60-day FRN

Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 186 / Wednesday, September 25, 2019 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Proposed Information Collection;
Comment Request; Atlantic Large
Whale Take Reduction Plan
Regulations
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 25,
2019.
ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments
to Adrienne Thomas, PRA Officer,
NOAA, 151 Patton Avenue, Room 159,
Asheville, NC 28801 (or via the internet
at [email protected]). Comments
will generally be posted without change.
All Personally Identifiable Information
(for example, name and address)
voluntarily submitted by the commenter
may be publicly accessible. Do not
submit Confidential Business
Information or otherwise sensitive or
protected information. You may submit
attachments to electronic comments in
Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF
file formats.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information
should be directed to Colleen Coogan,
Marine Mammal Take Reduction Team
Coordinator, Greater Atlantic Regional
Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930; 978–281–
9181, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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SUMMARY:

I. Abstract
Type of review: regular submission
(extension of a current information
collection).
Any persons setting trap/pot of gillnet
gear to fish commercially in some areas
of the Atlantic Ocean are required to
paint or otherwise mark their gear with
one or two color codes, designating the
type of gear and area where the gear is
set. The surface buoys of this gear need
to be marked to identify the vessel or
fishery. These marking requirements
apply in the various management areas
under the Atlantic Large Whale Take
Reduction Plan (ALWTRP), developed

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under the authority of the Marine
Mammal Protection Act.
The goal of this collection of
information is to enable the National
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to
reduce injuries and deaths of large
whales, especially right whales, due to
incidental entanglement in United
States commercial fishing gear. In order
to develop fair and effective
management measures, the Take
Reduction Team (Team) requires
comprehensive data on when, where,
and how fixed gear vessels fish, and
where whales become entangled in
fishing gear. Last updated in 2015, the
Plan requires buoy lines in fixed gear
fisheries to be marked. All buoy lines
must be marked with three 12 inch
(30.5. 48 cm), colored marks unique to
particular fishing areas: one at the top
of the buoy line, one midway along the
buoy line, and one at the bottom of the
buoy line. No additional markings are
being proposed at this time. This gear
marking, when observed on entangled
whales, allows fishery managers to
identify the gear type and area the
entangling gear may have originated
from, to tailor management measures to
reduce the risk of mortality and serious
injury of marine mammal incidental to
commercial fishing operations. Without
the information provided by the gearmarking requirements informing where
entanglements occur and what type of
gear is involved, future management
measures may be overly broad and affect
more individuals than necessary.
Therefore, knowing which geographic
areas and fisheries pose the greatest risk
to large whales will minimize the
economic impact to fishermen while
maximizing the benefits for these
species.
II. Method of Collection
Information collected is in the form of
gear marking.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0648–0364.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Review: Regular submission.
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations, and individuals or
households.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
Approximately 4,008 vessels.
Estimated Time per Response: Each
mark requires approximately 5 minutes
of time.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: Estimated 3 burden hours each
year, per vessel, for vessels who are remarking existing gear. This results in a
total of 12,024 hours per year total, for
all vessels.

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Estimated Total Annual Cost to
Public: Estimated cost of $2.31 each
year, per vessel, for vessels who are remarking existing gear. This results in a
total expense of $9,258.48 per year, for
all vessels who are re-marking existing
gear.
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.
Sheleen Dumas,
Departmental Lead PRA Officer, Office of the
Chief Information Officer, Commerce
Department.
[FR Doc. 2019–20769 Filed 9–24–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Proposed Information Collection;
Comment Request; Basic
Requirements for Special Exception
Permits and Authorizations To Take,
Import, and Export Marine Mammals,
Threatened and Endangered Species,
and for Maintaining a Captive Marine
Mammal Inventory Under the Marine
Mammal Protection Act, the Fur Seal
Act, and/or the Endangered Species
Act
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

SUMMARY:

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