0678 renew_rev Counlcoop_report_081616.ss

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

ALASKA COUNCIL COOPERATIVE ANNUAL REPORTS

OMB CONTROL NO. 0648-0678

This request is for extension and revision of an existing information collection. The North Pacific Fisheries Management Council (Council) requests modifications to certain annual cooperative reports. This request combines voluntary, non-regulatory cooperative report elements from four collections (OMB Control Nos. 0648-0401, -0565, -0678, and -0697) with OMB Control Number 0648-0545 which contains both required and voluntary data elements. The title of this collection is changed from “Crab Rationalization (CR) Program: CR Cooperative Annual Report” to read: “Alaska Council Voluntary Cooperative Annual Reports.” In addition to presentation of the report before the Council, all of the annual reports must be submitted to the Council by email or fax for the April Council meeting.

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.

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) manages the U.S. groundfish fisheries of the exclusive economic zone off Alaska under the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska and the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Management Area. The fishery management plans (FMPs) were approved by the Secretary of Commerce under authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act as amended in 2006. The groundfish FMPs are implemented by regulations at 50 CFR part 679. The Crab FMP is implemented by regulations at 50 CFR part 680.

In the last decade or more, the Council has developed several cooperative programs as options in larger catch share programs. As part of those cooperative programs, the Council required that cooperatives submit an annual written report detailing various activities of the cooperative. These reports are intended to be a resource for the Council to track the effectiveness of the cooperative and their ability to meet the Council’s goals. Additionally, they are a tool for the cooperatives to provide feedback on the programs. Regulation provides a framework for the minimum required information for most of the reports, while the Council has the flexibility to augment this framework with additional information requests that may be pertinent to current issues in the fishery.

In general, cooperative reports are presented by cooperative managers during the April Council meeting. Regulations do not require cooperative managers to present cooperative reports to the Council from any of the programs; however, they are encouraged to do so and this has been common practice from many cooperative representatives in the past.

The voluntary collections are pulled from the following four different programs.

Crab Rationalization (CR) Program

In 2005, the BSAI Crab Rationalization (CR) Program was implemented. Based on participation in the industry within a set of qualifying years, NMFS issued crab quota share (QS) to vessel owners and captains, as well as processor quota share (PQS) to processors in all fisheries except the Norton Sound Red king crab and the Pribilof Islands golden king crab. The CR Program was designed to allocate crab resources among harvesters, processors, and coastal communities for nine BSAI crab fisheries. This process also allowed for the voluntary formation of cooperatives.

Central GOA Rockfish Program (Rockfish Program)

The Rockfish Program was designed to enhance resource conservation and improve economic efficiency in the rockfish fisheries by establishing cooperatives that receive exclusive harvest privileges. NMFS assigns rockfish QS to License Limitation Program licenses for rockfish primary and secondary species. QS holders form cooperatives to pool the harvest of the yearly crab IFQ on fewer vessels to minimize operational costs and to provide additional flexibility in harvesting operations. The Rockfish Program also provides greater stability for processors by spreading out production over a greater period of time. Halibut Prohibited Species Catch (PSC) is allocated to participants based on historic halibut mortality rates in the primary rockfish species fisheries.

Amendment 80 Program

The Amendment 80 Program was established as a limited-access privilege program to reduce excessive fishing capacity, end the race to fish, reduce bycatch, and reduce discards for commercial fishing vessels using trawl gear in the non-pollock groundfish fisheries in the BSAI. The Amendment 80 Program encourages the formation of harvesting cooperatives in the non-American Fisheries Act (non-AFA) trawl catcher/processor sector among all persons holding Amendment 80 QS permits. The cooperatives that receive allocations of cooperative quota (CQ) allow vessel operators to make operational choices to improve fishery returns, reduce PSC usage, and reduce fish discards.

American Fisheries Act (AFA)

The purpose of the AFA was to tighten U.S. ownership standards for U.S. fishing vessels under the Anti-Reflagging Act, and to provide the BSAI pollock fleet the opportunity to conduct their fishery in a more rational manner while protecting non-AFA participants in the other fisheries.

