2015-32915. Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Title: Highly Migratory Species Tournament Registration and Reporting.

OMB Control Number: 0648-0323.

Form Number(s): None.

Type of Request: Regular (extension of a currently approved information collection).

Number of Respondents: 300.

Average Hours per Response: Tournament registration, 2 minutes; tournament reporting, 20 minutes.

Burden Hours: 600.

Needs and Uses: This request is for extension of a currently approved information collection.

Under the provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is responsible for management of the nation's marine fisheries. Existing regulations require operators of tournaments involving Atlantic highly migratory species (HMS: Atlantic swordfish, sharks, billfish, and tunas) to register four weeks in advance of the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Tournament. Operators must provide contact information and the tournament's date(s), location(s), and target species. If selected by NMFS, operators are required to submit an HMS tournament summary report within seven days after tournament fishing has ended. Most of the catch data in the summary report is routinely collected in the course of regular tournament operations. NMFS uses the data to estimate the total annual catch of HMS and the impact of tournament operations in relation to other types of fishing activities. In addition, HMS tournament registration provides a method for tournament operators to request educational and regulatory outreach materials from NMFS.

Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations; not for profit institutions.

Frequency: Annually and on occasion.

Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.

This information collection request may be viewed at reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to [e-mail] or fax to [phone].

Dated: December 28, 2015.

Sarah Brabson,

NOAA PRA Clearance Officer.