60-Day FRN

18558

Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 64 / Thursday, April 2, 2020 / Notices

Estimated Time per Response: 15
minutes
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 500 hours.
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: March 30, 2020.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of
the Chief Information Officer, Commerce
Department.
[FR Doc. 2020–06921 Filed 4–1–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Proposed Information Collection;
Comment Request; West Coast Region
Vessel Monitoring System and Pre-Trip
Reporting System Requirements
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
comment on proposed and/or
continuing information collections, as
required by the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995.
DATES: To ensure consideration, written
or on-line comments must be submitted
on or before June 1, 2020.

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SUMMARY:

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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]). All
comments received are part of the
public record. 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.

ADDRESSES:

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or
copies of the information collection
instrument and instructions should be
directed to Rachael Wadsworth,
National Marine Fisheries Service West
Coast Region (NMFS WCR), 7600 Sand
Point Way NE, Building 1, Seattle, WA
98115; (562) 980–4036;
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract
The National Marine Fisheries Service
West Coast Region Sustainable Fisheries
Division (SFD) implemented both
international and domestic regulations
to require Vessel Monitoring Systems
and pre-trip notifications on U.S.
vessels fishing in the eastern Pacific
Ocean (EPO). Further details on these
regulations, authorizing laws, and
proposed changes are described below.
International regulations: Collection
of this information is necessary for the
U.S. to satisfy its international
obligations under the Convention for the
Strengthening of the Inter-American
Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC),
established by the 1949 Convention
between the United States of America
and the Republic of Costa Rica (Antigua
Convention). As a Party to the Antigua
Convention and a member of the IATTC,
the United States is legally bound to
implement decisions of the IATTC
under the Tuna Conventions Act, as
amended. At its 87th meeting in July
2014, the IATTC adopted Resolution C–
14–02 (Establishment of a Vessel
Monitoring System). Following this
meeting, the National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS) published a rule to
implement VMS requirements and to
require that commercial fishing vessels
24 meters or more in overall length and
engaging in fishing activities for tuna or
tuna-like species in the Convention
Area (80 FR 60533). The international
regulations are found at 50 CFR 300
Subpart C. There are no proposed
changes to these regulations.

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Domestic regulations: The MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (MSA) established
regional fishery management councils,
including the Pacific Fishery
Management Council (Pacific Council),
to develop fishery management plans
for fisheries in the U.S. exclusive
economic zone (EEZ). These plans, if
approved by the Secretary of Commerce,
are implemented by Federal regulations,
which are enforced by the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration’s (NOAA’s) NMFS and
the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) with the
cooperation of state agencies to the
extent possible. The Pacific Council
submitted the Fishery Management Plan
for U.S. West Coast Fisheries for Highly
Migratory Species (HMS FMP) for
approval by the Secretary of Commerce.
On February 4, 2004, the Secretary
partially approved the HMS FMP. On
April 7, 2004, NMFS published a final
rule to implement the approved
portions of the HMS FMP (69 FR 18444)
including VMS and pre-trip call-in
notifications for longline vessel owners
and operators; this element became
effective on February 10, 2005. On July
9, 2015, NMFS published a final rule to
require the use of a NMFS-approved
VMS and to institute a 48-hour pre-trip
call-in notification requirement for drift
gillnet (DGN) vessel owners/operators
(80 FR 32465). The domestic regulations
are found at 50 CFR 660 Subpart K.
There are no proposed changes to these
regulations.
The reports included in the
regulations are further detailed below.
VMS vessel location reports: The
VMS is an automated, satellite-based
system that assists the NMFS Office of
Law Enforcement (OLE) and the USCG
in reliable and cost-effective monitoring
of compliance with closed areas and
pre-trip reporting requirements, such as
those imposed for the purposes of
placing observers on vessels. VMS
vessel location reports are used to
facilitate enforcement regarding
commercial fishing vessel compliance
with prohibited or restricted fishing
areas in the EPO. The reports provide
OLE and the USCG real-time vessel
location and activity information. The
VMS reports also can be used to check
the accuracy of vessel position
information reported by the vessel
operator in the daily fishing logbooks
required by the regulations.
Installation/activation reports are
used to provide OLE with information
about hardware installed and the
communication service provider that
will be used by the vessel operator.
Specific information that links a
permitted vessel with a certain

