PCGT_SS_110210amend

SUPPORTING STATEMENT
PACIFIC COAST GROUNDFISH
TRAWL RATIONALIZATION PROGRAM RULE PERMIT AND
LICENSE INFORMATION COLLECTION
OMB CONTROL NO. 0648-XXXX

A.

JUSTIFICATION

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.
This request is for a new collection of information.
The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), 16 U.S.C. 1801 et
seq., authorizes the Fishery Management Councils to prepare and amend fishery management
plans (FMP) for any fishery in waters under its jurisdiction. The National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) manages the
groundfish fishery in the 3-200 mile zone off of the coasts of Washington, Oregon and
California. In 1993, the Council, under Amendment 6 (50 CFR 660 Subpart G), implemented a
limited entry program for the groundfish fishery. Currently, there are a total of 399 Pacific Coast
limited entry permits of which 177 permits are endorsed for trawl gear.
Since 2003, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has been developing a trawl
rationalization program for the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery that would affect the limited
entry trawl fishery. The trawl rationalization program is intended to increase net economic
benefits to the nation; and for participants, to: 1) provide economic stability in the fishery,
2) provide full utilization of the trawl sector allocation, 3) improve safety, product quality and
value, 4) increase accuracy and 5) mitigate or decrease environmental impacts that occur under
current fishing practices and regimes.
The Council has developed the trawl rationalization program through two amendments to the
Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP: 1) Amendment 20, which addresses the trawl rationalization
program, and 2) Amendment 21, addressing intersector allocation (Proposed Rule 0648-AY68,
Initial Issuance and Program Components). Amendment 20 would create the structure and
management details of the trawl rationalization program, while Amendment 21 will allocate the
groundfish stocks between trawl and non-trawl fisheries and within trawl fisheries. The Council
took final action on Amendment 20 at their November 2008 meeting, with subsequent related
actions at their March 2009, April 2009, June 2009, November 2009, and April 2010 meetings.
The Council took final action on Amendment 21 at its April 2009 meeting, with trailing actions
at its March 2010 meeting.
The trawl rationalization program will be a limited access privilege program (LAPP) under the
MSA as reauthorized in 2007. A LAPP is considered a grant of permission to the holder of the
limited access privilege, or quota share, to participate in the program. It may be revoked, limited,
or modified by the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) at any time. In other words, it is a
conditional privilege, conveyed through quota shares or catch shares, to harvest a specified

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amount of fish. Under the trawl rationalization program, NMFS will issue the permits, as
described below, for this conditional privilege.
Trawl Rationalization Program Structure
The trawl rationalization program will consist of: (1) an individual fishing quota (IFQ) program
for the shore-based trawl fleet and (2) co-operative (co-op) programs for the at-sea trawl fleet.
The shore-based trawl fleet would include catcher vessels which land groundfish to shore-based
processors or first receivers. The at-sea trawl fleet would include fishery participants harvesting
whiting with midwater trawl gear (i.e., whiting catcher/processor (C/P) vessels, whiting
motherships (MS), and whiting catcher vessels delivering to motherships). The co-op programs
for the at-sea trawl fleet are further divided as follows: (1) a single whiting catcher/processor coop; and (2) one or more whiting mothership co-ops which may form, or vessels choosing to fish
in an open access or non-co-op fishery which would be unaffiliated with a co-op. For the co-op
and non co-op fishery, vessel owners would pool their harvest together.
The IFQ program for the shore-based fleet will require NMFS to make an initial allocation of
harvest quota share (QS) (expressed as a percentage of the total sector amount) through a new
QS permit to current owners of limited entry trawl permits and shore-based whiting first
receivers who meet the qualifying criteria. Depending on a person’s limited entry trawl permit
history in qualifying years, the permit owner will receive an initial allocation for various target
species/species groups (~20 species), some with area designations. In addition, NMFS will
allocate QS for overfished species based on a proxy of the amount of target species allocated to
the quota share holder. Shore-based whiting first receivers will receive an initial allocation of
whiting only, based on their history of being the first receiver reported on state fish tickets (with
an opportunity to reassign their history).
Each year, based on the optimum yield amounts for each species and the amount of QS a holder
has for a particular species/area, NMFS will allocate quota pounds (QPs) to the QS account. QPs
are an amount of a fish species/species group expressed as a whole pound. The QS owner, in
turn, must allocate quota pounds to vessel accounts. Vessels are required to have IFQ or quota
pounds in an account to cover all IFQ landings and discards incurred while fishing under this
program. In order to comply with the MSA, NMFS will track ownership interest in QS to
determine if individuals are within set accumulation limits, both at the initial allocation stage and
during the operation of the program. In Amendment 20, the Council has adopted limits (by
species group and area) on the amount of QS an individual can control (i.e. control limits) and
limits on the amount of quota pounds that may be registered to a vessel for use in a given year.
For the at-sea whiting component of the trawl rationalization program, the Council has adopted a
program that provides for a C/P co-op and MS co-ops that differ from how the co-ops have
operated in the past. The C/P co-op will not require an initial allocation of catch shares to
individual vessels, provided that a co-op is established. However, whiting catch shares for the
MS fleet (called catch history assignments) would initially be allocated to qualifying limited
entry trawl permits that were registered to catcher vessels in qualifying years and which were
used in the mothership whiting fishery. The catch history assignments would be non-severable
from the permit. Holders of qualifying permits that are allocated a whiting catch history

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assignment may choose to participate in either the MS co-op or non-co-op fishery. As with the
shore-based IFQ program, NMFS would be required to track permit ownership interests in the
MS sector to determine if individuals are in compliance with accumulation limits.
NMFS will implement the trawl rationalization program with two sets of regulations. NMFS
previously published the initial issuance part of Proposed Rule (PR) 0648-AY68 on June 10,
2010 (75 FR 32994) that would restructure and clarify the Pacific Coast groundfish regulations
to more closely track the organization of the proposed management measures and that would
establish the allocations set forth under Amendment 21 and procedures for initial issuance of
permits, endorsements, quota shares, and catch history assignments under the IFQ and coop
programs.
PR 0648-AY68, Program Components, to be published coincident with the submission of this
information request, proposes the key components that would be necessary to implement the
trawl rationalization program at the start of the 2011 fishery. This rule supplements the prior
initial issuance rule, and provides additional details, including: Program components applicable
to IFQ gear switching, observer programs, retention requirements, equipment requirements,
catch monitors, catch weighing requirements, coop permits/agreements, first receiver site
licenses, quota share accounts, vessel quota pound accounts, further tracking and monitoring
components, and economic data collection requirements. NMFS will submit several information
collections associated with the program rules. This particular information collection addresses
the following items: first receiver site license, coop permits/agreements, quota share accounts
and vessel quota pound accounts.
2. Explain how, by whom, how frequently, and for what purpose the information will be
used. If the information collected will be disseminated to the public or used to support
information that will be disseminated to the public, then explain how the collection
complies with all applicable Information Quality Guidelines.
Annual QS Permit Renewal
Each year, NMFS will send out a prefilled QS permit renewal form by September 1st each year.
The owner of QS permit must renew the permit by November 30th. The QS permit owner will
be required to make any changes necessary to their contact information (QS permit owner
address, phone number, fax number, email address) and the name of QS account manager and
his/her address, phone number, email address,and to certify that information provided on the
form is correct. The purpose of the renewal of QS permit is to maintain current permit contact
information for the QS permit owner.
As part of the annual renewal of the QS permit the owner will be required to provide a completed
ownership interest information form. This information is needed to reconfirm who has an
ownership interest in the permit and what percentage do they own (only individuals who have
2% or more need be given). A prefilled ownership interest form will be mailed by NMFS
providing the ownership interest information previously provided by the QS owner (either with
the initial QS permit application or prior year renewal). The QS permit owner will need only to
certify that current information is correct as given or make modifications as necessary.

