2016-16418. Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Western Alaska Community Development Quota (CDQ) Program

AGENCY:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES:

Written comments must be submitted on or before September 12, 2016.

ADDRESSES:

Direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at [e-mail]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should be directed to Patsy A. Bearden, [phone] or [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

This request is for extension of a current information collection.

The Western Alaska Community Development Quota (CDQ) Program is an economic development program associated with federally managed fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI). The CDQ Program receives apportionments of the annual catch limits for a variety of commercially valuable species in the BSAI, which are in turn allocated among six different non-profit managing organizations representing different affiliations of communities (CDQ groups). The CDQ Program redistributes a portion of commercially important BSAI fisheries species to adjacent communities. There are 65 communities participating in the program. CDQ groups use the revenue derived from the harvest of their fisheries allocations as a basis both for funding economic development activities and for providing employment opportunities. Thus, the successful harvest of CDQ Program allocations is integral to achieving the goals of the program.

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) manages the groundfish fisheries in the exclusive economic zone off Alaska. NMFS manages the groundfish and crab fisheries of the BSAI under the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area and the Fishery Management Plan for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs (FMPs). The North Pacific Fishery Management Council prepared the FMPs under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation & Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) as amended in 2006. The International Pacific Halibut Commission and NMFS manage fishing for Pacific halibut through regulations established under the authority of the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982. Regulations implementing the FMPs appear at 50 CFR parts 300, 679, and 680.

II. Method of Collection

By fax, by mail, and online.

III. Data

OMB Control Number: 0648-0269.

Form Number(s): None.

Type of Review: Extension of a current information collection.

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

Estimated Number of Respondents: 13.

Estimated Time per Response: 5 minutes to register and 5 minutes to print letter for CDQ Vessel Registration System; 35 minutes for Groundfish/Halibut CDQ or Prohibited Species Quota (PSQ) Transfer Request; 5 hours for Application for Approval of Use of Non-CDQ Harvest Regulations; and 4 hours for Appeals.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 25.

Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $7 in recordkeeping/reporting costs.

IV. Request for Comments

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden (including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

Dated: July 7, 2016.

Sarah Brabson,

NOAA PRA Clearance Officer.