Supporting Statement A

Status: Original and derived artifacts are available for this document.

Download: docx | pdf | html

SUPPORTING STATEMENT
U.S. Department of Commerce
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
North Pacific Fishery Management Council Cooperative Annual Reports
OMB Control No. 0648-0678

Abstract
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Alaska Regional Office (AKRO), requests a revision and extension of this currently approved information collection that contains requirements for cooperative annual reports.  The Amendment 80 Halibut Prohibited Species Catch (PSC) Management Plan is being removed from this collection as it is no longer provided to the Council.  The Council receives only one report annually. All voluntary information has been consolidated into the Amendment 80 Bycatch Report to the Council.

The cooperative annual reports currently covered by this collection are part of the following fishery programs: Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization Program, the Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish Program, the Amendment 80 Program, the American Fisheries Act and the Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative Program. The purpose of the annual cooperative reports is to provide information to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and the public about the operations and performance of the cooperatives. This information is used by the Council to inform the public, to evaluate the performance of the cooperatives, and to identify problems or issues that may need to be addressed by the cooperatives or the Council in the future. 
Justification
    1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. Attach a copy of the appropriate section of each statute and regulation mandating or authorizing the collection of information.
The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act1, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. (Magnuson-Stevens Act) authorizes the Council to prepare and amend fishery management plans for any fishery in waters under its jurisdiction. The groundfish and crab fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off Alaska are managed under the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska, the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area, and the Fishery Management Plan for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crab. The groundfish fishery management plans are implemented by regulations at 50 CFR part 6792, and the crab fishery management plan is implemented by regulations at 50 CFR part 6803. 

The cooperative annual reports covered by this collection are part of the following fishery programs:

    • Crab Rationalization (CR) Program. In 2005, NMFS implemented the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) CR Program. Based on participation in the industry within a set of qualifying years, NMFS issued crab quota share (QS) to vessel owners and captains, as well as processor quota share to processors in all federally managed crab fisheries except the Norton Sound Red king crab and the Pribilof Islands golden king crab. The CR Program was designed to allocate crab resources among harvesters, processors, and coastal communities for nine BSAI crab fisheries. This program also allowed for the voluntary formation of cooperatives.

    • Central Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Rockfish Program (Rockfish Program). The Rockfish Program was designed to enhance resource conservation and improve economic efficiency in the Central GOA rockfish fisheries by establishing cooperatives that receive exclusive harvest privileges. NMFS assigns rockfish QS to eligible License Limitation Program licenses for rockfish primary and secondary species. QS holders form cooperatives to pool the harvest of the cooperative quota on fewer vessels to minimize operational costs and to provide additional flexibility in harvesting operations. The Rockfish Program also provides greater stability for processors by spreading out production over a greater period of time. Halibut prohibited species catch (PSC) is allocated to participants based on historic halibut mortality rates in the primary rockfish species fisheries. 

    • Amendment 80 (A80) Program. The A80 Program was established as a limited access privilege program to reduce excessive fishing capacity, end the race to fish, reduce bycatch, and reduce discards for commercial fishing vessels using trawl gear in the non-pollock groundfish fisheries in the BSAI. The A80 Program encourages the formation of harvesting cooperatives in the non-American Fisheries Act (non-AFA) trawl catcher/processor sector among all persons holding A80 QS permits. The cooperatives that receive allocations of cooperative quota allow vessel operators to make operational choices to improve fishery returns, reduce PSC usage, and reduce fish discards. 

    • American Fisheries Act (AFA). The purpose of the AFA was to tighten U.S. ownership standards for U.S. fishing vessels under the Anti-Reflagging Act, and to provide the BSAI pollock fleet the opportunity to conduct their fishery in a more rational manner while protecting non-AFA participants in other fisheries. The AFA eliminated the race for pollock through the establishment of cooperatives with specific provisions for their allocations, structure, and participation by catcher vessels and processing plants, as well as annual reporting requirements and excessive share limits. In response to a directive in the AFA, the Council added measures to protect other fisheries from adverse effects arising from the exclusive pollock allocation. 

    • Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative (PCTC) Program. The PCTC Program allocates Pacific cod harvest quota to qualifying groundfish License Limitation Program license holders and qualifying processors. This action is necessary to increase the value of the fishery, minimize bycatch to the extent practicable, provide for the sustained participation of fishery-dependent communities, ensure the sustainability and viability of the resource, and promote safety and stability in the harvesting and processing sectors. 

The Council has authorized the formation of cooperatives in several of the catch share programs in the federally managed fisheries off Alaska. For catch share programs with cooperatives, the Council has either recommended that NMFS require the cooperative managers to submit an annual written report detailing various activities of the cooperative, or the Council has requested that cooperative managers voluntarily submit an annual report to the Council. These reports are intended to be a resource for the Council and the public to evaluate the effectiveness of the cooperative and its ability to meet the Council’s goals. Additionally, they are a tool for the cooperatives to provide feedback on a catch share program and how the cooperative element is functioning. 

The cooperative managers present the cooperative reports during either the December or April Council meeting. Regulations do not require cooperative managers to present cooperative reports to the Council; however, the Council has requested them to do so, and most of the cooperative managers have presented their annual reports in oral testimony to the Council. The Amendment 80 bycatch related reports are presented to the Council at its December meeting. The remaining annual reports usually are presented at the April Council meeting, unless the Council has to reschedule the reports due to other scheduling needs. Public dissemination of the annual cooperative reports and presentation of an overview of the reports at the Council meetings allow stakeholders and members of the public the opportunity to provide public comment to the Council about the cooperatives and the catch share programs. The cooperative annual reports also are published on the Council’s website4. 

Some of the cooperative annual reports are required in Federal regulation, as noted above; others are requested by the Council as a voluntary annual submission. NMFS provided an interpretation to the Council by letter dated March 29, 2013, that the Council’s requests to cooperative managers and representatives to voluntarily provide information to the Council in annual reports was an information collection subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act. Therefore, this information collection covers both the mandatory and voluntary components of the cooperative annual reports. 