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Modifications would include listing any new shareholders, including their date of birth, business
address, and their percentage of ownership, deletion of shareholders, and modification of
existing shareholder ownership amounts and/or address. A complete ownership interest form
must be submitted with the renewal form in order for NMFS to renew the QS permit. This
information will allow NMFS to monitor compliance with the accumulation limit requirements.
Also, the QS permit owner must submit a completed economic data collection survey as part of
the QS permit renewal. This survey is described in a separate PRA submission. After the
program rule is implemented, the economic data survey will be mailed out in May and will be
due in September of the same year. This due date will coincide with the mailing of the QS
permit renewal form and ownership interest form. In order for NMFS to renew the QS permit,
this survey must be completed and submitted to NMFS.
Initially, most QS permit owners will have a current limited entry permit which is subject to
annual renewal during the same time period. NMFS will not combine the LEP and QS holder
into one renewal form because some QS holders are processors who do not have a limited entry
permit. Two years after the implementation of the program, QS may be transferred to persons
who may not own limited entry permits. The QS permit may not be renewed if a completed
economic data collection survey has not been submitted to NMFS for the most recent interval.
Ownership Interest Form
The trawl rationalization program includes a series of accumulation caps which limit the amount
of quota share an individual or entity may own or control. These limits apply to selective parts
of the shoreside QS program and the at-sea whiting program. Specifically these accumulation
limits include the following: a limit on the amount of QS any entity or individual may own; a
limit on the percent of total MS/CV permits any individual or entity may own. Additionally, no
individual or entity may own MS permits that are registered to vessels that process more than
45% of the total mothership sector whiting allocation in a given year.
In a prior PRA submission for the trawl rationalization program, NMFS included a requirement
that an ownership interest form be submitted as part of an application for a QS permit, MS
permit and MS/CV endorsement. In this information collection, NMFS will require any owner of
MS/CV endorsed limited entry permit, MS permit or QS permit owner, to submit a complete
ownership interest form at time of initial application for MS/CV endorsement, MS permit
endorsement or QS permit (both current trawl permit owner and whiting processor associated
with initial issuance) and each year as part of renewal of these permits. Also, each year after
initial issuance, any owner of a MS/CV endorsed limited entry permit, MS permit or QS permit
will be required to provide a complete ownership interest form. Also, as part of a transfer, any
subsequent new permit or vessel owner (not currently holding another such permit/endorsement)
of a MS/CV endorsed limited entry permit or MS permit will be required to submit an ownership
interest form. Similarly, after the start of the program, any new QS permit owner (example:
receiving QS through legal proceeding) must submit an ownership interest form.
All owners of a vessel registered to a vessel account will be required to submit a complete
ownership interest form at the time a vessel account is requested and each year as part of renewal
of a vessel account. A vessel account will not be activated until it is renewed by the vessel

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owner. If the owner of a limited entry permit and the owner of the vessel are the same and the
shareholders and ownership amounts for each shareholder are identical, the person may fill out
one ownership interest form for both the permit and the vessel. The permit owner/vessel owner
will be required to certify that the ownership interest is identical for both permit and vessel.
NMFS requires an ownership interest form from owners of vessels registered to vessel accounts
because control of QS is determined on a case by case basis and extensive control of QP may
indicate control of the underlying QS. Ownership interest forms related to vessel owners will
assist NMFS in understanding issues related to control.
NMFS will use the ownership interest form to determine whether individuals and entities are
complying with the accumulation limits. If NMFS finds that an individual or entity exceeds the
accumulation limit, NMFS will withhold reissuance of the permit until the permit owner
complies with the accumulation cap. NMFS requires submission of this data at least annually of
existing permit owners because individual ownership interest amounts may fluctuate over time
and/or shareholders may be added to or leave the ownership group.
First Receiver Site License Application/Interim FR Site License/Renewal
NMFS will require that all first receivers who receive purchase or take custody of species
covered by the IFQ program to apply for and obtain a valid site license for each physical location
where an offload will occur for such species. Separate licenses will be required for each unique
first receiver and associated unique offload site (a physical location) (i.e.; a first receiver
company that receives IFQ species at three different locations will be required to have 3 separate
site licenses). Under the trawl rationalization program, all QS groundfish species and overfish
species must be weighed and accounted for at a facility. The first receiver will be required to
have a catch monitor at the offload site to observe the sorting and weighing of landing. The
catch monitor will provide NMFS with data that fully accounts for a landing and will assist
NMFS law enforcement in their efforts to identify sites where IFQ offloads will occur and where
catch monitors will need to be on site to observe offloads during the fishing season.
Each year, a first receiver must apply for site license prior to receiving an IFQ offload. The first
receiver can apply any time during the year. The site license is effective for duration of the
calendar year in which it is issued. In subsequent years, the first receiver must reapply for a site
license. As part of the application, the first receiver must have a catch monitor plan approved by
NMFS, a complete economic data collection survey for the most recent time period and have a
current state buyer’s or dealer’s license. If a first receiver’s state buyer’s/dealer’s license is
voided, the first receiver site license will be voided as well. The first receiver must submit a
catch monitor plan that details how groundfish will be weighed and accounted for at the plant.
NMFS may require revisions or additional information for inclusion to the catch monitor plan as
it deems necessary. NMFS will conduct a site inspection after NMFS receives the catch monitor
plan. The catch monitor plan and site inspection requirements are detailed in a separate
information collection.
Upon approval of the program component rule, NMFS will accept applications for an interim
first receiver site license. Because NMFS will not be able to review and approve catch monitor
plans (due to the late publication of the program rule) prior to the first year of the program,
NMFS will allow first receivers to apply and obtain interim first receiver site licenses. The
applicant will be required to provide a catch monitor plan and state buyer’s license number with

