2019-11116. 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: West Coast Region Trawl Logbook Requirement.

OMB Control Number: 0648-XXXX.

Form Number(s): None.

Type of Request: Regular (New collection).

Number of Respondents: 21.

Average Hours per Response: 6 hours per logbook.

Burden Hours: 216 hours annually.

Needs and Uses: The success of fisheries management programs depends significantly on the availability of fishery data. Currently, the states of Washington, Oregon, and California administer a trawl logbook on behalf of the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The log used is a standard format developed by the Council to collect information necessary to effectively manage the fishery on a coast-wide basis. The trawl logbook collects haul-level effort data including tow time, tow location, depth of catch, net type, target strategy, and estimated pounds of fish retained per tow. Each trawl log represents a single fishing trip.

The state of California repealed their requirement, effective July 1, 2019, therefore, NMFS must create a federal requirement in order to not lose logbook coverage from trawl vessels in California. This federal requirement duplicates the logbook structure and process that the state of California was using in order to minimize disruption or confusion for fishery participants. Under this rule, NMFS will contract with the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC) to distribute and collect the same logbook these fishermen have been using previously. These data are used regularly by NMFS, the Pacific Fishery Management Council, the West Coast Groundfish Observer Program, NMFS Office of Law Enforcement, and the Coast Guard for fisheries management and enforcement.

Affected Public: Business and other for-profit.

Frequency: Monthly.

Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.

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].

Sheleen Dumas,

Departmental Lead PRA Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Commerce Department.