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54484

Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 171 / Tuesday, September 6, 2022 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Reporting Requirements for
Sea Otter Interactions With the Pacific
Sardine Fishery; Coastal Pelagic
Species Fishery Management Plan
National Oceanic &
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of information collection,
request for comment.
AGENCY:

The Department of
Commerce, in accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), invites the general public and
other Federal agencies to comment on
proposed, and continuing information
collections, which helps us assess the
impact of our information collection
requirements and minimize the public’s
reporting burden. The purpose of this
notice is to allow for 60 days of public
comment preceding submission of the
collection to OMB.
DATES: To ensure consideration,
comments regarding this proposed
information collection must be received
on or before November 7, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are
invited to submit written comments to
Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer,
at [email protected]. Please
reference OMB Control Number 0648–
0566 in the subject line of your
comments. Do not submit Confidential
Business Information or otherwise
sensitive or protected information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information or
specific questions related to collection
activities should be directed to Katie
Davis, Natural Resource Management
Specialist, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, 501 W
Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90802,
(323) 372–2126, and katie.davis@
noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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SUMMARY:

I. Abstract
This is a request for extension of a
currently approved collection.
On May 30, 2007, NMFS published a
final rule (72 FR 29891) implementing a
requirement under the Coastal Pelagic
Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan
(FMP) to report any interactions that
may occur between a CPS vessel and/or
fishing gear and sea otters. In
accordance with the regulations

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implementing the Endangered Species
Act (ESA), NOAA’s National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS) initiated an
ESA section 7 consultation with the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS) regarding the effects of
implementing the final rule (72 FR
29891), which codified Amendment 11
to the CPS FMP. USFWS determined
that formal consultation was necessary
on the possible effects to the threatened
southern sea otter. USFWS completed a
biological opinion for this action and
although it was concluded that fishing
activities were not likely to jeopardize
the continued existence of the southern
sea otter, that there remained the
potential to incidentally take southern
sea otters. USFWS determined that
certain measures should be put in place
to ensure the continued protection of
the species, including certain reporting
requirements.
Specifically, these reporting
requirements are:
(1) If a southern sea otter is entangled
in a net, regardless of whether the
animal is injured or killed, the vessel
operator must report this interaction
within 24 hours to the Regional
Administrator.
(2) While fishing for CPS, vessel
operators must record all observations
of otter interactions (defined as otters
within encircled nets or coming into
contact with nets or vessels, including
but not limited to entanglement) with
their purse seine net(s) or vessel(s).
With the exception of an entanglement,
which must be initially reported as
described in paragraph (1) of this
section, all other observations must be
reported within 20 days to the Regional
Administrator.
(3) When contacting NMFS after an
interaction, vessel operators must
provide the location (latitude and
longitude) of the interaction and a
description of the interaction itself. If
available, location information should
also include water depth, distance from
shore, and relation to port or other
landmarks. Descriptive information of
the interaction should include: whether
or not the otters were seen inside or
outside the net; if inside the net, had the
net been completely encircled; whether
any otters came in contact with either
the net or the vessel; the number of
otters present; duration of interaction;
the otter’s behavior during interaction;
measures taken to avoid interaction.
II. Method of Collection
The information will be collected by
mail to the Regional Administrator, as
defined under 50 CFR 660 or email.

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III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0648–0566.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Review: Regular submission
(extension of a current information
collection).
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 2.
Estimated Time per Response: 15
minutes.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 0.5.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to
Public: $10 in reporting costs.
Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: 50 CFR 660.520(a).
IV. Request for Comments
We are soliciting public comments to
permit the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration to: (a)
Evaluate whether the proposed
information collection is necessary for
the proper functions of the Department,
including whether the information will
have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the
accuracy of our estimate of the time and
cost burden for this proposed collection,
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (c)
Evaluate ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and (d) Minimize the
reporting burden on those who are to
respond, including the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
Comments that you submit in
response to this notice are a matter of
public record. We will include or
summarize each comment in our request
to OMB to approve this ICR. Before
including your address, phone number,
email address, or other personal
identifying information in your
comment, you should be aware that
your entire comment—including your
personal identifying information—may
be made publicly available at any time.
While you may ask us in your comment
to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of
the Chief Information Officer, Commerce
Department.
[FR Doc. 2022–19200 Filed 9–2–22; 8:45 am]
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