08-1202. Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to Commercial Fishing Operations; Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan Regulations

AGENCY:

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION:

Final rule; notice of OMB approval of collection -of-information collection requirements.

SUMMARY:

NMFS announces approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of collection-of-information requirements contained in regulations implementing amendments to the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan.

DATES:

The information collection requirements associated with the final rule published on October 5, 2007 are effective May 1, 2008.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Diane Borggaard, NMFS, Northeast Region, 978-281-9300 Ext. 6503, [e-mail]; Kristy Long, NMFS, Office of Protected Resources, 301-713-2322, [e-mail]; or Barb Zoodsma, NMFS, Southeast Region, 904-321-2806, [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access

This Federal Register document is also accessible at the web site of the Office of the Federal Register: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/​fr/​index.html.

Background

On October 5, 2007, NMFS published a final rule implementing the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (ALWTRP) (72 FR 57104). That final rule contained collection-of-information requirements that were submitted to, but not yet approved by, the Office of Management and Budget. Because OMB had not yet approved the collection-of-information requirements by the publication date of that final rule, NMFS noted in that final rule that it would publish a subsequent Federal Register notice upon OMB's issuance of a control number.

On December 7, 2007, OMB approved the collection-of-information requirements contained in the October 5, 2007 final rule. NMFS announces that the collection-of-information requirements are approved under Control Number 0648-0364, with an expiration date of February 28, 2009.

Dated: April 25, 2008.

Samuel D. Rauch III,

Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine Fisheries Service.