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this site license application. No economic data collection will be required for an interim first
receiver site license, but will be required as part of subsequent license renewals or first receiver
site license applications (if the first receiver participated in prior year). The interim first receiver
site license will be issued through June 30, 2011. It is anticipated that all catch monitor plans
will be approved by that date. If a catch monitor plan is not submitted with the interim first
receiver site license application, NMFS will deem the application incomplete and will not
process the application. A new first receiver site license (subsequent to the interim license) will
be reissued once the catch monitor plan is approved.
Each year, NMFS will mail to all existing first receiver site license holders a prefilled renewal
form in advance of the expiration date of their license. Applicants will be requested to submit
the renewal form prior to the expiration date of their license to allow NMFS time to approve
their catch monitor plan. The renewal form will update NMFS address and contact information
for the first receivers; formally register where IFQ offloads will be authorized and will require a
catch monitor; and will allow NMFS to collect economic data from first receivers. Applicants
will be requested to certify that the existing information is correct or to make revisions to the
address and contact information and certify those revisions as needed. The first receiver must
provide with their renewal form a catch monitor plan and a complete economic data collection
form that is due to NMFS with the renewal form. The first receiver site license will not be
processed until all required items are provided.
Annual Economic Data Collection/Trawl Permit Transfer Transaction Price Information
NMFS will submit a separate information collection request for the economic data collection
information collection. NMFS will require that all lessees, charterers and owners of catcher
vessels registered trawl endorsed limited entry permits (including MS/CV endorsed permits and
C/P endorsed permits) and owners and lessees of processors and buyers who processed or
purchased IFQ groundfish to submit an economic data collection (EDC) form for a prior interval.
An initial EDC submission will be for baseline years of 2009 and 2010. Subsequently, the EDC
submissions will be for a calendar year starting in 2011 and beyond. The NMFS Northwest
Science Center will mail the economic data collection survey in May each year well in advance
of the permit renewal period. For those permits that are renewed in 2011 for the year 2012, all
lessees, charterers and owners of trawl limited entry permits will be requested to provide a
baseline economic data collection for 2009 and 2010. Subsequent renewals of these permits will
require an economic data survey for the prior calendar year. A table detailing who is required to
submit an EDC and the permit renewals they are tied to is provided at 50 CFR 660.114 (b) in the
regulations.
Also, as part of any transfer of trawl endorsed limited entry permit or mothership permit, NMFS
will require that the current permit owner to provide permit transaction price information. This
will include both questions about whether the transaction is a sale or lease, the price, lease
duration, whether the price reflects the total value of the transaction; if not, what other
considerations are part of the transaction; and if the price of the transaction was zero, what was
the nature of the transaction. Transfers occur periodically during the year and the number
transfers involving vessels is limited (one or two depending on the endorsement) during a
calendar year. NMFS will collect this information to better understand changes in the value of

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trawl limited entry permits and mothership permits under the trawl rationalization program and
the nature of these transactions. The transfer of trawl limited entry permits and mothership
permits will be carried out using transfer form currently authorized under OMB Control No.
0648-0203 (referred to as a change in vessel registration or permit owner/holder application).
This form will be modified to include a new section that provides questions regarding the nature
of the transaction price involving the permit. The incremental time burden to provide this
additional information is negligible.
QS Permit and QS Account Registration
Under OMB Control 0648-0611 (associated with RIN 0648-AY68), the NWR established that
QS permits will be initially issued to current Pacific Coast groundfish limited entry permit
owners who meet the qualifying requirements and provide an initial issuance of QS allocation
based on the permit’s catch history. Initially, NMFS will establish a web based QS account for
all QS permit applicants who are approved to receive an initial issuance of QS. The initial
issuance of QS allocation and QPs (based on the optimal yield for each species) will be deposited
into a QS account. NMFS will establish an account number and issue a user ID and password to
access the account. The QS account will continue in existence until such time that the QS permit
owner or NMFS elects to close it. Annual allocations of QS and associated QPs will be
deposited to the QS account by NMFS if the QS permit owner renews their QS permit in a timely
fashion.
In the first two years of the program, QS allocations cannot be transferred to any other QS permit
owner and as such, NMFS/NWR does not anticipate issuing new QS permits during the initial
two year period. However, the proposed regulations provide an exception to this requirement
which allows for QS to be conveyed to another person as a result of legal proceeding (i.e.; death
of QS permit owner, divorce involving the permit owner, bankruptcy). For purposes of this
information collection, a new person who wants a QS permit will be required to submit a letter to
NMFS requesting a QS permit and QS account and provide legal documents that provide proof
that the individual or entity has been awarded QS as a result of legal proceeding. Please note
that NMFS anticipates amending this information collection prior to the 3rd year of the program
to add a QS permit application. This form will provide a formal registration mechanism for
persons who wish to obtain a QS permit (and QS via transfer) from existing QS permit owners.
NMFS anticipates that only a small number of QS conveyances by court directive will occur
during the initial two years of the program. A QS permit and account will not be established by
NMFS if the permit owner/account holder has not provided a complete EDC that is currently due
to NMFS. NMFS may require additional information or documentation from a new QS permit
owner to determine if the person is eligible to own QS as specified in regulation.
The information required from the person to issue a QS permit/establish a new QS account
includes the following: the legal name of the QS permit owner (including anyone who will
receive the QS as a result of legal proceeding); date of birth or tax identification number for the
named person; business address, including city, state and zip code; business phone number, fax
number (optional) and email address (optional). Once the QS account is established by NMFS,
the QS permit owner will be provided a user identification and password to allow them access to
the account. For both the initial issuance of QS permits/accounts and any subsequent issuance of

