)(A) and (D) of the
MMPA (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) direct
the Secretary of Commerce to allow,
upon request, the incidental, but not
intentional, taking of small numbers of
marine mammals by U.S. citizens who
engage in a specified activity (other than
commercial fishing) within a specified
geographical region if certain findings
are made and either regulations are
issued or, if the taking is limited to
harassment, a notice of a proposed
authorization is provided to the public
for review.
Authorization for incidental takings
shall be granted if NMFS finds that the
taking will have a negligible impact on
the species or stock(s), will not have an
unmitigable adverse impact on the
availability of the species or stock(s) for
subsistence uses (where relevant), and if
the permissible methods of taking and
requirements pertaining to the
mitigation, monitoring and reporting of
such takings are set forth. NMFS has
defined ‘‘negligible impact’’ in 50 CFR
216.103 as ‘‘ . . . an impact resulting
from the specified activity that cannot
be reasonably expected to, and is not
reasonably likely to, adversely affect the
species or stock through effects on
annual rates of recruitment or survival.’’
Section 101(a)(5)(D) of the MMPA
established an expedited process by
which citizens of the U.S. can apply for
an authorization to incidentally take
small numbers of marine mammals by
harassment. Section 101(a)(5)(D)
establishes a 45-day time limit for
NMFS’ review of an application
followed by a 30-day public notice and
comment period on any proposed
authorizations for the incidental
harassment of marine mammals. Within
45 days of the close of the comment
period, NMFS must either issue or deny
the authorization. Except with respect to

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