The AFA eliminated the race for pollock through the establishment of cooperatives with specific provisions for their allocations, structure, and participation by catcher vessels and processing plants, as well as annual reporting requirements and excessive share limits. In response to a directive in the AFA, the Council added measures to protect other fisheries from adverse effects arising from the exclusive pollock allocation.

This collection describes management of the Bering Sea pollock fishery and describes management of the incidental catch of Chinook salmon in the Bering Sea pollock fishery. Each year, NMFS makes allocations of the applicable Bering Sea Chinook salmon PSC limit to the following four AFA sectors: Catcher/processor, mothership, Inshore processors, and Western Alaska Community Development Quota Program (CDQ).

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

The annual reports are intended to be a resource for the Council to track the effectiveness of the cooperatives and their ability to meet the Council’s goals. Additionally, they are a tool for the cooperatives to provide feedback on the programs.

Combining portions of the five collections into one collection is intended to make updates for voluntary requests easier, as each report is required annually; usually the Council adds several suggested updates each year.

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.

The voluntary Annual Reports are presented by cooperative managers at the April Council meeting. In addition, the report may be submitted to the Council by mail or fax.

For the Rockfish Program annual coop report, the report must be submitted to the Council by December 15 by mail or fax, and then presented at the April Council meeting.

a. Crab Rationalization (CR) Cooperative Annual Report (formerly OMB 0648-0678)

The Council requests that each CR Program cooperative develop and implement procedures and provide information on CR Program activities in a CR Cooperative Annual Report. The voluntary non-regulatory report is to summarize the effectiveness of each measure and estimate the number of participants in each measure. The purpose of the requested information is to increase availability of QS for transfer to active participants and crew members, decrease high QS lease rates, and improve low crew compensation. The cooperative response may be framed as answers to the following questions derived from the Council’s motion concerning crab cooperative measures.

CR Cooperative Report

1. What measures is the cooperative taking to facilitate the transfer of QS to active participants, including crew members and vessel owners?

2. What is the level of participation from cooperative members regarding these measures?

3. How effective have these measures been?

4. What measures is the cooperative taking to address the issue of high lease rates, as they affect crew compensation?

5. What is the level of participation from cooperative members regarding these measures?

6. How effective have these measures been?

7. What future measures does the cooperative plan to take to address the Council concerns

over active participation and lease rates as they affect crew compensation?

Use consistent terminology with terms defined under the CR Program regulations

Provide a glossary of key terms used in the reports

The commenter disagreed with the time estimates and went on to describe a special website his coop maintains for gathering the information and implementing the ROFO Program. Creating the report is the annual task of the representative and two attorneys. He adds that much of the information captured and presented is also reported on the Crab Economic Data Report (EDR), and available to the Council 6 months after the annual report.

In response to this comment, NMFS changes personnel costs from $37/hr to $100/hr; and adds miscellaneous costs for attorneys (325 x 10 hr).

CR Coop Annual Report, Respondent
Number of respondents Total annual responses Frequency of response = 1 Total burden hours Time per response = 30 hr Total personnel cost ($100/hr x 300) Total miscellaneous cost Costs for attorneys (325 x 10 hr = 3,250) Email (0 x 9 = 0) Fax cost ($6 x 1 = 6) Photocopy cost (10 x 6 pp x 0.05 = 3)	10 10 300 hr $30,000 $3,259

CR Coop Annual report, Federal Government
Total annual responses Total burden hours Total personnel cost Total miscellaneous cost	0 0 0 0

b. Rockfish Annual Cooperative Report [moved from OMB 0648-0545]

Each Rockfish cooperative must submit an annual Rockfish Cooperative report to NMFS that summarizes the use of the cooperative’s quota (CQ), the effectiveness of each measure, and estimates the number of participants in each measure. In addition, each Rockfish Program cooperative may voluntarily provide additional non-regulatory information that is requested by the Council.