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QS permits/accounts, NMFS may require the name of a QS account manager, address, phone
number and email address that will serve as point of contact for NMFS to resolve technical
issues (i.e.; system errors) or possible errors involving an account NMFS did not request this as
part of the QS permit application (covered in OMB Control 0648-0611) but may request in a
letter to QS permit owners prior to creating QS account. If the QS permit owner does not
designate an account manager, NMFS will assume that permit owner is the point of contact for
matters relating the account. Further, identification of a QS account manager by the QS permit
owner will allow NMFS to send a user ID and password both initially and if lost to the individual
authorized to manage the account. NMFS may require the account manager to provide answers
to security questions to authenticate the request of a new user ID and password. The account
manager will be able to establish access privileges (i.e. view only, view and transfer) for those
individuals working on behalf of the QS permit owner. Because the QS account contains
business confidential information and access to asset that has value, not all employees of the QS
permit owner may need to have access to such information or will have the authority to transfer
associated quota pounds to a vessel account.
Transfer of QS/QPs from QS Account to Vessel Account
QS permit owners (QS account holder) will be allocated an associated amount of QPs based on
their QS allocation for a particular species and the optimal yield for the year for each species.
Each year, QS permit owners/account holders will be required to transfer all of their associated
QPs (QS/QPs) for each species to one or more vessel accounts by September 1. Such transfers
may involve a single transfer of QS/QPs in a QS account to a single vessel account or may
involve multiple transfers of QS/QPs for various species to several vessel accounts. NMFS
requires QS/QP transfers to vessel account in order to allow vessels to have access to QPs to
cover their IFQ landings and discards during the fishing season. All such transfers will be
registered and approved electronically with NMFS.
Transfers of QS/QPs to vessel accounts will be conducted using a web based online IFQ system.
A QS permit owner may transfer the associated QPs for various species to one vessel or multiple
vessels. For each transaction, QS permit owners/account holders will be required to designate
the vessel account(s) they want to transfer the QS/QPs to, and then designate the amount of
QS/QPs for each species. The QS permit owner/QS account holder will be required to submit
(each of the transfer transaction to the system after reviewing the amounts of QS/QP for each
species. The online account system will determine if the amount of QPs subject to transfer will
exceed the vessel account limits. If the pending transfer results in the accumulated amount
exceeding the limits for any of the species in the vessel account, the transfer will not be approved
by the system. If the transfer transaction is in an amount that is within the limits for each species
in the vessel account, the transfer will be forwarded to the vessel account. The vessel owner or
designee will be required to accept or not accept the transfer of QPs from the QS account. The
QS account holder may withdraw the transfer at any time prior to acceptance/non acceptance by
the vessel account holder. Upon acceptance by the vessel owner or designee, the vessel account
will credited with the QPs and the QS account will be debited. A transaction confirmation
number will be provided to both transferor and transferee detailing the transaction (whether the
transaction was accepted/not accepted by the transferee, time, date, the amount of QS/QPs by
species).

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As part of any transfer of QS/QPs from a QS account to vessel account, the transferor and
transferee will be required to provide transaction price information. The purpose for requesting
this information is to assist NMFS and others in analyzing the trawl rationalization program and
specifically, the value of QS/QPs for various species over time. This collection will include
questions about whether the transaction is a sale or lease, the sale or lease price, lease duration,
whether the price reflects the total value of the transaction; if not, what other considerations are
part of the transaction; and if the price of the transaction was zero, what was the nature of the
transaction. If the transaction price is not provided, the transfer will not be approved.
Vessel Account Registration and Annual Renewal
In order to cover a vessel’s landings or discards from IFQ trip, an owner of a vessel must register
a vessel to a vessel account. NMFS will require each vessel owner to request in writing that they
want to set up a web based vessel account for their vessel. In order for NMFS to establish the
account, the vessel must be registered to a trawl-endorsed Pacific Coast groundfish limited entry
permit. A vessel owner need only register for the vessel account one time for the period that
he/she owns the vessel. The vessel account will remain open active on an ongoing basis until
such time that NMFS or the vessel owner elects to close it. When a vessel owner requests a
vessel account, the vessel must be registered to a trawl limited entry permit. It is anticipated that
smaller numbers of vessels will participate in the IFQ fishery. While some vessels may continue
to be registered to a trawl endorsed limited entry permit, they may choose not to participate in
the IFQ fishery and as such will not require a vessel account.
To register a vessel account, the vessel owner must provide in a letter or email to NMFS the
following information: the vessel name and United States Coast Guard (USCG) documentation
number or state registration number, Pacific Coast Groundfish limited entry permit number, the
vessel owner name, and any updated contact information (business address, business phone
number, fax number, email address) if different from that currently given on the limited entry
permit. Once the vessel account is established by NMFS, the vessel owner or account manager
will be provided a user identification and password to allow them access to the account, vessel
account number and a user guide. NMFS may require that the vessel owner provide the name of
a vessel account manager, address, phone number and email address. The account manager
information is needed to provide NMFS a point of contact to resolve technical issues (i.e. system
errors) or possible errors associated with the account. If the vessel owner does not designate an
account manager NMFS will assume that the vessel owner is the point of contact for the account.
Identification of a vessel account manager by the vessel owner will allow NMFS to send a user
ID and password initially and if lost to the individual authorized to manage the account. The
account manager may be required to provide answers to security questions authenticate the
account manager’s request for a new user ID and password. The account manager will be able to
establish access privileges (i.e.; view only, view and transfer) for those individuals working on
behalf of the vessel owner. Because the vessel account contains business confidential
information and contains access to an asset that has value, not all employees of the vessel owner
may be authorized to have access to such information or will have the authority to transfer
associated quota pounds into or out of a vessel account. The vessel owner may be required to
provide the vessel account number when making a declaration of an IFQ trip and provide this
number when making a landing on the electronic fish ticket. This information is needed to
properly attribute the vessel landings to a specific vessel account

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All owners of vessels registered to vessel accounts must renew their accounts each year in order
to keep the vessel account active. On or about September 1, 2010, NMFS will send to vessel
owners a vessel account renewal form. If the vessel account information (including the vessel
account manager name, address, phone number and email address) is correct as given, the vessel
owner needs only to sign and date the form. If the data is not correct, the vessel owner will be
required to provide revisions on the form. The renewal form may be provided electronically via
the online vessel account system. The purpose of the renewal of the vessel account is to update
vessel owner information and to obtain the required economic data survey and ownership interest
form. NMFS requires an ownership interest form from owners of vessels registered to vessel
accounts because control of QS is determined on a case-by-case basis and extensive control of
QP may indicate control of the underlying QS. Ownership interest forms related to vessel owner
will assist NMFS in understanding issues related to control.
If the owner of a limited entry permit and the owner of the vessel are the same and the
shareholders and ownership amounts for each shareholder are identical, the person may fill out
one ownership interest form for both the permit and the vessel. The permit owner/vessel owner
will be required to certify that the ownership interest is identical for both permit and vessel.
If a vessel owner fails to provide a complete renewal package their vessel account prior to the
next calendar year, NMFS will not carryover remaining QPs from one year to another and will
not activate the vessel account at the beginning of the following year. The vessel account will be
activated once the vessel owner completes the renewal requirements.
Transfer of QPs between Vessel Accounts
An owner of a vessel register to an active vessel account may transfer QPs for various IFQ
species to another vessel account anytime during a calendar year. The number of QP transfers
from one vessel account to another vessel account will vary depending on a variety of conditions
including business strategies, need for QPs of a particular species to cover an overage or
anticipated landings/discards, a vessel has a surplus of QPs for a particular species at the end of
the year, etc. After receiving an initial transfer of QS/QPs from QS account, some vessels may
not require additional QPs for the year and may not transfer additional QPs into or out of their
vessel account.
The online system will document every transfer of QPs between vessel accounts. Such transfers
of QPs between vessel accounts must be transacted on the NMFS online IFQ system. Using the
online system, the transferor vessel owner will be required to designate the vessel it wants to
transfer the QPs to and then designate the amount of QPs for each species that will be subject to
transfer. The transferee will be required to submit (click on a submit button) each of the transfer
transactions of QPs to the vessel account. The online account system will determine if the
amount of QPs subject to transfer will exceed the transferor’s vessel account limit. If the
pending transfer will result in the balance for any species being exceeded in the transferee’s
vessel account, the transfer will not be approved. If the proposed transaction is in an amount that
is within the limits for each species in the vessel account, the pending transaction will be
forwarded to the vessel owner or designee who will be required to accept or not accept the
transfer. Upon acceptance by the vessel owner or designee, the transferor’s vessel account will

