2023-04509. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; In-Season Subsistence Salmon Fishery Catch and Effort Survey

AGENCY:

Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice of information collection; request for comment.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are proposing to renew an information collection without change.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before April 5, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to https://www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function. Please provide a copy of your comments to the Service Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB (JAO/3W), 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803 (mail); or by email to [e-mail]. Please reference “1018-0173” in the subject line of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Madonna L. Baucum, Service Information Collection Clearance Officer, by email at [e-mail], or by telephone at [phone]. 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. Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay services offered within their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) and its implementing regulations at 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), all information collections require approval under the PRA. We may not conduct or sponsor and you are not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

On June 22, 2022, we published in the Federal Register (87 FR 37355) a notice of our intent to request that OMB approve this information collection. In that notice, we solicited comments for 60 days, ending on August 22, 2022. In an effort to increase public awareness of, and participation in, our public commenting processes associated with information collection requests, the Service also published the Federal Register notice on Regulations.gov (Docket No. FWS-R7-NWRS-2022-0078) to provide the public with an additional method to submit comments (in addition to the typical [e-mail] email and U.S. mail submission methods). We received one comment in response to that notice which did not address the information collection requirements. No response to that comment is required.

As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burdens, we invite the public and other Federal agencies to comment on new, proposed, revised, and continuing collections of information. This helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public understand our information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format.

We are especially interested in public comment addressing the following:

(1) Whether or not the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether or not the information will have practical utility;

(2) The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;

(3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and

(4) How might the agency minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of response.

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 can 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.

Abstract: The administration and uses of national wildlife refuges and wetland management districts are governed by the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (Administration Act; 16 U.S.C. 668dd-668ee), as amended by the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997; the Refuge Recreation Act of 1962 (Recreation Act; 16 U.S.C. 460k-460k-4); and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA; 16 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.). ANILCA provides specific authorization and guidance for the administration and management of national wildlife refuges within the State of Alaska.

Renewal of OMB's approval authorizes the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge (YDNWR) to participate in the design and implementation of subsistence fisher surveys operated by the Orutsararmiut Traditional Native Council and the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fisheries Commission (KRITFC). Participation in the surveys informs in-season fisheries management decision-making in the Kuskokwim River subsistence salmon fishery.

The information collected by the survey includes the times individuals left and returned from boat launches, several characteristics of their fishing gear, broad classification of where the fishing activity occurred, for how long they actively fished, and how many of each of three salmon species they harvested. When coupled with aerial boat counts performed by the YDNWR, these data can be used to obtain quantitative estimates of total fishing activity and salmon harvest occurring from short-duration subsistence harvest opportunities. The estimates are then used to inform the management strategy used jointly by the YDNWR and the KRITFC.

Title of Collection: In-Season Subsistence Salmon Fishery Catch and Effort Survey.

OMB Control Number: 1018-0173.

Form Number: None.

Type of Review: Renewal without change of an existing information collection.

Respondents/Affected Public: Subsistence fishers within the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 1,014.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 1,014.

Estimated Completion Time per Response: 5 minutes.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 85 hours.

Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.

Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.

An agency 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.

The authority for this action is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

Madonna Baucum,

Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.