The regulations and uses for the components of this information collection are provided in the table in question #2 below. 
    2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Except for a new collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the current collection.

The purpose of the annual cooperative reports is to provide information to the Council and the public about the operations and performance of the cooperatives. This information is used by the Council to inform the public, to evaluate the performance of the cooperatives, and to identify problems or issues that may need to be addressed by the cooperatives or the Council in the future. This information is submitted as a written report, and there are no associated forms. 

All of the components of this collection are submitted annually. The following table lists each component, whether it is mandatory or voluntary, its purpose, and whether the information is disseminated to the public. There are no forms for the information requirements in this collection. Additional information about the specific data collected under each component, the use of these data, and a description of the how these collections have changed over time is provided below. 

Information Requirements and Needs and Uses of Information Collected

Requirement
Statute
Regulation
How and by whom is this submitted?
Needs and Uses
Disseminated to
 the Public?
Alaska Crab Rationalization Program Cooperative Annual Report
16 U.S.C. ch. 38 § 1801 et seq.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
n/a
Voluntary: Cooperative managers submit a written report to the Council. 
    • Used by the public, Council, and NMFS to review program performance.
    • 
    • Yes
Annual Rockfish Cooperative Report
16 U.S.C. ch. 38 § 1801 et seq.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
n/a

Voluntary: Cooperative managers submit a written report to the Council.
    • Used by the public, Council, and NMFS for program evaluation and feedback to NMFS and the Council.
    • Yes
Annual Amendment 80 Cooperative Report
16 U.S.C. ch. 38 § 1801 et seq.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
50 CFR 679.5(s)(6)
Mandatory: Cooperative managers submit a written report to NMFS.
Voluntary: Cooperative managers submit a written report to the Council. 
Used by the public, Council, and NMFS for program evaluation and feedback to NMFS and the Council.
Mandatory report submitted to NMFS – No
Voluntary report submitted to the Council –Yes
Amendment 80 Bycatch Avoidance Report
16 U.S.C. ch. 38 § 1801 et seq.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
n/a
Voluntary: Cooperative managers submit a written report to the Council.
Used by the public, Council, and NMFS for program evaluation and feedback to NMFS and the Council.
Yes
American Fisheries Act Annual Catcher Vessel Intercooperative Report
16 U.S.C. ch. 38 § 1801 et seq.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
n/a
Voluntary: Intercooperative managers submit a written report to the Council. 
Used by the public, Council, and NMFS for program evaluation and feedback to NMFS and the Council.
Yes
American Fisheries Act Cooperative Annual Report
16 U.S.C. ch. 38 § 1801 et seq.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
50 CFR 679.61(f)
Mandatory: Cooperative managers submit a written report to the Council. 
Used by the public, Council, and NMFS for program evaluation and feedback to NMFS and the Council.
Yes
Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative Annual Report 
16 U.S.C. ch. 38 § 1801 et seq.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
50 CFR 679.131(j)(3)(xviii)
Voluntary: Cooperative managers submit a written report to the Council
Used by the public, Council, and NMFS for program evaluation and feedback to NMFS and the Council.
Yes

Alaska Crab Rationalization Program Cooperative Annual Report

In a motion passed at its February 2013 meeting: 

The Council requests that each of the BSAI crab rationalization cooperatives voluntarily provide an annual report detailing measures the cooperative is taking to facilitate the transfer of quota share to active participants, including crew members and vessel owners, and available measures which affect high lease rates and crew compensation. The annual reports should convey to the Council the effectiveness of the measures implemented through the cooperatives and the estimated level of member participation in any voluntary measures and include supporting information and data. 

The Council further addressed its request in a subsequent motion at its April 2014 meeting, after receiving the crab cooperative’s annual reports: 

The Council’s preferred reporting format for crab cooperatives answer the seven questions asked by the Council, as exemplified by the ICE (Inter-Cooperative Exchange) report of 2013. Additionally, the Council encourages all coops’ answers to be as quantitative as possible, as well as encourage 100% compliance with filing the reports by March 1 of each year. 

This voluntary, non-regulatory collection summarizes the reported effectiveness of each measure and estimates the number of participants using each measure. This allows the Council to determine if the cooperatives are taking adequate action to facilitate the transfer of QS to active participants and control QS lease rates, or if potential future regulatory action may be needed to address these concerns. 

The seven questions addressed in the ICE annual report of 2013 that the Council referenced in its April 2014 motion are the voluntary information collection elements listed below. 

Report contents:
Voluntary information
    1. What measures are the cooperative taking to facilitate the transfer of QS to active participants, including crew members and vessel owners?
    2. What is the level of participation from cooperative members regarding these measures? 
    3. How effective have these measures been? 
    4. What measures are the cooperative taking to address the issue of high lease rates, as they affect crew compensation? 
    5. What is the level of participation from cooperative members regarding these measures?
    6. How effective have these measures been? 
    7. What future measures does the cooperative plan to take to address the Council concerns about active participation and lease rates as they affect crew compensation?

In addition, the Council also has requested that the CR cooperatives 
    • Use consistent terminology with terms defined under the CR Program regulations.
    • Provide a glossary of key terms used in the reports.
    • Provide a comparison of the current year’s lease rates to previous year’s lease rates. 
    • Presentation of report at April Council meeting.

Regarding the Council’s request for information about crew compensation, in the annual report submitted to the Council in April 2019 by the Inter-Cooperative Exchange (ICE), ICE stated that “[G]iven the complexity and sensitivity of crew compensation arrangements, ICE has decided that it is not appropriate to collect or report that data. ICE believes that Council concerns regarding crab fishery crewmember compensation should be evaluated in light of crewmember “daily rate of pay” information that is collected from vessel owners through the Economic Data Reports (EDRs).” 

The table below shows the number of voluntary CR cooperative annual reports received by the Council in recent years. 


Cooperative
Number of Members* 
Did the cooperative submit an annual report to the Council this year?


