Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Fishermen's Contingency Fund
| Published date | 28 December 2020 |
| Citation | 85 FR 84305 |
| Record Number | 2020-28549 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration |
84305
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 248 / Monday, December 28, 2020 / Notices
bait and/or wing fishery, as well as
measures that may prevent the
triggering of incidental skate possession
limits, improve the precision and
accuracy of catch data, and better define
skate fishery participants. This notice
alerts the public of a supplemental
scoping period and the opportunity for
public participation in that process.
DATES
: Written scoping comments must
be received on or before 5 p.m., local
time, Friday, February 12, 2021. Two
supplemental public scoping webinar
meetings will be held during this
comment period on January 21, 2021
and February 8, 2021. More information
about the webinars is at: https://
www.nefmc.org/library/amendment-5-3.
ADDRESSES
: Written scoping comments
on Amendment 5 may be sent by any of
the following methods:
•Email to the following address:
comments@nefmc.org;
•Mail to Thomas A. Nies, Executive
Director, New England Fishery
Management Council, 50 Water Street,
Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950; or
•Fax to (978) 465–3116.
Please indicate ‘‘Skate Amendment 5
Supplemental Scoping Comment’’ on
your correspondence. Requests for
copies of the supplemental Amendment
5 scoping document and other
information should be directed to
Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director,
New England Fishery Management
Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2,
Newburyport, MA 01950, telephone
(978) 465–0492. The supplemental
scoping document is accessible
electronically via the internet at https://
www.nefmc.org/library/amendment-5-3.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
:
Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director,
New England Fishery Management
Council, (978) 465–0492.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
:
Background
The New England Fishery
Management Council (Council), working
through its public participatory
committee and meeting processes,
anticipates the development of an
amendment that may require an
environmental impact statement (EIS) to
meet applicable criteria in the Council
on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
regulations and guidance for
implementing the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). In
the development of Amendment 5 to the
Northeast Skate Complex Fishery
Management Plan (FMP), the Council
has been considering limited access to
the skate bait and/or wing fishery.
NEPA reviews initiated prior to the
effective date of the 2020 CEQ
regulations may be conducted using the
1978 version of the regulations. The
effective date of the 2020 CEQ NEPA
regulations was September 14, 2020.
The NEPA process for this action began
with the initial scoping period and first
notice of intent (NOI) (82 FR 825,
January 4, 2017) in early 2017.
Therefore, the development of this
amendment will continue under the
1978 NEPA regulations.
The Northeast Skate Complex
comprises seven species (barndoor,
clearnose, little, rosette, smooth, thorny,
and winter skate), managed as a single
unit along the east coast from Maine to
Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The skate
bait fishery primarily targets little skate,
with a small catch component of winter
skate. The wing fishery primarily targets
winter skate.
The Council first conducted scoping
for Amendment 5 in early 2017 (82 FR
825, January 4, 2017) to address
concerns that increasingly strict
regulations in other fisheries,
particularly in the Northeast
Multispecies (groundfish) fishery, might
cause these fishermen to switch fishing
effort onto skates. An increase in effort
in the skate fishery could cause the
fishery to attain its quota in a shorter
time, trigger reduced skate trip limits, or
have other negative economic impacts
on current participants. The Council has
been exploring the creation of a limited
access skate permit as a potential
solution to these concerns. In September
2020, the Council expanded the scope of
this action by approving a problem
statement, goals, and types of measures
to consider in Amendment 5. In
addition to limited access, the Council
may consider measures such as creating
an intermediate trigger for incidental
limits, creating different landing limits
for segments of the wing fishery,
revising monitoring and reporting
requirements, restricting switching
between state and Federal fishing for the
wing and/or bait fishery, modifying gear
to reduce bycatch, making the Federal
skate permit a year-round permit for the
wing and/or bait fishery, or other
measures related to the problem
statement and intended to achieve the
Amendment’s goals. These measures
could help improve the accuracy of
fishery data and the long-term
sustainable management of the skate
fishery. Through the development of
Amendment 5, the Council may also
consider updates to the goal and
objectives of the FMP, which are
unchanged since the FMP was adopted
in 2003. Following the supplemental
scoping period, the Council, with input
from the public, will develop a range of
alternatives to address the problem
statement and goals of this action. The
supplemental scoping document has
more information on Amendment 5 and
the topics being considered during this
supplementary scoping period (see
ADDRESSES
).
Public Comment
All persons interested in the
management of the Northeast Skate
Complex for either the wing and/or bait
fishery are invited to comment on the
scope and significance of issues to be
analyzed by submitting written
comments (see
ADDRESSES
) and/or by
participating in either of the two
supplemental scoping webinar meetings
for this amendment (see
DATES
).