Annual Rockfish Cooperative Report

Required information

Cooperative's CQ

Any rockfish sideboard fishery harvests made by cooperative vessels on a vessel-by-vessel basis

Actual retained and discarded catch of CQ

Sideboard limit (if applicable) by statistical area and vessel-by-vessel basis

Describe method used by the cooperative to monitor fisheries in which cooperative vessels participated

Describe any actions taken by the cooperative in response to a member exceeding their catch as allowed under the rockfish cooperative agreement

Voluntary information

monthly Chinook bycatch numbers by stock of origin (pull from NMFS in-season management reports) 

use consistent terminology

Changed time to complete from 40 hr to 45 hr. Changed miscellaneous costs to include submittal methods of the report by email or fax.

Annual Rockfish Cooperative Report, Respondent
Number of respondents Total annual responses Total annual time burden hours Time per response = 45 hr Total personnel cost ($37/hr x 405) Total miscellaneous cost (8.25) Email (0 x 8 = 0) Fax cost ($6 x 1 = 6) Photocopy cost (0.05 x5pp x 9 = 2.25)	9 9 405 hr $14,985 $9

Annual Rockfish Cooperative Report, Federal Government
Total annual responses Total annual time burden hours Total personnel cost Total miscellaneous cost	0 0 0 0

c. Amendment 80 (A80) annual cooperative report [moved from 0648-0565]

The Amendment 80 Program was intended to reduce excessive fishing capacity, end the race, reduce bycatch, and reduce discards for commercial fishing vessels using trawl gear in the non-pollock groundfish fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI). The improved retention and utilization of fishery resources by the A80 sector is intended to increase the opportunities for Amendment 80 sector participants to maximize the value of harvested species.

The Amendment 80 Program allocates several BSAI non-pollock trawl groundfish species among trawl fishery sectors and facilitates the formation of harvesting cooperatives in the non-American Fisheries Act (non-AFA) trawl catcher/processor sector.

An Amendment 80 cooperative issued a CQ permit must submit annually to the Regional Administrator an Amendment 80 cooperative report detailing the use of the cooperative’s CQ, including the actual retained and discarded catch of CQ species and GOA sideboard species. In addition, the Amendment 80 Cooperative Annual Report provides voluntary non-regulatory information on Program activities by each cooperative.

A80 cooperative report

Actual retained and discarded catch of CQ and GOA sideboard limited fisheries (if applicable)

by statistical area and

on a vessel-by-vessel basis;

Information on the directed and bycatch species transfers

species

amount that was transferred

date of the transfer

Describe method used to monitor fisheries in which coop vessels participated

Describe any actions taken by the coop against a member that exceeded the amount of CQ assigned to catch for the A80 coop

Changed miscellaneous costs to include submittal methods of the report by email or fax.

A80 cooperative report, Respondent
Number of respondents Total annual responses Number responses per respondent = 1 Total burden hours Time per response = 40 hr Total personnel cost ($37/hr x 80) Total miscellaneous costs Email (0 x 1 = 0) Fax cost ($6 x 1 = 6) Photocopy cost (0.05 x 20 x2 = 2)	2 2 80 hrs $2,960 $8

A80 cooperative report, Federal Government
Total annual responses Total burden hours Total personnel cost Total miscellaneous cost	0 0 0 0

d. Amendment 80 Halibut Bycatch Avoidance Progress Report [moved from OMB

0648-0697]

This Amendment 80 Progress Report allows each sector in the BSAI groundfish fisheries to inform the Council of their progress on voluntary, non-regulatory methods used within their fishery cooperatives to avoid halibut bycatch in the BSAI groundfish fisheries. The Council requested participants to describe methods their fleets or cooperatives are currently developing or have already undertaken to implement measures in their cooperative and inter-cooperative agreements to minimize the incidental catch of halibut. The voluntary information is expected to provide the fleet with more flexibility to adapt fishing operations to changing environmental and market conditions than would result from placing the information as a regulatory requirement.

BSAI Halibut Bycatch Avoidance Progress report

Development of effective and verifiable measures for halibut avoidance

Individual accountability

Use of incentives to reduce incidental catch of halibut in the groundfish fisheries

Changed miscellaneous costs to include submittal methods of the report by email or fax.

