OMB CONTROL NO. 0648-xxxx
JUSTIFICATION
Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.
This is a resubmission of this request, with the draft final rule, for a temporary new information collection, related to Proposed Rule 0648-BF26, that will be merged with OMB Control No.
0648-0202 after approval. There are no changes to this request.
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is proposing to establish accumulation limits for entities that hold limited access Northeast Multispecies permits. Entities that exceed the accumulation limit would be required to designate one or more permits “unusable” so that the entity manages its allocation within the accumulation limit. Currently, the proposed limits are much greater than any entity has accumulated and, therefore, it is unlikely that the limits will be reached in the near future. We are estimating a total of two entities per year submitting this information.
Under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) has responsibility for the conservation and management of marine fishery resources off the coast of the United States. The majority of this responsibility has been delegated to the Regional Fishery Management Councils and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Service. The Council develops management plans for fishery resources in New England.
The Secretary was given certain regulatory authorities to ensure that these resources are utilized in the most beneficial manner. The requirement of a permit for users of these resources is one of the regulatory steps taken to carry out conservation and management objectives. Section 303 (b)(1) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act specifically addresses the need for permit issuance. In addition, almost every international, Federal, state, and local fishery management authority recognizes the value and use of permits as part of their respective management systems. Thus, the Secretary has promulgated rules for the issuance of Federal fisheries permits.
The issuance of a permit is an essential part of managing fishery resources. The purpose and use of permits is to: (1) Register vessel owners, vessel operators, fishing vessels, fish dealers, and processors; (2) list the characteristics of fishing vessels and/or dealer/processor operations; (3) exercise influence over compliance (e.g., withhold permit issuance pending collection of unpaid penalties, or unsubmitted, but required data); (4) provide a mailing list for the dissemination of important information to the industry; (5) register participants to be considered for limited entry; and (6) provide a universe for data collection samples. Identification of the participants, their gear types, vessels, and expected activity levels is an effective and necessary tool in the enforcement of fishery regulations. This information is needed to measure the consequences of management controls as well. Limited access (moratorium) permits are necessary to control
fishing effort by managing the number of participants in a fishery. Dealer and vessel permits are necessary to ensure that data collections cover entire fisheries. Vessel operator permits serve as primarily a compliance and information dissemination tool.
The permit system is an integral part of the management of fisheries in the Northeast Region of NMFS. Consolidated regulations for the fisheries included in this collection are found at 50 CFR part 648 and 50 CFR part 697. It would not be possible to carry out the mandates of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other laws if approval to continue these previously approved collections were to be denied.
A new collection of information would require an entity to identify one or more permits that it is rendering “unusable” for the next fishing year in order to operate within the Potential Sector Contribution (PSC) limit. The proposed PSC limit is 232.5, and currently, no entity has a PSC greater than 140. As a result, it is unlikely that any entity will reach this limit within the next few years, if ever. Nonetheless, as a precautionary approach, the “Northeast Multispecies Permit Shelving Form” is being added to this temporary new information collection.
A new collection of information would require an entity to identify one or more permits that it is rendering “unusable” for the next fishing year in order to operate within the Potential Sector Contribution (PSC) limit. The proposed PSC limit is 232.5, and currently, no entity has a PSC greater than 140. As a result, it is unlikely that any entity will reach this limit within the next few years, if ever. Nonetheless, as a precautionary approach, the “Northeast Multispecies Permit Shelving Form” is being added as a requirement. Burden estimates estimate 2 potential users that will each spend 30 minutes to complete the form. The 30 minutes includes time each entity would spend reviewing its permit histories, allocations, and determining which permit(s) to shelve.
The entity would complete the form and submit it to NMFS no later than April 1, to render a permit “unusable” for the following fishing year, which begins 30 days later on May 1. The form will identify which permit(s) will be inactive for the next fishing year. This information will not be disseminated to the public.
NOAA 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.
The fillable and printable form may be mailed or emailed as an attachment.
The information to be collected through the issuance of permits is not duplicated elsewhere. 5. If the collection of information involves small businesses or other small entities, describe the methods used to minimize the burden.
Only the minimum data needed to meet the permit objectives are requested from all respondents. Since most of the respondents are small businesses, separate requirements based on the size of business have not been developed. Detailed instructions are included with the application to help facilitate proper completion of the form.
Not conducting this information collection would mean that a permit holder could acquire enough permits or allocation to have market power over the fishery. If we don't request the additional information from the permit holder, then we would be unable to enforce the regulations in Amendment 18.
There are no circumstances in this collection that require information to be collected in a manner inconsistent with OMB guidelines.
A proposed rule, 0648-BF26, was published on December 16, 2016 (81 FR 92761). There were no comments on the information collection requirements.
No payment or gift will be made to respondents.
All data will be handled in accordance with NOAA Administrative Order 216-100, Confidentiality of Fisheries Statistics, and will not be released for public use except in aggregate statistical form (and without identifying the source of data, i.e., vessel name, owner, etc). In addition, any information collected under the Permit Family of Forms would be considered confidential and would not be disclosed except as provided in Section 402(b) of the Magnuson- Stevens Act.
There are no questions of a sensitive nature involved in this collection of information.
This temporary new information collection would require any entity that has exceeded the potential sector contribution (PSC) allocation limit to render one or more permits “unusable” so that the entity would be operating within the allocation limit.
Currently, no entity exceeds the PSC allocation limit; the most PSC any entity holds is approximately 140 PSC, and the proposed limit would be 232.5. As a result, it is unlikely that any entity would reach this threshold. However, if 2 entities had to complete a “Permit Shelving Form” and render one or more permits unusable, the total burden estimate would be 1 hr (30 minutes per form).
Currently, no entity exceeds the PSC allocation limit; the most PSC any entity holds is approximately 140 PSC, and the proposed limit would be 232.5. As a result, it is unlikely that any entity would reach this threshold. However, if 2 entities had to complete a “Permit Shelving Form” and render one or more permits unusable, the total annual cost burden would be $1 for two entities to mail the form.
The cost to the government for this requirement would be $100 or less, for approximately 2 hours annually.
This is a new information collection.
Results from this collection may be used in scientific, management, technical, or general informational publications such as Fisheries of the United States, which follows prescribed statistical tabulations and summary table formats. Data are available to the general public on request in summary form only. Data are available to NMFS employees in detailed form on a need-to-know basis only.
Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.
No statistical methods are employed in the information collection procedures.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| File Title | SUPPORTING STATEMENT |
| Author | lfeldman |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-01-22 |