10

be debited for the amount and species indicated in the transaction and the transferee’s vessel
account will be credited for the same amount. A transaction confirmation number will be
provided to both transferor and transferee detailing the transaction (whether the transaction was
accepted/not accepted by the transferee, time, date, the amount of QS/QPs by species). Similarly,
if the transfer is not accepted, both parties will receive a message in their online accounts that
documents the action of the transferee and will provide a transaction confirmation number. The
transferor may withdraw the proposed transfer at any time prior to an action taken by the
transferee.
As part of any transfer of QPs from one vessel account to another vessel account, the transferor
will be required to provide transaction price information. The purpose for requesting this
information is to assist NMFS and others in analyzing the trawl rationalization program and
specifically, the value QS/QPs for various species over time. This collection will include
questions about whether the transaction is a sale or lease, the sale or lease price, lease duration,
whether the price reflects the total value of the transaction; if not, what other considerations are
part of the transaction; and if the price of the transaction was zero or non-monetary, what was the
nature of the transaction. The purpose for requesting this information is to assist NMFS and
others in analyzing the trawl rationalization program. If the transaction price information is not
provided, the transfer of QPs will not be approved.
QP Transaction Dispute Request
If a QS permit owner/account holder or vessel owner/account holder wishes to dispute the
accuracy of the amount and/or species given for a specific transaction or their balances, the QS
permit owner and/or vessel owner must submit a letter to NMFS and identify the specific
transaction (transaction number) and describe the nature of the error(s). A QS permit owner or
vessel owner may request a correction to their accounts any time during the year. NMFS will
review the claim made by the QS permit owner and vessel owner to determine if the claim has
merit and make a determination whether to correct the account balances. NMFS will notify both
parties involved in the transaction of its determination on whether a correction is warranted.
Given that QPs have value, it is important that the online IFQ system accurately reflect accurate
amounts that were subject to transfer and that these accounts maintain accurate QP balances.
This process allows for formal request to correct possible errors generated by the online system
and NMFS’s review and determination in such cases.
AT-SEA WHITING SECTOR
Mothership Permit Renewal
A MS permit must be renewed by the permit owner on an annual basis. The renewal of the MS
permit is required of the permit owner to certify that the current permit contact data is correct or
to provide updated address and contact information; to certify that ownership interest
information is correct as previously reported or to update it; and to provide economic data
collection information due for the most recent year. The form used for a MS permit renewal will
be the same as provided for Pacific Coast Groundfish limited entry permits (currently covered
under OMB Control No. 0648-0203). Each year, NMFS will mail out a prefilled renewal form to

11

all MS permit owners on September 1st. The permit owner must return a completed form by
November 30th of each year.
The permit owner will be required to certify that current contact information including business
address, business phone number, fax number and email address for both the permit owner and
the vessel owner is correct by signing and dating the form. If the contact information has
changed, the permit owner must make changes to the existing data on the form. Failure to renew
the permit by the end of the calendar year may result in the permanent expiration of the permit.
As part of the annual renewal, the MS permit owner will be required to provide an ownership
interest form and economic data collection form (described on page 6, covered under a separate
information collection) if due to NMFS. A MS permit will not be renewed until a complete
ownership interest form and/or economic data collection form (if due to NMFS) is provided.
NMFS will provide to the MS permit owner a prefilled ownership interest form listing
shareholders, the ownership interest amount and the address given for each shareholder. The
permit owner will be required to certify that the existing information is correct or make changes
to the listed shareholders, address information or ownership amounts as needed and certify by
signing and dating the form. The regulations require that no individual or entity owning a MS
permit may process more than 45% of the total MS sector whiting allocation. The ownership
interest information collected each year will assist NMFS in determining compliance of permit
owners with this requirement.
NMFS/Northwest Science Center will mail the economic data collection form to the permit
owner and vessel owner.
Mothership Permit Transfer
Permit owners are required to submit a complete transfer form to NMFS to change permit
ownership; transfers can occur anytime during the calendar year. The term “transfer” refers to
any change in permit owner, vessel owner or vessel registered to the current permit. The transfer
form provides formal certification and documentation of the request and allows NMFS to review
request for compliance with permit regulations. The regulations allow for a MS permit to be
transferred to 2 different vessels after January 1, however the second transfer must be back to the
vessel originally registered to the permit in a given year. Changes in permit or vessel ownership
can be requested as many times as necessary during a calendar year. A permit owner will be
required to use the existing transfer form authorized under the collection OMB Control No.
0648-0203. Any approved request will result in NMFS reissuing the permit with requested
changes. A transfer request may be disapproved and is subject to appeal.
Any transfer that registers a new permit owner will require the new owner to submit an
ownership interest form. The respondent will be required to provide all shareholders and the
amounts of ownership interest (in an amount of 2% or greater) each individual has in the permit.
The regulations will require that no individual or entity owning a MS permit may process more
than 45% of the total MS sector whiting allocation. The ownership interest information collected
at time of transfer for a new permit owner will assist NMFS in determining compliance with this
requirement. The transfer will not be processed if a complete ownership interest form is not
provided.

12

Also, the transferor and transferee involved in a transfer of MS permit will be required to provide
an economic data collection form if currently due to NMFS.
MS/Catcher Vessel (CV) Permit Renewal – Annual Co-op or Non Co-op Declaration
Each year, the owner of a MS/CV endorsed limited entry permit must indicate as part of the
permit renewal whether they will participate in the co-operative fishery or the non-co-op fishery.
If the permit owner selects the co-operative fishery, they must indicate which MS they anticipate
being obligated to for the coming year. This non-binding declaration will assist NMFS in
understanding how many, if any MS/CV permits may not be members to a co-op for the coming
year and will detail the specific mothership vessel to which the CV anticipates being obligated.
Because the MS/CV endorsement will be assigned to an existing trawl limited entry permit, the
renewal form that will be used is currently covered under OMB Control No. 0648-0203. The
annual co-op/non-co-op declaration would be a revision to the existing authorized permit
renewal form. Permit owners would be required to provide this information as part of the
renewal process. The amount of time required to provide this information will be negligible.
MS/CV Endorsed Permit and C/P endorsed Permit Renewal and Transfer
Under the initial issuance regulations, NMFS will issue MS/CV and C/P endorsements to
existing Pacific Coast Groundfish limited entry permits. As such, these permits are subject to
current transfer and renewal regulations and the information collections associated with transfer
and renewal are covered under OMB Control No. 0648-0203. Any transfer covered under the
current collection, will now require that the current permit owner or any new permit owner or
vessel owner to provide an economic data collection form if currently due to NMFS. If the
outstanding economic data collection form is not provided, NMFS will not process the transfer.
Mothership Co-operative Permit
Each year, on a voluntary basis, MS/CV permit owners may form a co-operative(s) for the
purpose of participating in the mothership whiting sector. To register as a MS co-op, at least
20% of the MS/CV permits must be obligated to the co-op. NMFS will issue a MS co-operative
permit that recognizes the participating vessels and the permits that are obligated to the co-op
NMFS will manage and monitor the fishery at the sector level, but to effectively monitor the
fishery and to carry out enforcement activities, must know which permits are obligated to the cooperative and which catcher vessels will fish for the co-ops and which mothership a particular
CV will deliver to. All parties have potential legal liability if they fail to comply with the
regulations. Further, NMFS must know which MS/CV permits are obligated to a co-op in order
to assign percentage of whiting on the aggregate catch history assignments to the co-op.
In order to register a MS co-op, each year the co-op entity must submit a complete application
form and a signed/dated co-operative agreement by March 31st. In addition to submitting a
complete application form, the co-op entity must submit with the application a copy of a current
co-op agreement. The co-op agreement is a private contract binding members’ participation in

