Marine Fisheries Advisory
Committee Survey on Marine Mammal Deterrents
New
collection (Request for a new OMB Control Number)
No
Regular
10/06/2023
Requested
Previously Approved
36 Months From Approved
15,000
0
1,250
0
0
0
This is a request for a new collection
of information. The summary of a series of marine mammal deterrent
workshops by NOAA Fisheries states, “under a recent proposed rule,
NOAA Fisheries developed guidelines for deterring marine mammals
under its jurisdiction, and recommended specific measures for
species listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The
guidelines focus on how to safely use deterrents to avoid injuring
or killing marine mammals. However, evaluation of the efficacy of
each deterrent was beyond the scope of the rulemaking process, and
available data on deterrent effectiveness is lacking.”
Consequently, the Protected Resources Subcommittee of the Marine
Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC) was asked to help NMFS narrow
down the scope for assessing the effectiveness of the marine mammal
deterrents listed in the proposed guidelines and create a decision
making process to prioritize areas to begin characterizing the
effectiveness. To achieve this, the Subcommittee plans to rank
relative risk of expected losses from interactions with marine
mammals by various user groups nationwide, which will identify
where the biggest impacts of marine mammals are likely to be
occurring. The information for the relative risk and expected loss
analysis will be generated through a survey of five user groups
(commercial fishermen, recreational fishermen, tribal fishermen
(inclusive of tribal nations and other coastal indigenous
populations), aquaculture operators, and waterfront property
managers (e.g. harbormasters and harbor facility
assistants).
US Code:
16
USC 1361 Name of Law: Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as
Amended
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.