2026 
(for 2025)
2025 
(for 2024)
2024
 (for 2023)
2023 
(for 2022) 
2022 
(for 2021)
2021 
(for 2020)
2020
 (for 2019)
2019 
(for 2018) 
2018 
(for 2017)
2017
 (for 2016)
Inter-Cooperative Exchange (ICE)
147
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Alternative Crab Exchange (ACE) 
164
No
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Trident Affiliated Crab Harvesting Cooperative
25
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
CPH Association
34
No
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Dog Boat Cooperative
19
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Aleutian Island Cooperative
11
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Coastal Villages Crabbing Cooperative
9
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
No
R&B Cooperative
13
No
No
No
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
No
No
AK King Crab Harvesters
5
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
* Source: NMFS Crab Harvesting Cooperatives and Membership5, 2026. 


Annual Rockfish Cooperative Report 

In January 2020, the Council took action to reauthorize the Rockfish Program (RP). As part of this action and in response to recommendations from NMFS, the Council recommended removing regulations that required the submission of the Annual Rockfish Cooperative Report to NMFS. NMFS had recommended that the Council consider removing regulations requiring submission of this report to NMFS because NMFS could not release the report to the public and NMFS did not need the information in the Annual Rockfish Cooperative Report to manage the Rockfish Program fisheries. In 2021, NMFS published the final rule to reauthorize the Rockfish Program (86 FR 118956; March 1, 2021) and removed the requirement for submission of this report to NMFS. OMB approved the revision to this information collection on March 23, 2021.

The Council retained the request that the Rockfish Program cooperative managers voluntarily submit and present an annual report to the Council each year. The Council did not provide additional information about the requested elements of the voluntary annual cooperative report once the mandatory elements are removed from Federal regulations. The Council generally discusses the elements of its voluntary cooperative reports at its April meetings. The information provided below is NMFS’s general understanding of what the Council requests in the voluntary Annual Rockfish Cooperative Report. 

Report contents: 
Voluntary information 
    • A description of the allocations, participation, harvests, and prohibited species catch in the year covered by the annual report; how the previous year generally compared to past years; and any problems or concerns that occurred in the RP cooperative fisheries

Annual Amendment 80 Cooperative Report

An A80 cooperative issued a cooperative quota (CQ) permit must submit annually to the NMFS AKR Regional Administrator an A80 Cooperative Annual Report detailing the use of the cooperative’s CQ, including the actual retained and discarded catch of CQ species and GOA sideboard species. In addition, the A80 Cooperative Annual Report provides voluntary, non-regulatory information on Program activities by each cooperative, including a summary of the report presented at the April Council meeting. This provides information to the Council and NMFS about how the catch share program is functioning, and if potential future changes may be needed. 

Report contents:
Required information (50 CFR 679.5(s)(6)(iii)7)
    • Actual retained and discarded catch of CQ and GOA sideboard limited fisheries (if applicable) by statistical area and on a vessel-by-vessel basis.
    • A description of the method used by the cooperative to monitor fisheries in which cooperative vessels participated.
    • A description of any actions taken by the cooperative against specific members in response to a member that exceeded the amount of CQ that the member was assigned to catch for the Amendment 80 cooperative.
    • For each A80 cooperative, the percent of groundfish retained by that A80 cooperative of the aggregate groundfish retained by all A80 vessels assigned to that A80 cooperative according to the equations specified at § 679.5(s)(6)(iii)(D).
    • For each A80 cooperative, a third party must audit the A80 cooperative's annual groundfish retention calculations and the A80 cooperative must include the finding of the third-party audit in its A80 annual cooperative report.

Voluntary information
    • Catch information from the Northern Bristol Bay Trawl Area.
    • A retrospective indication of A80 catch capacity.
    • Intertemporal harvest information.
    • Information on cooperatives or other measures implemented to reduced bycatch in the BSAI yellowfin sole Trawl Limited Access Sector fishery. 
    • Presentation of report at April Council meeting. 

The information required to be reported to NMFS about retained and discarded catch of CQ and GOA sideboard limited fisheries by statistical area and on a vessel-by-vessel basis is confidential under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Therefore, NMFS does not release the Annual Amendment 80 Cooperative Report to the Council or public. The A80 cooperative prepares a modified annual report for the Council that excludes the confidential information. 

NMFS does not need the information about retained and discarded catch and some of the other information provided in the annual report to manage the Amendment 80 fisheries; however, NMFS cannot change the annual reporting requirements without consulting the Council and plans to at a future meeting. 

Amendment 80 Halibut Avoidance Report

A80 cooperatives provide a report to the Council to inform it of their plan to use voluntary, non-regulatory methods to avoid halibut bycatch in the BSAI groundfish fisheries. 

The Council requested participants describe methods their fleets or cooperatives are currently developing or have undertaken to implement measures in their cooperative and intercooperative agreements to minimize the incidental catch of halibut. Obtaining this information through a voluntary collection is expected to provide the fleet with more flexibility to adapt fishing operations to changing environmental and market conditions than would result from placing specific requirements in regulation.

Report contents:
Voluntary information 
    • Halibut avoidance practices on the grounds
    • Increased communication between participating harvesters
    • Sharing data for performance tracking
    • Use and development of excluders
    • Deck sorting
    • Performance measurement and assessment at the boat and company level
    • Incentives for continuous efforts to minimize bycatch
    • Consequences for substandard performance


American Fisheries Act (AFA) Annual Catcher Vessel Intercooperative Report

The AFA Annual Catcher Vessel Intercooperative Report summarizes the activity of catcher vessel cooperatives under an intercooperative agreement. While the individual cooperative reports track the annual activities of each cooperative at the vessel level, the Intercooperative Report is a summary of AFA catcher vessel harvests in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska fisheries. This is useful to the Council and NMFS because catcher vessel sideboard limits and PSC caps are allocated to the AFA Program, not by individual cooperatives. As a result, this information collection provides detailed information about how sideboard limits and PSC are being utilized to determine if program objectives are being satisfactorily met. 

The AFA Annual Catcher Vessel Intercooperative Report provides the Council and the public with a simple means of evaluating the AFA catcher vessel fleets’ aggregate fishing performance under the AFA regulations. Additionally, this voluntary report contains information requested by the Council beyond the required regulatory elements of the individual cooperative reports to provide a broader understanding of catcher vessel cooperative activities.