BSAI Halibut PSC Progress Report, Respondent
Number of respondents Total annual responses Frequency of response = 1 Total burden hours Time per response = 40 hr Total personnel cost ($37/hr x 240) Total miscellaneous cost (7.80) Email (0 x 5 = $0) Fax ($6 x 1 =6) Photocopy cost (6 x 6 pp x 0.05 = 1.80)	6 6 240 hr $8,880 $8

BSAI Halibut PSC Progress Report, Federal Government
Total annual responses Total burden hours Total personnel cost Total miscellaneous cost	0 0 0 0

e. Amendment 80 Halibut PSC Management Plan [removed from OMB 0648-0697]

The Council requested that Amendment 80 cooperatives provide a Halibut PSC management plan to inform the Council of their progress on voluntary, non-regulatory methods used within their fishery cooperatives to avoid halibut bycatch in the BSAI groundfish fisheries.

The Council requested participants to describe methods their fleets or cooperatives are currently developing or have already undertaken to implement measures in their cooperative and inter-cooperative agreements to minimize the incidental catch of halibut. The voluntary information is expected to provide the fleet with more flexibility to adapt fishing operations to changing environmental and market conditions than would result from placing the information as a regulatory requirement.

The Amendment 80 PSC Management Plan should include the following information.

Amendment 80 Halibut PSC Management Plan

Halibut avoidance practices on the grounds

Increased communication between participating harvesters

Sharing data for performance tracking

Use and development of excluders

Deck sorting

Performance measurement and assessment at the boat and company level

Incentives for continuous efforts to minimize bycatch

Consequences for substandard performance

A80 Halibut PSC Management Plan, Respondent
Number of respondents Total annual responses Frequency of response = 1 Total burden hours Time per response = 12 hr Total personnel cost ($37/hr x 24) Total miscellaneous cost (6.60) Email (0 x 1 = $0) Fax ($6 x 1 =6) Photocopy cost (2 x 6 pp x 0.05 = 0.60)	2 2 24 hr $888 $7

A80 Halibut PSC Management Plan, Federal Government
Total annual responses Total burden hours Total personnel cost Total miscellaneous cost	0 0 0 0

f. AFA Catcher Vessel Intercooperative Agreement [moved from OMB 0648-0401]

The AFA catcher vessel cooperatives rewrote portions of the Intercooperative Agreement for 2013 to accommodate the Council’s request for additional information. The changes focused on improving the Bering Sea cod fishery in terms of improved catch efficiency and the reduction of halibut bycatch. To improve catch efficiency the allocation timing mechanisms for halibut PSC were revised in a manner intended to maximize cod harvest timing at the peak CPUE time of the season.

Catcher vessel Intercooperative Agreement

Allocation, monitoring, and compliance of the BSAI and GOA sideboard limits and PSC caps among the AFA

catcher vessel cooperative members

Allocation, monitoring, and compliance of BSAI pollock harvest inside the Steller sea lion conservation area

Establishment of penalties for coops that exceed pollock and sideboard allocations

Provides for harvest of BSAI pacific cod by the “under 1700 mt” exempt vessels while complying with

PSC limits

Establishment and monitoring of sideboard species transfers between cooperatives

Promotes compliance of the Council’s recommended sideboard measures and PSC limits allowing

for the maximum harvest of AFA pollock and sideboard allocations

Promotes reduction of PSC in the Bering Sea pollock fishery

AFA Catcher vessel Intercoop Agreement, Respondent
Estimated number of respondents Total annual responses Response per respondent = 1 Total burden hours Time per response = 40 hr Total personnel cost = $150/hr Total miscellaneous cost (1.25) e-mail ($0 x 1) Photocopy (5 pp x .05 x 1 = 1.25)	1 1 40 hr $6,000 $1

Catcher vessel Intercoop Agreement, Federal Government
Total annual responses Total burden hours Total personnel cost Total miscellaneous cost	0 0 0 0

g. AFA Annual Catcher Vessel Intercooperative Report [moved from OMB 0648-0401]

The AFA Catcher Vessel Intercooperative Report is a summary of the eight active catcher vessel cooperative reports required by the AFA regulations. While the individual coop reports track the annual activities of each cooperative at the vessel level, a summary of AFA catcher vessel harvests in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska fisheries is useful as NMFS allocates the catcher vessel sideboard caps and PSC caps and triggers in the aggregate, not by individual cooperatives.

