2023-00980. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Reporting Requirements for Sea Otter Interactions With the Pacific Sardine Fishery; Coastal ...

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 September 6, 2022 (87 FR 54484) during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.

Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

Title: Reporting Requirements for Sea Otter Interactions with Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries.

OMB Control Number: 0648-0566.

Form Number(s): None.

Type of Request: Regular submission (extension of a current information collection).

Number of Respondents: 2.

Average Hours per Response: 15 minutes.

Total Annual Burden Hours: 30 minutes.

Needs and Uses: This request is for extension of a currently approved collection. On May 30, 2007, NMFS published a final rule (72 FR 29891) implementing a requirement under the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to report any interactions that may occur between a CPS vessel and/or fishing gear and sea otters. In accordance with the regulations implementing the Endangered Species Act (ESA), NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) initiated an ESA section 7 consultation with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) regarding the effects of implementing the final rule (72 FR 29891), which codified Amendment 11 to the CPS FMP. USFWS determined that formal consultation was necessary on the possible effects to the threatened southern sea otter. USFWS completed a biological opinion for this action and although it was concluded that fishing activities were not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the southern sea otter, that there remained the potential to incidentally take southern sea otters. USFWS determined that certain measures should be put in place to ensure the continued protection of the species, including certain reporting requirements.

Specifically, these reporting requirements are:

(1) If a southern sea otter is entangled in a net, regardless of whether the animal is injured or killed, the vessel operator must report this interaction within 24 hours to the Regional Administrator.

(2) While fishing for CPS, vessel operators must record all observations of otter interactions (defined as otters within encircled nets or coming into contact with nets or vessels, including but not limited to entanglement) with their purse seine net(s) or vessel(s). With the exception of an entanglement, which must be initially reported as described in paragraph (1) of this section, all other observations must be reported within 20 days to the Regional Administrator.

(3) When contacting NMFS after an interaction, vessel operators must provide the location (latitude and longitude) of the interaction and a description of the interaction itself. If available, location information should also include water depth, distance from shore, and relation to port or other landmarks. Descriptive information of the interaction should include: whether or not the otters were seen inside or outside the net; if inside the net, had the net been completely encircled; whether any otters came in contact with either the net or the vessel; the number of otters present; duration of interaction; the otter's behavior during interaction; measures taken to avoid interaction.

Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.

Frequency: As necessary.

Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.

Legal Authority:50 CFR 660.520(a).

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 0648-0566.

Sheleen Dumas,

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Commerce Department.