Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Highly Migratory Species Dealer Reporting Family of Forms

Published date31 July 2020
Citation85 FR 46070
Record Number2020-16630
SectionNotices
CourtCommerce Department,National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 148 (Friday, July 31, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 148 (Friday, July 31, 2020)]
                [Notices]
                [Pages 46070-46071]
                From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
                [FR Doc No: 2020-16630]
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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; Highly Migratory Species Dealer Reporting Family of Forms
                AGENCY: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
                ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.
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                SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork
                Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other
                Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information
                collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information
                collection requirements, and minimize the public's reporting burden.
                The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment
                preceding submission of the collection to OMB.
                DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed
                information collection must be received on or before September 29,
                2020.
                ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to
                Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer, at [email protected]. Please
                reference OMB Control Number 0648-0040 in the subject line of your
                comments. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise
                sensitive or protected information.
                FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
                specific questions related to collection activities should be directed
                to Dianne Stephan, Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Management
                Division, National Marine Fisheries Service, (978) 281-9260 or
                [email protected].
                SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
                I. Abstract
                 Under the provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
                and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), the National Marine
                Fisheries Service (NMFS) is responsible for management of the Nation's
                marine fisheries. NMFS must also promulgate regulations, as necessary
                and appropriate, to carry out obligations the United States (U.S.)
                undertakes internationally regarding tuna management through the
                Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA, 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.).
                 This collection serves as a family of forms for Atlantic highly
                migratory species (HMS) dealer reporting, including purchases of HMS
                from domestic fishermen, and the import, export, and/or re-export of
                HMS, including federally managed tunas, sharks, and swordfish.
                 Transactions covered under this collection include purchases of
                Atlantic HMS from domestic fishermen; and the import/export of all
                bluefin tuna, frozen bigeye tuna, southern bluefin tuna or swordfish
                under the HMS International Trade Program, regardless of geographic
                area of origin. This information is used to monitor the harvest of
                domestic fisheries, and/or track international trade of internationally
                managed species. We are currently revising this information collection
                to implement mandatory electronic, web-based reporting to replace the
                downloadable hard copy forms currently used for biweekly bluefin dealer
                reporting and international trade reporting of bluefin tuna, swordfish,
                and frozen bigeye tuna. No other changes in the reporting program are
                being implemented at this time, and no significant changes in the
                number of responses or burden estimates are anticipated aside from
                removal of postage costs for returning the completed forms by mail.
                 The domestic dealer reporting covered by this collection includes
                weekly electronic landing reports and negative reports (i.e., reports
                of no activity) of Atlantic swordfish, sharks, bigeye tuna, albacore,
                yellowfin, and skipjack tunas (collectively referred to as BAYS tunas),
                and electronic biweekly and daily landing reports for bluefin tuna,
                including tagging of individual fish. Because of the individual bluefin
                quota (IBQ) management system (RIN 0648-BC09), electronic entry of IBQ-
                related landing data is required for Atlantic bluefin tuna purchased
                from Longline and Purse seine category vessels.
                 International trade tracking programs are required by both the
                International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)
                and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) to account for
                all international trade of covered species. The United States is a
                member of ICCAT and IATTC and required by ATCA and the Tunas Convention
                Act (16 U.S.C. 951 et. seq., consecutively) to promulgate regulations
                as necessary and appropriate to implement ICCAT and IATTC
                recommendations. These programs require that a statistical document or
                catch document accompany each export from and import to a member
                nation, and that a re-export certificate accompany each re-export. The
                international trade reporting requirements covered by this collection
                include implementation of catch documents, statistical documents, and
                re-export certificate trade tracking programs for bluefin tuna, frozen
                bigeye tuna, and swordfish. An electronic catch document program for
                bluefin tuna (EBCD) was recommended by ICCAT and implemented by the
                United States in 2016 (0648-BF17). United States regulations
                implementing ICCAT statistical document and catch document programs
                require statistical documents and catch documents for international
                transactions of the covered species from all ocean areas, so Pacific
                imports and exports must also be
                [[Page 46071]]
                accompanied by statistical documents and catch documents. Since there
                are statistical document programs in place under other international
                conventions (e.g., the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission), a statistical
                document or catch document from another program may be used to satisfy
                the statistical document requirement for imports into the United
                States.
                 Dealers who internationally trade Southern bluefin tuna are
                required to participate in a trade tracking program to ensure that
                imported Atlantic and Pacific bluefin tuna will not be intentionally
                mislabeled as ``southern bluefin'' to circumvent reporting
                requirements. This action is authorized under ATCA, which provides for
                the promulgation of regulations as may be necessary and appropriate to
                carry out ICCAT recommendations.
                 In addition to statistical document, catch document, and re-export
                certificate requirements, this collection includes biweekly reports to
                complement trade tracking statistical documents by summarizing
                statistical document data and collecting additional economic
                information.
                II. Method of Collection
                 Methods of submission include electronic, mail, fax, and tagging of
                fish.
                III. Data
                 OMB Control Number: 0648-0040.
                 Form Number(s): None.
                 Type of Review: Regular submission [request for revision of a
                currently approved information collection].
                 Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organization.
                 Estimated Number of Respondents: 10,391.
                 Estimated Time per Response: 5 minutes each for catch document,
                statistical document, and re-export certificate; 15 minutes for catch
                document/statistical document/re-export certificate validation by
                government official; 120 minutes for authorization of non-governmental
                catch document/statistical document/re-export certificate validation; 2
                minutes for daily Atlantic bluefin tuna landing reports; 3 minutes for
                daily Atlantic bluefin tuna landing reports from pelagic longline and
                purse seine vessels; 1 minute for Atlantic bluefin tuna tagging; 15
                minutes for biweekly electronic Atlantic bluefin tuna dealer landing
                reports; 15 minutes for HMS international trade biweekly electronic
                reports; 15 minutes for weekly electronic HMS dealer landing reports
                (e-dealer); 5 minutes for negative weekly electronic HMS dealer landing
                reports (e-dealer); 15 minutes for voluntary fishing vessel and catch
                forms; 2 minutes for provision of HMS dealer email address.
                 Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 18,285.
                 Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $1,634.
                 Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
                 Legal Authority: Legal authority for these data collections are
                authorized under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
                Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) and the Atlantic Tunas
                Convention Act (ATCA, 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.).
                IV. Request for Comments
                 We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau
                to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is
                necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether
                the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy
                of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed
                collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions
                used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of
                the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the reporting burden
                on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection
                techniques or other forms of information technology.
                 Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of
                public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request
                to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, phone
                number, email address, or other personal identifying information in
                your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including
                your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available
                at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your
                personal identifying information from public review, we cannot
                guarantee that we will be able to do so.
                Sheleen Dumas,
                Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information
                Officer, Commerce Department.
                [FR Doc. 2020-16630 Filed 7-30-20; 8:45 am]
                BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
                

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