The Catcher Vessel Intercooperative Report provides the Council, and the public, with a simple means of evaluating the AFA catcher vessel fleets’ aggregate fishing performance under the AFA regulations. Additionally, this report provides voluntary information requested by the Council beyond the required regulatory elements of the individual coop reports to provide a broader understanding of catcher vessel cooperative activities.

AFA Catcher Vessel Intercooperative Report

Bering Sea Pollock Fishery

Allocations and Harvest

Salmon Bycatch Reduction Measures

Sideboard Fishery Management

Groundfish Sideboards

PSC Catch

AFA Annual Catcher vessel Intercoop report, Respondent
Estimated number of respondents Total annual responses Response per respondent = 1 Total burden hours Time per response = 8 hr Total personnel cost ($75/hr) Total miscellaneous costs (1.25) Photocopy (5 pp x .05 x 1 = 0.25) e-mail (0 x 1 = 0)	1 1 40 hr $3,000 $1

AFA Annual catcher vessel Intercoop report, Federal Government
Total annual responses Total burden hours Total personnel cost Total miscellaneous cost	0 0 0 0

It is anticipated that the information collected will be disseminated to the public or used to support publicly disseminated information. The Council will retain control over the information and safeguard it from improper access, modification, and destruction, consistent with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (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.

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.

The voluntary Annual Reports are presented by cooperative managers at the April Council meeting. In addition, the report may be submitted to the Council by mail or fax.

4. Describe efforts to identify duplication.

This information collection is part of a specialized and technical program that is not like any other.

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

Cooperatives are not small businesses or small entities; thus this information collection does not impose a significant impact on small entities.

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

The Cooperative Reports are required annually. If the collection were not conducted or conducted less frequently, the problems of acquisition and compensation would not be solved.

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

No special circumstances exist.

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 was published on February 10, 2016 (81 FR 7084) to solicit public comments on renewal of the CR Program (0648-0678) prior to combination with the other programs. No comments were received.

In addition, a questionnaire was sent out by email to 10 respondents. Two responses were received.

Comment1: The name of the representative is changed and no comment on the questionnaire.

Response: NMFS acknowledges this comment.

Comment2: Voluntary Coop Crab Report.

I give a voluntary report on lease rates annually. I assume that is what you are referring to? The format and content is up to the coop, and vary widely with Inter-cooperative Exchange (ICE) and some others providing detailed information we think the Council wants and others not so much.... ICE spends approximately $15,000 - $20,000 annually on the production of data for the report, construction of the report and delivery of the report to the Council (see below).

2015 ICE Cost of Coop Reports

	Annual Cost ($)	Annual Hours
Website hosting	500	0	Website crabqs.com this website tracks QS sales and allows us to verify the status of those purchasing quota (qualified crewmember or active fishermen
Website maintenance	1,920	24	Programming maintenance and ROFO request approvals
Report construction - data	2,000	20	ICE Executive Director
Report construction - text	3,250	10	ICE Attorneys, including presentation to ICE Board
Report presentation - attorney	6,000	4 days	Includes travel to meeting, lodging and time
Report presentation – Exec Dir	4,000	4 days	Includes travel to meeting, lodging and time
TOTAL	17,670

Note: Attorney time is billed at $325/hour. ICE Executive Director time is billed at $100/hour.

Source: Jake Jacobsen, ICE

I note that the cost for ICE will be higher than for other cooperatives because of attorney involvement, and because we collect and distribute the QS sales information to Alternative Cooperative Exchange (ACE) and other cooperatives when requested. ICE also administers the Right of First Offer (ROFO) Program that identifies active fishermen and qualified crewmembers, an essential aspect of the report.

Some cooperatives appear ambivalent toward the Council's requested report and put very little time or effort into creating a useful document. ICE's position is to put forth the effort and expense necessary to give the Council what it needs to make informed management decisions.

