2017-18622. 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: Alaska Region Scale and Catch Weighing Requirements.

OMB Control Number: 0648-0330.

Form Number(s): None.

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

Number of Respondents:

Average Hours per Response:

Burden Hours:

Needs and Uses: Scale and catch weighing requirements address performance standards designed to ensure that all catch delivered to the processor is accurately weighed and accounted for. Scale and catch-weighing monitoring is required for Western Alaska Community Development Quota Program (CDQ) catcher/processors (C/Ps), American Fisheries Act (AFA) C/Ps, AFA motherships, AFA shoreside processors and stationary floating processors, Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish Program trawl C/Ps, non-AFA trawl C/Ps participating in Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) trawl fisheries, and longline C/Ps participating in BSAI Pacific cod fisheries.

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has identified three primary objectives for monitoring catch. First, monitoring must ensure independent verification of catch weight, species composition, and location data for every delivery by a catcher vessel or every pot by a C/P. Second, all catch must be weighed accurately using NMFS-approved scales to determine the weight of total catch. Third, the system must provide a verifiable record of the weight of each delivery. To effectively manage fisheries, NMFS must have data that will provide reliable independent estimates of the total catch.

Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.

Frequency: Annually, and daily for fishing period.

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

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: August 29, 2017.

Sarah Brabson,

NOAA PRA Clearance Officer.