2017-24990. 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: Scientific Research, Exempted Fishing, and Exempted Activity Submissions.

OMB Control Number: 0648-0471.

Form Number(s): None.

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

Number of Respondents: 49.

Average Hours per Response: 2 hours for a scientific research plan; 40 minutes for an application for an EFP, Display Permit, SRP, LOA, or Shark Research Permit; 1 hour for an interim report; 40 minutes for an annual fishing report; 15 minutes for an application for an amendment; 5 minutes for notification of departure phone calls to NMFS Enforcement; 10 minutes for calls to request and observer; and 2 minutes for “no-catch” reports.

Burden Hours: 143.

Needs and Uses: Exempted fishing permits (EFPs), scientific research permits (SRPs), display permits, letters of acknowledgment (LOAs), and shark research fishery permits are issued under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) and/or the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA) (16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.). Issuance of EFPs and related permits is necessary for the collection of Highly Migratory Species (HMS) for public display and scientific research that requires exemption from regulations (e.g., seasons, prohibited species, authorized gear, and minimum sizes) that otherwise may prohibit such collection. Display permits are issued for the collection of HMS for the purpose of public display, and a limited number of shark research fishery permits are issued for the collection of fishery-dependent data for future stock assessments and cooperative research with commercial fishermen to meet the shark research objectives of the Agency.

Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations; not-for-profit institutions; state, local or tribal government; federal government.

Frequency: Annually and within 5 days of fishing.

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

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: November 14, 2017.

Sarah Brabson,

NOAA PRA Clearance Officer.