13

the co-op and establishing terms and conditions of member participation in the co-op. The co-op
agreement must have all of the elements detailed in regulation. Also, the co-op entity must
provide any inter-co-op agreements that it has entered into at the time of application.
In addition, the co-op entity must provide an annual report for the prior year, if the co-op
participated in the MS whiting fishery. This annual report must provide the details required in
the regulations and will serve to inform NMFS, the Council and others about the fishing
activities and management of the co-op for the prior year. NMFS will not process the MS co-op
permit if an annual report has not been filed with NMFS. The annual time burden for this
collection includes the time required to prepare the annual report.
NMFS may require the applicant to provide a corporate resolution authorizing an individual to
certify the application and may require the co-op entity to provide clarifications or additional
information as it deems necessary to process the application.
Material Change to a MS Co-op
A co-op manager of either a MS co-op or the C/P co-op must notify NMFS in writing of any
material change to co-op agreement within 7 calendar days of such changes. Within 30 calendar
days, the designated co-op manger must submit to NMFS a revised co-op agreement with a letter
that describes such changes. NMFS will review the material changes and provide a letter to the
co-op manager that either accepts the changes as given or does not accept the revised co-op
agreement with a letter stating the reasons that it was not accepted by NMFS. The co-op will be
required to resubmit the co-op agreement with further revisions that respond to NMFS concerns.
NMFS requires this notification because the co-ops serve to manage the harvest of whiting
through a co-op agreement with their members and NMFS relies on the co-operative for effective
management of the sector. The co-op agreement provides important mechanism to effectively
manage fishing activities, including monitoring and enforcement activities within the co-op.
NMFS will review the co-op agreement to ensure that monitoring and enforcement efforts are
appropriate. As such, if the co-op decides in mid season to make a material change to its
agreement with its members, it is imperative that NMFS be aware and approve of such changes
to the operational requirements of the co-op.
Mutual Agreement Exception/MS Permit Withdrawal
A CV can be released from a MS processor obligation through mutual exception agreement of
the MS/CV permit owner and a MS permit owner. The owner of MS/CV permit must submit a
copy of the agreement to NMFS that includes the MS permit owner’s acknowledgement of
termination of the catcher vessel’s obligation to the mothership vessel. In addition, the owner of
the MS/CV endorsed permit must identify in writing the vessel’s obligation to a new MS permit.
If a MS permit withdraws from the fishery before the resulting amounts of catch history
assignment have been announced by NMFS, then any MS/CV permit obligated to that MS
permit may elect to participate in the co-op or non-co-op fishery. The MS permit owner shall
provide written notification to NMFS and all owners of MS/CV permit obligated to it of its
withdrawal. In turn, the MS/CV permit owners shall notify NMFS of the intent to participate in

14

the co-op or non co-op fishery. If continuing in copy fishery, then MS/CV permit owner shall
provide to NMFS the new MS permit it will be obligated to for the season.
The purpose of these notifications is to assist NMFS in tracking and monitoring changes in
catcher vessel and mothership obligations which is important to monitoring the fishery. Because
most of the catcher vessels and mothership vessels have had long term business relationships in
past years, it is anticipated that the number of mutual agreement exceptions and mothership
withdrawals will be few.
Addition of a CV to MS Co-op
For the mothership sector, a co-op manager is required to notify NMFS when a catcher vessel no
longer is fishing for the co-operative or if another catcher vessel will be fishing for the cooperative. The purpose of this information collection is to allow NMFS to effectively monitor
which catcher vessels are fishing for a co-op at any time during the season. All catcher vessels
participating in the mothership fishery must have observers and legally liable to comply with all
regulations given for the fishery. Mothership co-ops will provide a list of vessels that will be
fishing for the co-op as part of their co-op permit applications. However, after the start of the
fishing season, some vessels may opt out of the co-op or may elect to have other vessels
registered to trawl endorsed limited entry permits (not MS/CV endorsed) fish for the co-ops.
The co-op manager must notify NMFS prior to having a new vessel fish for the co-op and
identify the motherships that they will be delivering to. The written notification must provide the
name of the vessels and vessel numbers. Similarly, if a vessel originally identified as fishing for
the co-op opts out of fishing for the co-op for the remainder of the year, the co-op manager must
notify NMFS in writing.
C/P Co-operative Permit
For many years the catcher processor fishery has operated under a single voluntary co-operative
and all owners of catcher processor vessels have been members to that co-operative. Under the
trawl rationalization program, it is expected that the catch processor fishery will continue to
operate under a single voluntary co-operative. NMFS will continue to monitor the catcher
processor fishery and as such will need to reconfirm annually that the owners of C/P endorsed
permits continue to be obligated to a co-op. If the C/P co-op dissolves, this sector will be
managed under an IFQ program. Each year, NMFS will require that the co-op entity that
manages the C/P co-operative register for an annual permit that recognizes the participating
vessels and the C/P endorsed permits are obligated to the co-op. The co-op will identify a
manager that is responsible to work with NMFS in managing the fishery. The registered co-op
entity will be responsible to pay all cost recovery fees for the co-op members.
In order to register the C/P co-op, each year the co-op entity must submit a complete application
form to NMFS by March 31st. In addition to submitting a complete application form, the co-op
entity must submit with the application a copy of a current co-op agreement. The co-op
agreement is a private contract binding members’ to participate in the co-op and establishing
terms and conditions of member participation. The co-op agreement must include all of the
elements required by regulation. The application form will require: the legal name of co-op

