[Federal Register: August 25, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 164)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 51145-51146]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr25au03-9]
[[Page 51145]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Part III
Department of Commerce
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
50 CFR Part 679
Fisheries off the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Provisions of the
American Fisheries Act (AFA); Final and Proposed Rules
[[Page 51146]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 679
[Docket No. 030808196-3197-02; I. D. 081103B]
RIN 0648-AR42
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Provisions
of the American Fisheries Act (AFA)
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule: effectiveness of collection-of-information
requirements.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS announces approval by the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) of collection-of-information requirements contained in the
following American Fisheries Act (AFA)-related amendments: Amendment 61
to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Groundfish Fishery of the
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Area, Amendment 61 to the FMP
for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska, Amendment 13 to the FMP for BSAI
King and Tanner Crab, and Amendment 8 to the FMP for the Scallop
Fishery off Alaska (collectively referred to as Amendment 61/61/13/8),
and in Amendment 69 to the FMP for the Groundfish Fishery of the BSAI
Area, and issues a final rule to make effective the collections of
information contained in those amendments. The collections provide that
if an AFA cooperative contract was previously filed with NMFS and the
North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council), a renewal letter
may be submitted to NMFS and the Council in lieu of the cooperative
contract and business review letter. Each AFA cooperative contract must
include a clause that the parties agree to make payments to the State
of Alaska for any pollock harvested in the directed pollock fishery
that are not landed in the State of Alaska; and an AFA cooperative may
contract with a non-member vessel to harvest a portion of the
cooperative's annual pollock allocation. The intent of this final rule
is to inform the public of the effective date of the requirements.
DATES: Sections 679.61(d)(1) and (d)(2), and Sec. 679.61(e)(1)(v),
published at 67 FR 79692 (December 30, 2002), and Sec. 679.62(c),
published at 68 FR 6833 (February 11, 2003), are effective on September
24, 2003.
ADDRESSES: Any comments regarding burden-hour estimates for collection-
of-information requirements contained in this final rule should be sent
to Lori Durall, NMFS, Alaska Region, P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802,
phone: 907-586-7247, email: lori.durall@noaa.gov and to OMB, Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget,
Washington, DC 20503 (Attn: NOAA Desk Officer).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patsy A. Bearden, NMFS, 907-586-7228
or e-mail at patsy.bearden@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A final rule that implemented the measures
contained in Amendment 61/61/13/8 was published in the Federal Register
on December 30, 2002 (67 FR 79692), and most of the measures were
effective January 29, 2003. A final rule that implemented the measures
contained in Amendment 69 was published in the Federal Register on
February 11, 2003 (68 FR 6833), and most of the measures were effective
March 13, 2003. However, because OMB approval of the reporting
requirements contained in these amendments had not yet been received as
of the effective date of each rule, effectiveness of the requirements
contained in the amendments was delayed.
OMB approval for those measures was received on July 14, 2003. No
comments were received in response to this review. Consequently, this
rule makes the following requirements effective:
OMB 0648-0393, AFA Vessel and Processor Permit Applications.
Approval of this collection included: Sec. 679.61(d)(1) and (d)(2),
cooperative contract renewal letter, and Sec. 679.61(e)(1)(v),
contract clause regarding payments to the State of Alaska, codified in
the final rule published on December 30, 2002 (67 FR 79692).
OMB 0648-0401, American Fisheries Act: Recordkeeping and Reporting.
Approval of this collection included Sec. 679.62(c), contract fishing
by non-member vessels, codified in the final rule published on February
11, 2003 (68 FR 6833).
Classification
This rule has been determined to be not significant for the
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is
required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty
for failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the
requirements of the PRA, unless that collection of information displays
a currently valid OMB control number.
This rule contains collection-of-information requirements subject
to the PRA that have been approved by OMB under control numbers 0648-
0393 (AFA Vessel and Processor Permit Applications) and 0648-0401
(American Fisheries Act: Recordkeeping and Reporting). The estimated
time per response to submit a cooperative contract renewal letter and a
contract clause regarding payments to the State of Alaska is estimated
as part of the permit process (0648-0393), which is 2.5 hours. The
estimated time per response to contract fishing by non-member vessels
(0648-0401) is 30 minutes.
The estimated response time includes the time needed for reviewing
instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the
collection of information. Send comments regarding these reporting
burden estimates or any other aspect of the collection-of-information,
including suggestions for reducing the burden, to NMFS and OMB (see
ADDRESSES).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: August 15, 2003.
William T. Hogarth,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 03-21451 Filed 8-22-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S