Report contents:
Voluntary information
    • Bering Sea pollock fishery allocations and harvest
    • Salmon bycatch reduction measures
    • Sideboard fishery groundfish sideboards
    • PSC catch

Although the Council has not explicitly requested this information, the intercooperative manager includes a copy of the AFA Catcher Vessel Intercooperative Agreement as an appendix to the intercooperative’s report. The agreement provides information about the contract under which the AFA cooperatives operate. The agreement provides information to the Council and the public about intercooperative fishery allocations, PSC allocations, transfers of allocations and PSC, monitoring methods, and bycatch reduction methods.

American Fisheries Act Cooperative Annual Report

The AFA Cooperative Annual Report is required to provide information to the Council about how each cooperative allocated pollock, other groundfish species, and prohibited species among the vessels in the cooperative; the catch of these species by area by each vessel in the cooperative; information about how the cooperative monitored fishing by its members; and a description of any actions taken by the cooperative to penalize vessels that exceeded the catch and prohibited species catch allocations made to the vessel by the cooperative. The purpose of this report is to provide the Council with information about the on-going operations and performance of the cooperatives on which to base its decisions about management of the Bering Sea pollock fishery. In recent years, the Council has requested that the AFA cooperatives also include information in the cooperative reports on voluntary spatial management measures for crab avoidance in the Bering Sea Red King Crab Savings Area8. 

Report contents:
Required information (50 CFR 679.61(f)(2)9)
    • Cooperative’s allocated catch of pollock and sideboard species.
    • Any sub-allocations of pollock and sideboard species made by the cooperative to individual vessels on vessel-by-vessel basis.
    • Cooperative’s actual retained and discarded catch of pollock, sideboard species, and PSC on an area-by-area basis and on a vessel-by-vessel basis.
    • Method used to monitor fisheries in which cooperative vessels participated.
    • Actions taken in response to any vessels that exceed their allowed catch and bycatch in pollock and all sideboard fisheries.
    • Total weight of pollock landed outside the State of Alaska on a vessel-by-vessel basis.
    • Number of salmon taken by species and season.
    • List each vessel's number of appearances on the weekly “dirty 20” lists for non-Chinook salmon.

Voluntary information
    • Information on cooperatives or other measures implemented to reduced bycatch in the BSAI yellowfin sole trawl limited access sector fishery. 
    • Information on voluntary spatial management measures for crab avoidance in the Bering Sea Red King Crab Savings Area. 

Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative (PCTC) Annual Report

The Council has requested the PCTC to provide voluntary annual reports. The annual report is submitted to the Council by the designated representative of the cooperative. These reports outline the cooperatives’ performance and include specific information on the structure, function, and operation of the cooperatives. The Council requested that each cooperative report include information on CQ leasing activities and any penalties issued, harvest of CQ resulting from processor-held QS, cooperative membership, cooperative management, and performance (including implementation of the Aleutian Islands set-aside when in effect).

These reports are used by the Council and NMFS to ensure the program is functioning as intended and to solicit timely information on issues that may need to be addressed by the Council. 

Five cooperatives formed under the PCTC Program in 202610 and will submit the PCTC Annual Report to the Council. NMFS estimates the burden for this report at 18 hours per response. 

    3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g. permitting electronic submission of responses, and the basis for the decision for adopting this means of collection. Also, describe any consideration of using information technology to reduce burden.
With the exception of required elements of the Annual Amendment 80 Cooperative Report, which may be submitted by fax to NMFS, all other responses to these collections are submitted electronically via e-mail.

    4. Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purposes described in Question 2

In the analysis prepared for reauthorization of the Rockfish Program, NMFS identified to the Council the potential duplication involved in requiring the Rockfish Program cooperatives to submit an annual report to NMFS that NMFS cannot release to the public and does not need to manage the Rockfish Program fisheries. NMFS published a final rule in 2021(86 FR 11895; March 1, 2021) that removed the mandatory Annual Rockfish Cooperative Report that was identified by NMFS as a potential duplication, and this information collection was revised to remove that requirement. OMB approved the revision on March 23, 2021. A possibly similar situation exists with the Annual Amendment 80 Cooperative Report submitted to NMFS, although some of the information requirements are different from the Annual Rockfish Cooperative Report. Otherwise, NMFS has reviewed the annual cooperative reporting requirements and requests for voluntary information from the Council and has not identified other areas of potential duplication.

NMFS published the final rule to implement the PCTC Program in 2023 (88 FR 53735; August 8, 2023). The Council requested that the cooperatives submit an annual cooperative report for its review so that it can monitor the PCTC Program each year to ensure that unanticipated impacts to the harvesting, processing, and community sectors did not occur. Some of the information to be provided will include summaries of data collected through eLandings or eFish, but the Council felt that the annual cooperative reports are important to its mission of keeping abreast of the impacts of its management actions.

In general, Alaska Region information collections are prepared and reviewed by staff familiar with all of the information collection requirements for the region. Staff work together to develop information collection requirements for new programs. In addition, NMFS staff work closely with the staff of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the International Pacific Halibut Commission to reduce duplication in information collection requirements to the extent possible given overlapping jurisdictions and complex fisheries. Senior staff at the Alaska Region, NMFS headquarters, and the Department of Commerce General Counsel review all new and revised information collection requirements that are associated with rulemakings. This process minimizes the potential for duplication of information collection requirements for participants in the Federal fisheries off Alaska.

    5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities, describe any methods used to minimize burden.

The cooperatives submitting information under this OMB collection are not small businesses or small entities as defined under the Regulatory Flexibility Act.

    6. Describe the consequence to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

The cooperative reports are required by NMFS or requested by the Council annually. These reports provide the Council and the public an opportunity to routinely assess program performance and to be informed about emerging issues or problems. Annual reporting is a standard reporting period for many government and private sector reports and the Council recommended that this time schedule best fit its needs and the public’s needs. If the collection was not conducted or was conducted less frequently, less information would be available to the Council and the public to inform the management of fishery programs. Emerging conservation or management concerns may go unnoticed for longer.