After the supplemental scoping
period, there will be additional
opportunities for public comment
throughout the development of a range
of alternatives for Amendment 5, and, if
necessary, a draft EIS to analyze their
impacts. In addition to scoping
comments, the public will have the
opportunity to comment on the
alternatives being considered by the
Council through public meetings on any
proposed action.
Special Accommodations
The webinar meetings are accessible
to people with physical disabilities.
Requests for sign language
interpretation or other auxiliary aids
should be directed to Thomas A. Nies
(see
ADDRESSES
) at least five days prior
to the meeting dates.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 18, 2020.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020–28479 Filed 12–23–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
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; Fishermen’s Contingency
Fund
AGENCY
: National Oceanic &
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION
: Notice of information collection,
request for comment.
SUMMARY
: The Department of
Commerce, in accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
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84306
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 248 / Monday, December 28, 2020 / Notices
(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 February 26, 2021.
ADDRESSES
: Interested persons are
invited to submit written comments to
Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer,
at Adrienne.thomas@noaa.gov. Please
reference OMB Control Number 0648–
0082 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 Elaine
Saiz, Chief, Financial Services Division,
NOAA National Marine Fisheries
Service, (301) 427–8725 or elaine.saiz@
noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
:
I. Abstract
This request is for extension of a
currently approved information
collection.
United States (U.S.) commercial
fishermen may file claims for
compensation for losses of, or damage
to, fishing gear or vessels, plus 50
percent of resulting economic losses,
attributable to oil and gas activities on
the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. To
obtain compensation, applicants must
comply with requirements set forth in
50 CFR part 296.
The requirements include a ‘‘report’’
within 15 days of the date the vessel
first returns to port after the casualty
incident to gain a presumption of
eligible causation, and an ‘‘application’’
within 90 days of when the applicant
first became aware of the loss and/or
damage.
The report is NOAA Form 88–166 and
it requests identifying information such
as: Respondent’s name; address; social
security number; and casualty location.
The information in the report is usually
completed by NOAA during a telephone
call with the respondent.
The application is NOAA Form 88–
164 and it requires the respondent to
provide information on the property and
economic losses and/or damages
including type of damage; purchase date
and price of lost/damaged gear; and
income from recent fishing trips. It also
includes an affidavit by which the
applicant attests to the truthfulness of
the claim.
II. Method of Collection
Respondents may telephone NOAA
and provide the information for the
report verbally or submit a paper or
electronic report. Respondents have a
choice of either electronic or paper
forms for the application.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0648–0082.
Form Number: NOAA Forms 88–164,
88–166.
Type of Review: Extension of a current
information collection.
Affected Public: Individuals or
households; business or other for-profit
organizations.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
20.
Estimated Time per Response: 15
minutes for a report and 7 hours, 45
minutes for an application.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 160.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to
Public: $500 in recordkeeping/filing
costs.
Respondent’s Obligation: Required to
Obtain or Retain Benefits.
Legal Authority: Title IV of the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act
Amendments of 1978 (43 U.S.C. 1841)
authorizes the Fishermen’s Contingency
Fund (Fund or FCF) program to
compensate U.S. commercial fishermen
for losses of, or damages to, fishing gear
or vessels, plus 50% of resulting gross
economic loss, attributable to oil and
gas activities on the OCS. Program
requirements are set forth in 50 CFR
part 296.
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. 2020–28549 Filed 12–23–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[RTID 0648–XA745]
North Pacific Fishery Management
Council; Public Meeting
AGENCY
: National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION
: Notice of a public meeting.
SUMMARY
: The North Pacific Fishery
Management Council (Council)
Community Engagement Committee will
meet via web conference on January 12,
2021.
DATES
: The meeting will be held on
Tuesday, January 12, 2021, from 9 a.m.
to 3 p.m., Alaska Time.
ADDRESSES
: The meeting will be a web
conference. Join online through the link
at https://meetings.npfmc.org/Meeting/
Details/1847.
Council address: North Pacific
Fishery Management Council, 1007 W
3rd Ave., Anchorage, AK 99501–2252;
telephone: (907) 271–2809. Instructions
for attending the meeting via video
conference are given under
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
, below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
:
Steve MacLean, Council staff; phone:
(907) 271–2809; email: steve.maclean@
noaa.gov. For technical support please
contact our admin Council staff, email:
npfmc.admin@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
:
Agenda
Tuesday, January 12, 2021
The Community Engagement
Committee will meet to review and
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