15

entity, tax identification number, business address including city, state and zip code; business
phone number, fax number and email address; name of the co-op manager, date of birth, a list of
C/P endorsed permits and registered vessel name and registration number. In addition, the co-op
entity must provide an annual report for the prior year (after the initial year of the program).
This annual report must provide the details required in the regulations and will serve inform
NMFS, the Council and others about the fishing activities and management of the co-op for the
prior year. NMFS will not process the MS co-op permit if an annual report has not been filed
with NMFS. The annual time burden for this collection includes the time required to prepare the
annual report.
NMFS may require the applicant to provide a corporate resolution authorizing an individual to
certify the application and may require the co-op entity to provide clarifications or additional
information as it deems necessary to process the application.
Co-op Failure
If a MS or C/P co-op fails or dissolves, the co-op manager is required to notify NMFS in writing
of this event. Because co-ops are central to management of these fisheries and how they are
monitored and managed, it is essential to know if a co-op no longer exists. A co-op permit
becomes invalid if the co-op fails. If a C/P co-op fails, NMFS will be required to run this fishery
as an IFQ fishery and allocate whiting in equal amounts to each QS permit owner. It is
important to know about a C/P failure as NMFS will be required to prepare new regulations to
implement a C/P QS program. Similarly, if a MS co-op fails, NMFS will need to know how
much of their allocation has not been fished to date and this balance cannot be reallocated to
other co-ops in sector. Because both the MS and C/P fisheries have successfully used co-ops for
many years and given the benefits derived by participation in co-ops, it is anticipated that a co-op
failure will occur rarely, if at all.
As explained in the preceding paragraphs, the information gathered has utility. NMFS will retain
control over the information and safeguard it from improper access, modification, and
destruction, consistent with NOAA standards for confidentiality, privacy, and electronic
information. See response to Question 10 of this Supporting Statement for more information on
confidentiality and privacy. The information collection is designed to yield data that meet all
applicable information quality guidelines. Although the information collected is not expected to
be disseminated directly to the public, results may be used in scientific, management, technical
or general informational publications. Should NOAA Fisheries Service decide to disseminate the
information, it will be subject to the quality control measures and pre-dissemination review
pursuant to Section 515 of Public Law 106-554.
3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological techniques or other forms of
information technology.
Applications for first receiver site licenses and co-op permits will not be submitted to NMFS
electronically. Applicants that are not prequalified may obtain fillable application forms from

16

the NMFS/Northwest Region Permits Web site and submit them by the deadline date. NMFS
will provide prefilled renewal applications for any renewal of a QS permit, MS permit, and
vessel account. MS permit owners will be able to use an online renewal system to renew their
permits. NMFS will attempt to establish a similar system for QS permit owners and vessel
owners. Similarly, NMFS will also provide prefilled ownership interest data listing shareholders
and the amounts of ownership attributed to each individual and entity as previously reported to
NMFS. This approach will reduce the burden on respondents in preparing their applications.
NMFS will establish an online QS account and vessel account system. The QS permit owner
and vessel owner will be provided user ID and password to activate and access the account.
Both the QS permit owner and vessel owner will be able to transfer QPs in their accounts using
this system and will be able to monitor the balances of their accounts. Vessel accounts will be
connected to a catch accounting database that will record IFQ landings by vessels and discards,
both of which will result a debit of QPs in the account.
4. Describe efforts to identify duplication.
This is a unique information collection and does not duplicate other collections. The trawl
rationalization program has been developed by the Pacific Fishery Management Council and is
unique to the Pacific Coast trawl based fisheries. This program has been reviewed in many
public meetings and subject to public comment. No issues have been raised in the Council
process identifying duplication of this program. This program and the associated information
collection are targeted at a specific part of the fishing industry and authorize specific information
required to implement and administer this program. This collection will involve transfers and
renewals of QS and MS permits which are currently not covered under OMB Control No. 06480203.
5. If the collection of information involves small businesses or other small entities, describe
the methods used to minimize burden.
Many of the respondents are small businesses. NMFS will provide prefilled ownership interest
forms and renewal forms providing current data specific to business entity and permit. This
respondent need only certify that the current information is correct or make the incremental
changes to the current data as necessary.
6. Describe the consequences to the Federal program or policy activities if the collection is
not conducted or is conducted less frequently.
QS Permit and MS Permit Renewals
The annual renewal information collection is necessary to confirm current permit address and
contact information is correct or to revise it as necessary and to maintain accurate registrations of
permit. If the collection is not conducted or conducted less frequently, over time the permit
information would not be correct and outdated. Many permit owners do not update their contact
information at the time of such changes. NMFS requires accurate permit address and contact

17

data in order to contact permit and vessel owners about permit specific issues and to provide
general notices about the fishery.
MS Permit Transfers
If the collection of permit transfer information is not conducted or conducted less frequently,
NMFS will be unable to limit fishing effort in the groundfish fishery, which is critical to the
conservation and management of the groundfish resource. Because permits convey a
conditional privilege given by NMFS, any transfer of such privilege to another permit owner or
vessel, must be formally registered with the Agency. Permit owner/vessel owner and vessel
registration information is important in enforcing management regulations, providing authorized
participants with notice of important fishery information during the season and providing
analysts with high quality permit data.
MS and C/P Co-op Permit and First Receiver Site License Annual Registrations
Co-op permit registrations and first receiver site licenses are required annually. The whiting atsea fishery is carried out primarily by co-ops that organize vessels to harvest the whiting
allocation.
If NMFS does not require first receivers to register or register less frequently, it would hinder
NMFS’s ability to effectively carry out monitoring and enforcement requirements of the trawl
rationalization program. Each first receiver must request a site license for each individual site
that will receive or take possession of fish from a vessel. Such landings must be weighed, sorted
and documented by a Federal catch monitor. NMFS must know how many catch monitors will
be required and the sites that IFQ landings will occur for each fishing season. Enforcement
officials need to know where IFQ landings will occur in a given year so it can target inspections
as required. Annual registrations are required because there is no presumption that a particular
first receiver will participate in the IFQ fishery from one year to the next.
Ownership Interest – QS Permit Application/MS/CV and MS Transfer and Renewals
Ownership interest forms must be submitted as part of transfers of MS/CV and MS permits
referenced above. The ownership interest information is required to determine if any applicant
(including individuals who have interest in entities who are applicant) will own and control QS,
MS permits, or MS/CV permits in excess of the accumulation limits. If NMFS does not collect
this ownership interest or less frequently, NMFS would not be able to track changes in
shareholders or shareholder ownership interest amounts over time or to obtain initial ownership
interest information from new permit owners (as part of transfer). This information is needed at
to monitor compliance with the accumulation limits for both existing permit owners on an
ongoing basis and to check compliance on any new permit owner. The accumulation limits are
provided to meet the legal mandate under MSA which requires that individuals and/or entities
should not receive access to a disproportionate amount of the resource.