    7. Explain any special circumstances that would cause an information collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with OMB guidelines.

This collection requires the submission of confidential information and NMFS has instituted procedures to protect the information's confidentiality to the extent permitted by law. All other OMB guidelines will be followed.

    8. If applicable, provide a copy and identify the date and page number of publications in the Federal Register of the agency's notice, required by 5 CFR 1320.8 (d), soliciting comments on the information collection prior to submission to OMB. Summarize public comments received in response to that notice and describe actions taken by the agency in response to these comments. Specifically address comments received on cost and hour burden.

A Federal Register Notice published on January 20, 2026 (91 FR 2334) solicited public comment. The comment period ended on March 23, 2026. NOAA consulted with 5 stakeholders to obtain their views on the need for, and practical utility of the data collected, the accuracy of the burden and frequency of collection, suggestions to minimize the burden, and ways to improve the clarity of instructions and forms. We received 3 comment letters from stakeholders. Here are the comments and our responses.

Comment: One commenter does not support the continuation of the collection requirements for the A80 Annual Reports or the A80 Halibut PSC Management Plan.

Response: NOAA Fisheries acknowledges the commenter’s concern regarding the continuation of these reports. The A80 Annual Report to NMFS and the voluntary Amendment 80 halibut bycatch avoidance report to the Council serve distinct regulatory and resource management functions for the Council and NMFS. The mandatory elements of the A80 Annual Report provide essential documentation on catch monitoring methods, penalties, and groundfish retention calculations, which are subject to independent third-party audits to ensure compliance with catch-share standards. The voluntary Amendment 80 halibut bycatch avoidance report to the Council provides the fleet with necessary operational flexibility to implement non-regulatory bycatch avoidance practices, adapting dynamically to changing environmental and market conditions. In this supporting statement, NMFS has removed the Amendment 80 Halibut PSC Management Plan description and burden estimate because the Council receives only one report annually. All voluntary information provided to the Council has been consolidated into the Amendment 80 bycatch report to the Council. While NMFS notes the commenter's opposition to continuing these requirements, these tools remain vital for evaluating program efficacy, assessing progress toward Council conservation goals, and providing transparency to stakeholders.

Comment: One commenter does not support the continuation of the Rockfish Program Cooperative Annual Report.

Response: NOAA Fisheries acknowledges the commenter's opposition to the continuation of the Rockfish Program Cooperative Annual Report. The Rockfish Program was designed to enhance resource conservation and improve economic efficiency by establishing cooperatives with exclusive harvest privileges. The cooperative annual report is a critical tool used by NMFS and the Council to evaluate how the catch-share program and its associated cooperative elements are functioning. The report contains required vessel-by-vessel data on cooperative quota (CQ) usage, sideboards, and monitoring methodologies that ensure accountability within the fleet. Because these reports are essential for ongoing program evaluation and comprehensive reauthorization reviews, NMFS maintains that the collection continues to have substantial practical utility for fishery management.

Comment: As required by regulation, the Amendment 80 cooperative annual report must be submitted to NMFS by March 1 each year. The NMFS report includes vessel-, area-, and species-specific information, as well as overall cooperative management details. This information is already submitted through existing reporting system, including eLandings, eFish, and the Cooperative Quota (CQ) application process, which includes all cooperative bylaws and membership agreements. As a result, the Annual Report is duplicative, redundant, and lacks practical utility. 

Response: NMFS appreciates the feedback regarding potential redundancies within the current reporting structure. NMFS acknowledges that a significant portion of the quantitative harvest and discard data compiled in the annual report originates from baseline data captured via existing platforms like eLandings. However, the Annual A80 Cooperative Report synthesizes this information at the cooperative level to provide a comprehensive look at monitoring methodologies, internal cooperative penalties, and audited groundfish retention metrics that are not readily compiled via real-time catch-accounting platforms. NMFS agrees that a reevaluation of these reporting requirements is appropriate to minimize unnecessary industry burdens. Because NMFS cannot modify these reporting requirements without formal consultation with the Council, the agency will provide a summary of these comments to the Council for discussion at a future meeting to determine if regulatory adjustments can safely reduce duplicative data streams without compromising program oversight.

Comment: The report to NPFMC is voluntary and, in recent years, has been a written summary. Since 2018, Amendment 80 has operated as a single cooperative, and there have been no substantial changes in program management. While past reports have included information on the Northern Bristol Bay Trawl Area, fleet catch capacity trends, intertemporal harvest, and bycatch reductions, NPFMC retains the authority to request such information as needed. Given the stability of the program and the availability of over 18 years of cooperative reports for reference, the annual submission no longer provides meaningful additional value. 

Response: NMFS acknowledges that the consolidation of the A80 sector into a single operating cooperative since 2018 has stabilized program management and altered the nature of the reporting environment. While the historical repository of 18 years of cooperative reports provides an excellent baseline, annual submissions continue to give the Council, NMFS, and the public a regular opportunity to assess ongoing performance and track emerging conservation issues. Annual reporting remains the standard frequency to ensure that changes in fleet capacity, intertemporal harvest patterns, or specific spatial interactions (such as in the Northern Bristol Bay Trawl Area) are documented systematically. NMFS will communicate the commenter's perspectives regarding program stability and the diminished incremental utility of these voluntary metrics to the Council during upcoming reviews of cooperative reporting frameworks.

Comment: The A80 Halibut PSC Management Plan was voluntary and was last presented at the December 2021 NPFMC meeting. Prior versions are available in NPFMC archives. The report has not provided practical utility in recent years and therefore has not been submitted. 

The estimated time and cost burden for preparing the A80 Annual Report to NMFS is approximately 10 hours and report to NPFMC is approximately 2 hours. The estimate time and cost burden for the A80 Halibut PSC Management Plan should be reduced to zero hours. If reporting requirements continue for the NMFS annual report, maintaining the ability to submit confidential information electronically through eFish or secure platforms such as Kiteworks would help minimize time and cost burdens.