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transmitting unit and communication
service is necessary to ensure that
automatic position reports will be
received properly by NMFS and to
identify the unique signature for each
VMS unit. In the event that there are
any problems, NMFS will need to have
ready access to a database that links
owner information with installation
information. NMFS can then apply
troubleshooting techniques and, as
necessary, contact the vessel operator
and discern whether the problem is
associated with the transmitting
hardware or the service provider. This
is not expected to occur more than once
per year.
Position reports are transmitted 24
hours per day and provide OLE and
USCG with real-time vessel location and
activity information. When an operator
is aware that the transmission of
automatic position reports has been
interrupted, or when notified by OLE
that automatic position reports are not
being received, they must contact OLE
and follow instructions provided.
‘‘On/off reports’’, also known as
exemption reports, permit the vessel
owner/operator to power off the VMS
unit while the vessel is at port, or after
the end of the fishing season, provided
that the vessel owner/operator notifies
OLE and receives OLE confirmation in
advance of each such shutdown and
each time the VMS unit is subsequently
turned back on. These reports allow
flexibility to fishery participants while
providing OLE with the information
needed to determine why a position
report is not being received from the
vessel.
Declaration Reports are only required
under domestic regulations and are
provided by vessel owners/operators to
OLE before the vessel leaves port to fish
in state or federal waters. These are used
to determine which vessels may be atsea at any given time and when to
expect VMS position reports. NOAA
Fisheries will retain control over the
information collected and safeguard it
from improper access, modification, and
destruction, consistent with NOAA
standards for confidentiality, privacy,
and electronic information.
II. Method of Collection
VMS vessel location reports:
Electronic VMS shipboard position is
communicated between the shipboard
VMS unit and the monitoring agency’s
fishery monitoring center. Position
reports are transferred automatically at
a specified frequency and received via
a satellite communication system by
NOAA.
Installation/activation reports:
Written activation reports may be

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submitted via mail, facsimile, or email
to the Special Agent in Charge (SAC),
the point of contact for the OLE.
Pre-trip notification reports: These
reports are submitted by telephone or
email to NMFS or a designated observer
service provider.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

III. Data

AGENCY:

OMB Control Number: 0648–0498.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Review: Regular (extension of
a current information collection).
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
49.
Estimated Time per Response: VMS
Unit Install—4 hours; Annual
Maintenance/Repair of VMS Unit—1
hour; Installation/Activation Reports—5
min; ‘‘On-Off’’ Reports—5 min; Pre-Trip
Notifications—5 min.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 145 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to
Public: $113,175.
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,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of
the Chief Information Officer, Commerce
Department.
[FR Doc. 2020–06919 Filed 4–1–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

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18559

National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Proposed Information Collection;
Comment Request; Davidson
Fellowship
National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
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
comment on proposed and/or
continuing information collections, as
required by the Paperwork Reduction
Act (PRA) of 1995.
DATES: To ensure consideration, written
or on-line comments must be submitted
on or before June 1, 2020.
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]). All
comments received are part of the
public record. 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information or
copies of the information collection
instrument and instructions should be
directed to Chris Ellis, NOAA Office for
Coastal Management, 2234 South
Hobson Avenue, Charleston SC 29405,
((843) 740–1195), [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:

I. Abstract
The Office for Coastal Management
(OCM) in the National Ocean Service,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, Department of
Commerce is funding a new, two-year
fellowship program called the ‘‘FY20–
21 Margaret A. Davidson Graduate
Fellowship for the National Estuarine
Research Reserve System’’ (Davidson
Fellowship). Funding is being made
available through a competitive process
to master’s and doctoral students
actively enrolled in a graduate program
at an accredited university, through the
use of a cooperative agreement to the
university. The goals of the Davidson
Fellowship are to build the next

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