Published 60-day FRN (88 FR 8906)

8906

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 28 / Friday, February 10, 2023 / Notices

4371 et seq.) and its implementing
regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Amy L. Lueders,
Regional Director, Southwest Region, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2023–02649 Filed 2–9–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS–R5–FAC–2023–0004;
FXFR13350500000/234/FF05F24400; OMB
Control Number 1018–0127]

Agency Information Collection
Activities; Horseshoe Crab and
Cooperative Fish Tagging Programs
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection;
request for comment.
AGENCY:

In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we,
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service), are proposing to renew an
information collection.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to
submit comments on or before April 11,
2023.
ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the
information collection request (ICR) by
one of the following methods (please
reference 1018–0127 in the subject line
of your comments):
• Internet (preferred): https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments
on Docket No. FWS–R5–FAC–2023–
0004.
• Email: [email protected].
• U.S. mail: Service Information
Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, 5275 Leesburg
Pike, MS: PRB (JAO/3W), Falls Church,
VA 22041–3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Madonna L. Baucum, Service
Information Collection Clearance
Officer, by email at [email protected],
or by telephone at (703) 358–2503.
Individuals in the United States who are
deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have
a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY,
TDD, or TeleBraille) to access
telecommunications relay services.
Individuals outside the United States
should use the relay services offered
within their country to make
international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act (PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et
seq.) and its implementing regulations

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SUMMARY:

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at 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), all information
collections require approval under the
PRA. We may not conduct or sponsor
and you are not required to respond to
a collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid OMB control
number.
As part of our continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent
burdens, we invite the public and other
Federal agencies to comment on new,
proposed, revised, and continuing
collections of information. This helps us
assess the impact of our information
collection requirements and minimize
the public’s reporting burden. It also
helps the public understand our
information collection requirements and
provide the requested data in the
desired format.
We are especially interested in public
comment addressing the following:
(1) Whether or not the collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
agency, including whether or not the
information will have practical utility;
(2) The accuracy of our estimate of the
burden for this collection of
information, including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used;
(3) Ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
(4) How might the agency minimize
the burden of the collection of
information on those who are to
respond, including through the use of
appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology, e.g., permitting
electronic submission of response.
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 can 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.
Abstract: The Fish and Wildlife Act of
1956 (16 U.S.C. 742f) requires the
Department of the Interior to take steps
‘‘required for the development,
advancement, management,
conservation, and protection of fishery
resources.’’ In addition, the Endangered
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531–
1544), the Wildlife Coordination Act (16

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U.S.C. 661–666c), and the Anadromous
Fish Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 757a–
757g) each authorize the Department of
the Interior to enter into cooperative
agreements with stakeholders to protect
and conserve fishery resources. The
Maryland Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Office (MDFWCO) will
collect information on horseshoe crabs
and fishes captured by the public. Tag
information provided by the public will
be used to estimate recreational and
commercial harvest rates, estimate
natural mortality rates, and evaluate
migratory patterns, length and age
frequencies, and effectiveness of current
regulations.
Horseshoe crabs play a vital role
commercially, biomedically, and
ecologically along the Atlantic coast.
Horseshoe crabs are commercially
harvested and used as bait in eel and
conch fisheries. Biomedical companies
along the coast also collect and bleed
horseshoe crabs at their facilities.
Limulus amebocyte lysate, derived from
horseshoe crab blood, is used by
pharmaceutical companies to test
sterility of products. Finally, migratory
shorebirds also depend on the eggs of
horseshoe crabs to refuel on their
migrations from South America to the
Arctic. One bird in particular, the rufa
red knot (Calidris canutus rufa), feeds
primarily on horseshoe crab eggs during
its stopover. Effective January 12, 2015,
the rufa red knot was listed as
threatened under the Endangered
Species Act (79 FR 73706; December 11,
2014).
In 1998, the Atlantic States Marine
Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), a
management organization with
representatives from each State on the
Atlantic coast, developed a horseshoe
crab management plan. The ASMFC
plan and its subsequent addenda
established mandatory State-by-State
harvest quotas, and created the 1,500square-mile Carl N. Shuster, Jr.,
Horseshoe Crab Sanctuary off the mouth
of Delaware Bay.
Restrictive measures have been taken
in recent years; however, populations
are increasing slowly. Because
horseshoe crabs do not breed until they
are 9 years or older, it may take some
time before the population measurably
increases. Federal and State agencies,
universities, and biomedical companies
participate in a Horseshoe Crab
Cooperative Tagging Program. The
Service’s MDFWCO maintains the
information collected under this
program and uses it to evaluate
migratory patterns, survival, and
abundance of horseshoe crabs.
Members of the public who recover
tagged crabs provide the following