Response: NMFS appreciates the detailed breakdown of the time and cost burdens associated with these submissions. In response, NMFS has revised the description of the voluntary information requested by the Council and removed the third report. Additionally, NMFS has adjusted the burden estimates to reflect the values provided (10 hours for the Annual Amendment 80 Cooperative Report to NMFS, and 2 hours for the Annual Amendment 80 Bycatch Avoidance Report to the Council). Regarding the electronic submission of sensitive data, NMFS strongly agrees that modernizing intake methods minimizes industry burden. The agency supports the electronic submission of annual reports and will continue working to ensure secure digital pathways are available for transmitting confidential information.

Comment: The Rockfish Cooperative Annual report to NPFMC is voluntary and, in recent years, has been a written summary only. Since 2018, the commenter has included all offshore participants, and there have been no substantial changes in program management. The written report has remained unchanged, with updates only to yearly catch information. While past reports have included information on Chinook bycatch and intertemporal harvest, NPFMC retains the authority to request such information as needed. This information can also be found in Alaska Region (AKR) databases, NMFS catch reports, and AKR In-Season reports given to the Council. As a result, the Annual Report is duplicative, redundant, and lacks practical utility. 

As this report has remained unchanged for many years, the estimated time and cost burden for this report should be reduced to approximately 2 hours. 

Response: NMFS acknowledges the comment regarding the stable management structure of the Rockfish Program's offshore sector and the availability of primary catch data in Alaska Region in-season databases. NMFS recognizes that over time, reporting workflows have become increasingly automated and cost-efficient for participants. In recognition of this increased efficiency, NMFS has utilized updated stakeholder data to adjust its burden calculations. For the Rockfish Program catcher/processor sector, the estimated time for preparing the voluntary Council submission is maintained at 40 hours to account for travel, presentation preparation, and direct Council interaction. For the catcher vessel sector, the time per response has been reduced to 25 hours. While the baseline data exists across various agency databases, the annual cooperative report remains an important tool for the public and the Council to view aggregated, industry-vetted summaries of fleet behavior and program performance. NMFS will present the commenter's feedback regarding database redundancies to the Council during future reviews of the Rockfish Program's reporting mandates.

Comment: One commenter [on the AK Crab Rationalization Cooperative] requested the elimination of the voluntary cooperative report, citing a lack of regulatory utility and direct duplication with existing data streams. The commenter noted that lease rate and crew compensation data are fully captured via Economic Data Reports (EDRs). They argued that the accelerated availability of this data via the cooperative report provides no actionable management value to the Council and represents an inefficient use of industry and agency resources.

Response: NMFS acknowledges the historical perspective and concerns raised regarding the origins and necessity of the voluntary Crab Rationalization (CR) Cooperative Annual Report. The Council originally requested these voluntary reports to monitor whether cooperatives were taking adequate internal measures to facilitate quota share (QS) transfers to active participants and to assess the impacts of high lease rates on crew compensation. NMFS recognizes the commenter's point that lease rate information is ultimately captured through the mandatory Economic Data Reports (EDRs), albeit on a lagged timeline. The primary utility of the voluntary report has been to provide the Council with an advance, proactive look at fleet economic trends prior to the formal release of EDR data. However, in October 2025, the Council recommended the removal of regulations requiring the submission of EDR’s so it is possible these data will not be collected through the EDR in the future if those changes are approved and implemented by NMFS.11

Comment: One commenter [relative to the AK Crab Rationalization Cooperative] does not agree with the accuracy of NMFS’s industry burden estimates (time and cost) to comply with program requirements, stating it represents their time in preparing for the report but does not include the hundreds of hours spent by cooperative members to provide the information or development and managing the website. 

Response: The current burden estimate for the Alaska Crab Rationalization Program Cooperative annual report is based on the information provided by the ICE cooperative during the 2019 renewal cycle. In that supporting statement, NMFS updated the burden estimate and explained how the information provided was used in estimating the burden described in questions 12 and 13 in the supporting statement. Because the commenter did not provide updated burden estimates, NMFS clarifies that the current burden estimate does incorporate estimated time for cooperative members to submit information to the cooperative manager and the burden estimates remain unchanged. 

Comment: A commenter indicated that due to significant reductions in harvest quotas and subsequent budget constraints, the cooperative can no longer financially support the voluntary reporting elements or maintain the specialized data infrastructure (CrabQS.com) previously developed to collect this information. The commenter noted that despite substantial industry investment to comply with the Council’s historical requests, tracking data over the system's operational history demonstrated a lack of practical utility, with negligible user engagement and zero utilization over the final two years of operation. Consequently, the commenter stated that the current collection framework does not offer an effective mechanism for enhancing data quality or utility, and the cooperative does not intend to submit voluntary reports in future cycles due to these severe resource limitations and the documented absence of actionable benefits to stakeholders.

Response: NMFS appreciates the commenter’s candid assessment regarding the economic challenges facing the crab harvesting sector and the documented lack of utility for the CrabQS.com data platform. Under Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) guidelines, information collections should minimize burden and maximize practical utility for both the public and regulated entities. The insight that the specialized tracking website experienced zero user engagement over a two-year period provides critical evidence that the voluntary collection, as previously structured, is no longer fulfilling its intended purpose or generating actionable benefits for stakeholders. NMFS acknowledges the cooperative’s position that severe budget constraints resulting from quota reductions make it economically unfeasible to maintain dedicated reporting systems or continue voluntary submissions in future cycles. Because this reporting element was established as a voluntary request by the Council rather than a regulatory mandate, participants retain the discretion to cease submissions based on operational and financial realities. NMFS will summarize this feedback and provide it to the Council during a future Council meeting. 

Comment: A commenter emphasized that because this is a voluntary information collection, the cooperative intends to permanently cease submissions after the current reporting cycle due to a lack of data utility and severe financial constraints. For the final submission, the report will be limited to a brief narrative explaining the structural barriers to data collection and reiterating long-standing antitrust concerns regarding the enforcement of member lease rates. The commenter asserted that the collection has historically failed to provide informative or actionable value to the Council, noting that the original resource management concerns that prompted the report were never formally addressed or utilized in management decisions. Furthermore, due to quota-driven budget restrictions, the cooperative no longer possesses the financial capacity to maintain the CrabQS.com data tracking platform or execute the underlying lease-rate data collection workflows.