Do you believe the report has the following qualities:

♦ Public utility of the information -- I cannot imagine how the information presented would in any way be useful to the public.

♦ Clarity of instructions – Format and content are up to us, other than specific items to be included.

♦ Accuracy of the time estimates -- The time estimates are ridiculous. We built and maintain a special website for gathering the information and implementing the program we developed and upon which we report (the ROFO program). Creating the report is the annual task of myself and two attorneys. We are trying to be responsive to the Councils concerns, and are spending an enormous amount of time and effort to do so. I point out that much of the information we capture and present is also reported on the Crab Economic Data Report (EDR), and available to the Council 6 months or so later.

Response: In response to this comment, NMFS changes personnel costs for the Crab Rationalization Cooperative Report from $37/hr to $100/hr; and adds miscellaneous costs for attorneys ($325 x 10 hr). The current estimated time of 30 hours per report covers the burden portion of the comment.

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

No payment or gift is provided under this program.

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

This information is voluntary and is required to manage commercial fishing efforts under 50 CFR part 680, under section 402(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1801, et seq.) and under 16 U.S.C. 1862(j). Responses to this information request are confidential under section 402(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. They are also confidential under NOAA Administrative Order 216-100, which sets forth procedures to protect confidentiality of fishery statistics.

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.

This information collection does not involve information of a sensitive nature.

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

Estimated total respondents: 31, increased from 10. Estimated total responses: 31, increased from 10. Estimated total burden: 1,129 hr, increased from 300 hr. Estimated total personnel costs: $56,713, increased from $2,500.

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).

Estimated total miscellaneous costs: $3,293, increased from $40.

14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government.

No costs or burden will occur to the Federal government.

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

Program Changes

There are no individual program changes; however, six reports are combined into this existing collection, because all or parts of reports are requested voluntarily.

Adjustments

Crab Coop Report

an increase of $1,890 personnel cost, $30,000 instead of $1,110 hr

an increase of $3,253 miscellaneous cost, $3,259 instead of $40

Rockfish Coop Report

an increase of 9 respondents and responses, 9 instead of 0

an increase of 405 hours burden, 405 instead of 0 hr

an increase of $14,985 personnel cost, $14,985 instead of $0

an increase of $9 miscellaneous cost, $9 instead of $0

A80 Coop Report

an increase of 9 respondents and responses, 2 instead of 0

an increase of 405 hours burden, 80 instead of 0 hr

an increase of $14,985 personnel cost, $2,960 instead of $0

an increase of $9 miscellaneous cost, $8 instead of $0

A80 Halibut PSC Progress Report

an increase of 6 respondents and responses, 6 instead of 0

an increase of 240 hours burden, 240 instead of 0 hr

an increase of $8,880 personnel cost, $8,880 instead of $0

an increase of $8 miscellaneous cost, $8 instead of $0

A80 Halibut PSC Management Plan

an increase of 2 respondents and responses, 2 instead of 0

an increase of 24 hours burden, 24 instead of 0 hr

an increase of $888 personnel cost, $888 instead of $0

an increase of $7 miscellaneous cost, $7 instead of $0

AFA Catcher Vessel Intercooperative Agreement

an increase of 1 respondent and responses, 1 instead of 0

an increase of 40 hours burden, 40 instead of 0 hr

an increase of $6,000 personnel cost, $6,000 instead of $0

an increase of $1 miscellaneous cost, $1 instead of $0

AFA Catcher Vessel Intercooperative Report

an increase of 1 respondent and responses, 1 instead of 0

an increase of 40 hours burden, 40 instead of 0 hr

an increase of $3,000 personnel cost, $3,000 instead of $0

an increase of $1 miscellaneous cost, $1 instead of $0

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

The reports are posted on the Council’s website at http://www.npfmc.org/cooperative-reporting/

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.

The reports are produced as a letter and no specific format is required. In addition, they are presented in person at the Council meeting and a copy of the document is provided for posting.

18. Explain each exception to the certification statement.

The reports are produced as a letter and no specific format is required. In addition, they are presented in person at the Council meeting and a copy of the document is provided for posting.

B. COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS

This collection does not employ statistical methods.

23