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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 28 / Friday, February 10, 2023 / Notices
information using Form 3–2310
(Horseshoe Crab Recapture Report):
• Tag number;
• Whether or not tag was removed;
• Condition of crab;
• Date captured/found;
• Crab fate;
• Finder type;
• Capture method;
• Capture location;
• Reporter information; and
• Comments.
Agencies that tag and release the crabs
complete Form 3–2311 (Horseshoe Crab
Tagging) and provide the Service with:
• Organization name;
• Contact person name;
• Tag number;
• Sex of crab;
• Prosomal width; and
• Capture site, latitude, longitude,
waterbody, State, and date.
At the request of the public
participant reporting the tagged crab, we
send data pertaining to the tagging
program and tag and release information
on the horseshoe crab tag that was
found.
Fish will be tagged with an external
tag containing a toll-free number for
MDFWCO. Tagged species of fish
include striped bass (Morone saxatilis),
Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser
oxyrinchus) and shortnose sturgeon
(Acipenser brevirostrum), northern
snakehead (Channa argus), and
American shad (Alosa sapidissima).
Members of the public reporting a tag
will be asked a series of questions
pertaining to the fish that they are
referencing. The Service uses the
following four forms to collect
information used by fisheries managers
throughout the Atlantic Coast,
depending on species:
• Form 3–2493, ‘‘American Shad
Recapture Report’’;
• Form 3–2494, ‘‘Snakehead
Recapture Report’’;
• Form 3–2495, ‘‘Striped Bass
Recapture Report’’; and
• Form 3–2496, ‘‘Sturgeon Recapture
Report.’’
American shad are tagged by the New
York Department of Environmental
Conservation (NYDEC), which retains
all fish tagging information. The public
reports tags to MDFWCO, who provides
information on tag returns to NYDEC.
Tag return data are used to monitor
migration and abundance of shad along
the Atlantic coast.
Northern snakehead is an invasive
species found in many watersheds
throughout the mid-Atlantic region. It
has been firmly established in the
Potomac River since at least 2004 and is
now in nearly every major Chesapeake
Bay tributary. Federal and State

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biologists within the Chesapeake Bay
watershed have been tasked with
managing the impacts of northern
snakehead. Tagging of northern
snakehead is used to learn more about
the species so that control efforts can be
better informed. Tagging is also used to
estimate population sizes to monitor
trends in abundance. Recreational and
commercial fishers reporting tags
provide information on harvest rates
and migration patterns as well.
Striped bass are cooperatively
managed by Federal and State agencies
through the Atlantic States Marine
Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). The
ASMFC uses fish tag return data to
conduct stock assessments for striped
bass. The database and collection are
housed within MDFWCO, while the
tagging is conducted by State agencies
participating in striped bass
management. Without this data
collection, striped bass management
would likely suffer from a lack of
quality data. As required by Congress
under the Atlantic Striped Bass
Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 5151–
5158), striped bass tagging data is used
to manage the coast-wide stock.
Sturgeon are tagged by Federal, State,
and university biologists and
nongovernmental organizations along
the U.S. east coast and into Canada, and
throughout the United States and
Canada. Local populations of Atlantic
sturgeon have been listed as either
threatened or endangered since 2012,
and shortnose populations have been
listed since 1973. The information
collected provides data on tag retention
and sturgeon movement along the east
coast. The data are also used to address
some of the management and research
needs identified by amendment 1 to the
ASMFC’s Atlantic Sturgeon Fishery
Management Plan.
Data collected across these tagging
programs are similar in nature,
including:
• Tag number;
• Date of capture;
• Waterbody of capture;
• Capture method;
• Fish length, weight, and fate
(whether released or killed); and
• Fisher type (i.e., commercial,
recreational, etc.).
In addition, if the tag reporter desires
more information on their tagged fish or
wants the modest reward that comes
with reporting a tag, we ask their
address so that we can mail them the
information.
The public may request a copy of
Form 3–156 contained in this
information collection by sending a
request to the Service Information

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8907

Collection Clearance Officer (see
ADDRESSES).

Title of Collection: Horseshoe Crab
and Cooperative Fish Tagging Programs.
OMB Control Number: 1018–0127.
Form Number: Forms 3–2310, 3–2311,
and 3–2493 through 3–2496.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection.
Respondents/Affected Public:
Respondents include Federal and State
agencies, universities, and biomedical
companies who conduct tagging, and
members of the general public who
provide recapture information.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Respondents: 2,006.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Responses: 3,628.
Estimated Completion Time per
Response: Varies from 5 minutes to 95
hours, depending on activity.
Total Estimated Number of Annual
Burden Hours: 2,239.
Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary.
Frequency of Collection: Respondents
will provide information on occasion,
upon tagging or upon encounter with a
tagged crab or fish.
Total Estimated Annual Nonhour
Burden Cost: None.
An agency may not conduct or
sponsor and a person is not required to
respond to a collection of information
unless it displays a currently valid OMB
control number.
The authority for this action is the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
Madonna Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2023–02844 Filed 2–9–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333–15–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[Bureau of Indian Affairs
[234A2100DD/AAKC001030/
A0A501010.999900]

Land Acquisitions; Buena Vista
Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of
California
Bureau of Indian Affairs,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:

The Assistant Secretary—
Indian Affairs has made a final
determination to acquire 54.90 acres,
more or less, into trust for the Buena
Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of
California.
DATES: This final determination was
made on February 3, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Amy Dutschke, Regional Director, Office
SUMMARY:

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