Response: NMFS acknowledges this comment. 

    9. Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.

No payment or gift is provided under this program.

    10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy. If the collection requires a system of records notice (SORN) or privacy impact assessment (PIA), those should be cited and described here.

The annual reports submitted to NMFS are confidential under section 402(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. They are also confidential under NOAA Administrative Order 216-10012, which sets forth procedures to protect confidentiality of fishery statistics. The Privacy Impact Assessment that covers this information collection is NOAA NMFS Alaska Region Local Area Network (NOAA4700).

The annual reports submitted to the Council are not confidential. They are posted on the Council’s website and available to the public. Most of the cooperative managers present their annual reports in oral testimony to the Council. 

    11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior or attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private. This justification should include the reasons why the agency considers the questions necessary, the specific uses to be made of the information, the explanation to be given to persons from whom the information is requested, and any steps to be taken to obtain their consent.

This information collection does not involve information of a sensitive nature.


    12. Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information

*From the 2019 Supporting Statement at Q8:
The estimated time for preparation of the cooperative annual report was estimated by NMFS to be 30 hours. ICE reviewed the expense and time requirements for report preparation and estimates the actual reporting, preparation, and presentation time to be 340 hours as per the table below. 

Process
Person
Hours 
Legal**
Attorney
6
Legal**
Paralegal
17
Reporting
52 vessels @ 5 hours per vessel
260
Report Preparation
ICE Executive Director
10
Website maintenance**
Contractor
5
Presentation
ICE Executive Director
16
Presentation
ICE President
10

Total
324
** These costs are captured in the table at Q13 as they are hired as needed.

ICE reports that the annual cost of the cooperative report is estimated at $42,200, including payments for time and expenses including airfare and lodging. ICE wants to be responsive to the concerns of the Council and is willing to provide the requested information as accurately as feasible. However, the time and expense of the report is onerous, especially considering that the report is largely presenting to the Council information that it already has access to.

Response: The time burden and cost estimates submitted by ICE include the work done to maintain the systems and programs ICE has set up to respond to the Council’s concerns about the transfer of crab QS to active participants in the fisheries, including crew members and vessel owners, and high lease rates, and the work that is done each year to prepare and present the annual report to the Council describing these efforts and the results.   

Instructions for completing the supporting statement and estimating the time burden and cost of the information collection require NMFS to include time for “reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.” In addition, OMB’s online guide to the PRA also identifies these additional burden activities: compiling materials necessary for the collection; acquiring, installing, and utilizing technology and systems; and compiling information. Based on this guidance, NMFS is including ICE’s full estimate of the cost of establishing, maintaining, and reporting about the information collections it conducts among its members in the estimates of burden hours and costs in this supporting statement, because ICE gathers this information to provide the report requested by the Council. Accordingly, the burden hour and cost estimates for the CR cooperative annual reports have been updated to reflect these new estimates for ICE. 

ICE’s letter stated that the total burden hours were 340, the sum of the elements of the table it provided added to 324, so NMFS used 324 in this supporting statement. In addition, NMFS is unable to discern from ICE’s comments how the total cost estimate of $42,200 is distributed among the burden hour and cost categories needed for this supporting statement. To avoid further information collection burden on ICE to submit additional detail about its costs, NMFS makes the following assumptions about how to distribute these burden hours and costs: 

Airfare and lodging for the ICE Executive Director and President to attend the April Council meeting and present the cooperative annual report to the Council: $3,000. 

The remaining $39,200 estimated cost ($42,200 - $3,000) is assumed to be associated with the total burden hour estimate for ICE. 

To use this information to answer Questions 12 and 13 in this supporting statement, NMFS has to categorize the information submitted by ICE into the burden hours and costs incurred by ICE members and employees directly (Question 12) and the costs incurred for contractors hired by ICE (Question 13). 

The hours associated with the vessel owners, ICE Executive Director and ICE President total 296 hours. This represents 91% of the burden hours, so NMFS assumes that 91% of the total costs of $39,200 are incurred by ICE members and employees ($35,700). These burden hours and costs are used in the response to Question 12. (See footnote below)

The hours associated with attorney, paralegal, and website maintenance contractor total 28 (9% of total burden hours). Nine percent of the total costs of $39,200 is $3,500. This information is used in the response to Question 12. 

NMFS will adjust these cost estimates in the future if ICE provides additional detail to more accurately associate costs with the various burden hour categories.  

1 The wage burden costs have been updated to use Occupation Code 11-1011, Chief Executives for Alaska in order to more accurately reflect the annual wage burden.  The previous estimates were from a letter of comment submitted by Inter-Cooperative Exchange (ICE), during the 2019 renewal for this collection. NMFS was unable to discern the wage rates. NMFS will adjust these cost estimates in the future if ICE provides additional detail to more accurately associate costs with the various burden hour categories.
    13. Provide an estimate for the total annual cost burden to respondents or record keepers resulting from the collection of information. (Do not include the cost of any hour burden already reflected on the burden worksheet).

Information Collection
# of Respondents
(a)
Annual # of Responses / Respondent
(b)
 Total # of Annual Responses
(c)=(a) x (b)
Cost Burden / Response*
(h)
Total Annual Cost Burden
(i) = (c) x (h)
Alaska Crab Rationalization Program Cooperative Annual Report
ICE – 1
1
1
Operating costs - $5
Travel and lodging expenses - $3,000
Legal and other contractors $3,500
$6,505

Other Cooperatives 6
1
6
Operating costs - $5
$30
Annual Rockfish Cooperative Report
2
1
2
Operating costs - $5
Travel and lodging expenses (1 person only)
$10

$1,400
Annual Amendment 80 Cooperative Report to NMFS
1
1
1
Operating costs - $5
Report audit - $200
$205
Amendment 80 Bycatch Avoidance Report to the Council
1
1
1
Operating costs - $5
$5
American Fisheries Act Annual Catcher Vessel Intercooperative Report
1
1
1
Operating costs - $5
$5
American Fisheries Act Cooperative Annual Report
8
1
8
Operating costs - $5
$40
Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative Annual Report
5
1
5
Operating costs - $5
Travel - $700
$3,525
Totals 


25

$11,725
* Operating costs account for the typical inclusive general office services packages that include expenses for email, fax, copying, mailing, printing, and internet. 

