Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Commercial Operator's Annual Report (COAR)

• Published date: 21 June 2024
• Citation: 89 FR 52028
• Pages: 52028-52028
• FR Document: 2024-13583
• Section: Notices
• Issuer: Commerce Department,National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 120 (Friday, June 21, 2024)

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 120 (Friday, June 21, 2024)]
                [Notices]
                [Page 52028]
                From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
                [FR Doc No: 2024-13583]
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                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; Commercial Operator's Annual Report (COAR)
                 The Department of Commerce will submit the following information
                collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for
                review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of
                1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite 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. Public comments were previously requested via the
                Federal Register on January 22, 2024, during a 60-day comment period.
                This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
                 Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Commerce.
                 Title: Commercial Operator's Annual Report (COAR).
                 OMB Control Number: 0648-0428.
                 Form Number(s): None.
                 Type of Request: Regular submission (extension of a current
                information collection).
                 Number of Respondents: 57.
                 Average Hours per Response: 8 hours.
                 Total Annual Burden Hours: 456 hours.
                 Needs and Uses: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS),
                Alaska Regional Office, is requesting renewal of the currently approved
                information collection for the Commercial Operator's Annual Report
                (COAR). No revisions were made to this collection.
                 The COAR is a State of Alaska report that is required to be
                completed and submitted by direct marketers, catcher processors,
                catcher exporters, buyer exporters, shore-based processors, and
                floating processor permit holders pursuant to Alaska Administrative
                Code (5 AAC 39.130) and Federal regulations at 50 CFR 679. Under 50 CFR
                679.5(p), NMFS requires motherships and catcher processors that are
                issued a Federal fisheries permit to annually complete and submit the
                appropriate sections of the COAR.
                 The COAR is used to gather statewide fish and shellfish information
                describing buying (ex-vessel) and production (wholesale or retail)
                activities. The information collected in the COAR is used to determine
                the value of Alaska's fisheries resources and products. NMFS uses the
                COAR database in annual Federal publications on the value of U.S.
                commercial fisheries, in the annual NMFS Stock Assessment and Fishery
                Evaluation reports for the groundfish fisheries of the Bering Sea and
                Aleutian Islands and the Gulf of Alaska, and in periodic reports that
                describe the fisheries and that serve as reference documents to
                management agencies, the industry, and others.
                 The mothership and catcher processor data, when added to the COAR
                information collected from shoreside processors and stationary floating
                processors required under State of Alaska requirements, yield a
                complete data base of equivalent annual product value information for
                all respective processing sectors. The information also provides a
                consistent time series according to which groundfish resources may be
                managed more efficiently. Use of the information generated by the COAR
                is coordinated between NMFS and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game
                (ADF&G).
                 The COAR must be submitted by April 1 to the ADF&G for the previous
                year's activity for all operations that are required to submit a COAR.
                NMFS requires the owner of a mothership or catcher processor to
                annually complete and submit the appropriate forms of the COAR, whether
                the processor operated that year or not. If no receipt or production
                took place for that year, the owner submits only the COAR certification
                page.
                 The COAR requires submission of information on seafood purchasing,
                production, and both ex-vessel and wholesale values of seafood
                products. The buying information is reported by species, harvest area,
                area of purchase, condition of fisheries resources at the time of
                purchase, type of gear used in the harvest, pounds purchased, and ex-
                vessel value. The ex-vessel value includes any post-season adjustments
                or bonuses paid after the fish was purchased. The production
                information is reported by species, area of processing, process type
                (e.g., frozen, canned, smoked), product type (e.g., fillets, surimi,
                sections), net weight of the processed product, and the first wholesale
                value.
                 Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
                profit organizations.
                 Frequency: Annually.
                 Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
                 Legal Authority: Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
                Management Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
                 This information collection request may be viewed at
                www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view the Department of
                Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.
                 Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information
                collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of
                this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.
                Find this particular information collection by selecting ``Currently
                under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search
                function and entering either the title of the collection or the OMB
                Control Number 0648-0428.
                Sheleen Dumas,
                Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for
                Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
                [FR Doc. 2024-13583 Filed 6-20-24; 8:45 am]
                BILLING CODE 3510-22-P