2011-6533. Information Collection Sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval; OMB Control Number 1018-0066; Marine Mammal Marking, Tagging, and Reporting Certificates

AGENCY:

Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

We (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) have sent an Information Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for review and approval. We summarize the ICR below and describe the nature of the collection and the estimated burden and cost. This information collection is scheduled to expire on March 31, 2011. We may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. However, under OMB regulations, we may continue to conduct or sponsor this information collection while it is pending at OMB.

DATES:

You must submit comments on or before April 20, 2011.

ADDRESSES:

Send your comments and suggestions on this information collection to the Desk Officer for the Department of the Interior at OMB-OIRA at [phone] (fax) or [e-mail] (e-mail). Please provide a copy of your comments to the Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, MS 2042-PDM, Arlington, VA 22203 (mail), or [e-mail] (e-mail).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request additional information about this ICR, contact Hope Grey at [e-mail] (e-mail) or 703-358-2482 (telephone). You may review the ICR online at http://www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to review Department of the Interior collections under review by OMB.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

OMB Control Number: 1018-0066.

Title: Marine Mammal Marking, Tagging, and Reporting Certificates, 50 CFR 18.23(f).

Service Form Number(s): 3-2414, 3-2415, and 3-2416.

Type of Request: Extension of currently approved collection.

Description of Respondents: Individuals and households.

Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.

Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

Activity	Number of respondents	Number of responses	Completion time per response	Total annual burden hours
3-2414 (polar bear)	25	25	15 minutes	6
3-2415 (walrus)	620	620	15 minutes	155
3-2416 (sea otter)	750	750	15 minutes	188
Totals	1,395	1,395		349

Abstract: Under section 101(b) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (MMPA), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361-1407), Alaska Natives residing in Alaska and dwelling on the coast of the North Pacific or Arctic Oceans may harvest polar bears, northern sea otters, and Pacific walrus for subsistence or handicraft purposes. Section 109(i) of the MMPA authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to prescribe marking, tagging, and reporting regulations applicable to the Alaska Native subsistence and handicraft take.

On behalf of the Secretary, we implemented regulations at 50 CFR 18.23(f) for Alaska Natives harvesting polar bear, northern sea otter, and Pacific walrus. These regulations enable us to gather data on the Alaska Native subsistence and handicraft harvest and on the biology of polar bear, northern sea otter, and Pacific walrus in Alaska to determine what effect such take may be having on these populations. The regulations also provide us with a means of monitoring the disposition of the harvest to ensure that any commercial use of products created from these species meets the criteria set forth in section 101(b) of the MMPA. We use three forms to collect the information: FWS Form 3-2414 (Polar Bear Tagging Certificates), FWS Form 3-2415 (Walrus Tagging Certificates), and FWS Form 3-2416 (Sea Otter Tagging Certificates). These forms replace forms R7-50, R7-51, and R7-52. The information we collect includes, but is not limited to:

• Date of kill.
• Sex of the animal.
• Kill location.
• Age of the animal (i.e., adult, subadult, cub, or pup).
• Form of transportation used to make the kill of polar bears.
• Amount of time (i.e., hours/days hunted) spent hunting polar bears.
• Type of take (live-killed or beach-found) for walrus.
• Number of otters present in and number of otters harvested from pod.
• Condition of the bear and whether or not polar bear cubs were present.
• Name of the hunter or possessor of the specified parts at the time of marking, tagging, and reporting.

Comments: On October 18, 2010, we published in the Federal Register (75 FR 63850) a notice of our intent to request that OMB renew approval for this information collection. In that notice, we solicited comments for 60 days, ending on December 17, 2010. We received two comments. The Marine Mammal Commission submitted a letter of support for the data collection as proposed. A second comment opposed this information collection as unworthy of continued support and a burden to general taxpayers. In this comment, subsistence marine mammal hunters were misidentified as fishermen. We note the concerns raised by this individual; however, the harvest of marine mammals by certain Alaska Natives for certain purposes is specifically exempted from otherwise prohibited activities by section 101(b) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.). A Marking, Tagging and Reporting Program is also specifically mandated by this same Act. We did not make any changes to our information collection.

We again invite comments concerning this information collection on:

• Whether or not the collection of information is necessary, including whether or not the information will have practical utility;
• The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this collection of information;
• Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
• Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents.

Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of public record. Before including your address, phone number, e-mail 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 can ask OMB in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that it will be done.

Dated: March 14, 2011.

Tina A. Campbell,

Chief, Division of Policy and Directives Management, Fish and Wildlife Service.