There are no capital costs or operating and maintenance costs associated with this information collection.

    14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government. Also, provide a description of the method used to estimate cost, which should include quantification of hours, operational expenses (such as equipment, overhead, printing, and support staff), and any other expense that would not have been incurred without this collection of information.

Federal government costs are based on a single employee at ZP-3 Step 3 in Alaska, which is an annual salary of $ 131,571. The fully loaded salary cost includes 52 percent of the salary to account for benefits and other overhead costs, totaling $199,906
Cost Descriptions
Grade/Step
Loaded Salary /Cost
% of Effort
Fringe (if Applicable)
Total Cost to Government
Federal Oversight
 


 
 
Fishery Management Specialist 
 GS 11-12 
$199,906
1 hour or 
0.05% of effort
 
$96 
Contractor Cost
 
—
—
—
— 
Travel
 

 

— 
Other Costs: 
 

 

—
TOTAL
 

 
—
$96 
GS 11-12 salary (capped out ZP-3 Step 3) = $131,571. To determine loaded salary, add 52% of salary ($131,571 * 1.52 = $199,906). Assuming 2,087 hours in a Federal work year, the loaded hourly cost to the government is $95.79 ($199,906 / 2,087 = $95.79). 
To calculate % of effort: 1 hour/2,087 hours = 0.0005 or about 0.05% of effort.
    15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reported in ROCIS.
Information Collection
Respondents
Responses
Burden Hours
Reason for change or adjustment

Current Renewal / Revision
Previous Renewal / Revision
Current Renewal / Revision
Previous Renewal / Revision
Current Renewal / Revision
Previous Renewal / Revision

Alaska Crab Rationalization Program Cooperative Annual Report
7
7
7
7
326
326

Annual Rockfish Cooperative Report
2
2
2
2
27
65
Burden estimate reduced in response to comments received.
Annual Amendment 80 Cooperative Report
1
1
1
1
10
18
Burden estimate reduced in response to comments received. 
Amendment 80 Bycatch Avoidance Report to the Council 
1
1
1
1
2
13
Title has been revised to reflect the current information provided to the Council annually. Burden estimate was reduced in response to comments received.  
Amendment 80 Halibut Prohibited Species Catch (PSC) Management Plan
0
1
0
1
0
13
This collection is being removed as it is no longer provided to the Council.  The Council receives only one report annually. All voluntary information has been consolidated into the Amendment 80 Bycatch Report to the Council.
American Fisheries Act Annual Catcher Vessel Intercooperative Report
1
1
1
1
40
40
No change
American Fisheries Act Cooperative Annual Report
8
8
8
8
128
128
No change
Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative Annual Report
5
10
5
10
90
180
The number of respondents decreased based on the actual number of submissions since this collection was implemented in 2023.
Total for Collection
25 (unique)
31 (unique)
25
31
623
783

Difference
-6
(-1 prgm chg)
(-5 adjustment)
-6
(-1 prgm chg)
(-5 adjustment)
-160
(-13 prgm chg)
(-147 adjustment)

Information Collection
Miscellaneous Costs
Reason for change or adjustment

Current
Previous

Alaska Crab Rationalization Program Cooperative Annual Report
$6,535
$6,535
No change
Annual Rockfish Cooperative Report
$1,410
$1,410
No change
Annual Amendment 80 Cooperative Report
$205
$205
No change
Amendment 80 Bycatch Avoidance Report to the Council
$5
$5
Title has been revised to reflect the current information provided to the Council annually.  The Council receives only one report annually. All voluntary information has been consolidated into the Amendment 80 Bycatch Report to the Council.
Amendment 80 Halibut Prohibited Species Catch (PSC) Management Plan
$0
$5
This collection is being removed as it is no longer provided to the Council.  The Council receives only one report annually. All voluntary information has been consolidated into the Amendment 80 Bycatch Report to the Council.
American Fisheries Act Annual Catcher Vessel Intercooperative Report
$5
$5
No change
American Fisheries Act Cooperative Annual Report
$40
$40
No change
Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative Annual Report
$3,525
$7,050
Cost reduced due to a reduction in the number of respondents.
Total for Collection
11,725
15,255

Difference
-3,530
(-$5 prgm chg)
(-3,525 adjustment)0

    16. For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulation and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection of information, completion of report, publication dates, and other actions.

Section 515 of Public Law 106-554 (the Information Quality Act) requires NMFS to ensure the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information it publicly disseminates. Public dissemination of these reports is governed by NOAA's information quality guidelines13. The voluntary cooperative annual reports fall under NOAA’s information quality category “Natural Resource Plans,” which are information products that are prescribed by law and have content, structure, and public review processes that are based upon published standards (e.g., statutory or regulatory guidelines). These plans are a composite of several types of information (e.g., scientific, management, stakeholder input, policy) from a variety of internal and external sources. 

NMFS does not disseminate the Annual Amendment 80 Cooperative Report that is required to be submitted to NMFS because this report contains information that is confidential under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. 

The cooperative annual reports submitted to the Council are posted on the Council’s website, which makes them available to the public. They are accepted by the Council as they are prepared by industry, provided to the public in that form, and clearly identified as information products prepared by industry. 
The reports are posted on the Council’s website at http://www.npfmc.org/cooperative-reporting/ or https://www.npfmc.org/council-meeting-archive/.

    17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.
There are no forms for this information collection. The reports are produced as a letter and no specific format is required. In addition, they are presented in person at the Council meeting and a copy of the document is provided for posting. 

    18. Explain each exception to the certification statement identified in “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions."
The agency certifies compliance with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).