18

Transfers of QS/QPs from QS Accounts to and between vessel accounts
If QS permit owners or vessel owners are not required to provide information involving transfers
QS/QPs to vessel accounts or QPs from vessel account to vessel account, the IFQ fishery could
not be effectively prosecuted. There is a need for an account system that documents the transfer
QPs so account holders reliably know what QP balances are registered to a person (QS permit
owner or vessel owner with vessel account), can confirm the exchange has occurred and
approved, that transfer complies with accumulation limits. The QS/QP accounting system is
critical to execution of the fishery and the benefits of the trawl rationalization system cannot be
recognized with having a real time accounting system that allows for transfer of IFQ species to
and between vessel accounts. This IFQ accounting system allows toconfirm that such transfers
occurred and conformed to private business agreements. NMFS must have this information in
order to broadly manage the fishery and to analyze the trawl rationalization program.
7. Explain any special circumstances that require the collection to be conducted in a
manner inconsistent with OMB guidelines.
Not Applicable.
8. Provide information on the PRA Federal Register Notice that solicited public comments
on the information collection prior to this submission. Summarize the public comments
received in response to that notice and describe the actions taken by the agency in response
to those comments. Describe the efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to
obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of
instructions and recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data
elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported.
A proposed rule RIN 0648-AY68, Program Components, will be published coincident with the
submission of this information collection, for public comment on the information collection
requirements.
Some of the forms provided for in this collection are authorized under our current collection
OMB Control No. 0648-0203 and that collection’s public burden will be revised to accommodate
certain expansion of the information collections under this proposed rule (i.e.; MS transfer and
renewal, QS renewal).
9. Explain any decisions to provide payments or gifts to respondents, other than
remuneration of contractors or grantees.
Not Applicable.
10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for
assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.
Some of the information collected above is confidential under section 402(b) of the MagnusonStevens Act. It is also confidential under NOAA Administrative Order 216-100, Protection of

19

Confidential Fisheries Statistics. Phone number, fax number and email information associated
with permit/license owners or for owners of vessels or landing facilities or co-op managers are
not released to the public. Ownership interest information including the names of shareholders
and the percentage of ownership interest, transaction price information, transfers of QS/QPs and
QPs between accounts, individual balances in QS and vessel accounts, the QS and vessel account
identification numbers, and co-op agreements that are provided as part of a co-op permit
application are business confidential information. Also, date of birth for an individual required
are covered under the Privacy Act. This information is given on all forms.
The information collected is part of a Privacy Act System of Records, COMMERCE/NOAA
#19, Permits and Registrations for United States Federally Regulated Fisheries. A notice was
published in the Federal Register on April 17, 2008 (73 FR 20914) and became effective on June
11, 2008 (73 FR 33065).
11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual
behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered
private.
Not Applicable.

20

12. Provide an estimate in hours of the burden of the collection of information.
Collection

Responsible Party

# of
Respondents

Frequency of
Responses
per Year

QS Permit Renewal

Permit
owner/whiting first
receiver
QS Transferee

120

QS Permit Application
for QS Transferees
First Receiver Site
License Initial
Issuance/Renewal
MS Renewal
MS Transfer
C/P Co-op Permit
MS Co-op Permit
Change in vessel
fishing for co-op
Material Change
MS Withdrawal/
Mutual Exception
Ownership Interest
Form (1) Renewal
Ownership Interest
Form Transfer
Vessel Account
Registration/
Activation/Renewal
(Initial and Ongoing)
(2)
New Vessel Account
Registration/activation
/Renewal (ongoing)
QS Account
Registration(3)
QS/QP transfer from
QS account to vessel
account(4)
QP Transfer from
vessel account to
vessel account(5)
Transaction Dispute
Request
TOTALS

Average
Time per
response

Annual
Burden

1

Total Number
of
Responses
Per Year
120

20 min.

40 hrs.

3

1

3

6 hrs.

18

First Receiver at a
unique offload site

80

1

80

30 min.

40 hrs

Permit owner
Permit owner
Co-op entity
Co-op entity
Co-op Entity

6
3
1
1
3

1
1
1
1
1

6
3
1
1
3

20 min.
30 min.
4 hrs.
4 hrs.
20 min.

2 hrs
2 hrs
4 hrs
4 hrs
1 hr

Co-op Entity
Permit owners

3
2

1
1

3
2

2 hrs.
2 hrs

6 hrs
4 hrs

Permit Owners

186

1

186

30 min.

93 hrs

Permit Owners

20

1

20

30 min.

10 hrs

Vessel Owners

120

1

120

30 min.

60 hrs

Vessel owners

10

1

10

30 min.

5 hrs.

Permit Owner

1

1

1

1 hr.

1 hrs.

QS permit owner
and vessel owner

120

1.5

180

15 min.

45 hrs

QS Permit owner
and vessel owner

120

10

1,200

15 min.

300 hrs

QS Permit owner
and/or vessel
owner

10

1

10

1 hour

10 hours

186
unduplicated

1,949

645

(1) – Number of respondents (120 QS Permits + 30 MS/CV endorsed permits + 6 Mothership Permits + 30 vessel
owners who do are not permit owners) Ownership interest forms are required as part of renewal of these permits and
vessel accounts
(2) Required of all owners of vessels registered to vessel account
(3) - This estimate is only for an incremental of additional QS account registrations required due to legal proceeding
(i.e.; death of permit owner which are conveyed to a beneficiary)
(4) – Will be carried out online IFQ system. Includes time required to provide transaction price information. Each
transaction requires action by both QS permit owner (transferor) and vessel owner (transferee) and time estimate is
inclusive of both parties.
(5) – Will be carried out online IFQ system. Includes time required to provide transaction price information. Each
transaction requires action by both QS permit owner (transferor) and vessel owner (transferee) and time estimate is
inclusive of both parties.
Note: The above time burden does not estimate the time required to report the dissolution of a co-operative. We
anticipate that a dissolution of a co-op will be a rare event and if it occurs, will require a short letter from the cooperative manager and/or members stating that the co-op has dissolved as of a given date.

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13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to the respondents or recordkeepers resulting from the collection (excluding the value of the burden hours in Question
12 above).
Mailing costs: 428 mailings (all items in the Question 12 table above the account registrations) x
$0.44 per mailing = $188.32
Copy Costs: 2,083 pages x $.05 per page = $104.15.
QS Permit Application and Renewal Fees: $100 x 123 = $12,300
MS Permit Renewal Fee: $100 x 6 = $600
First Receiver Site License Application Fee: $45 x 80 = $3,600
Co-op Permit Application Fee: $240 x 2 = $480.
Total fee cost: 16,980.
Total reporting and recordkeeping costs: $17,273.
14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government.
NMFS will charge application processing fees for renewals to recapture administrative costs. In
addition, the permit office will incur ongoing program costs related to the trawl rationalization
program which includes staff time to: prepare the application/renewal packages; review and
process (enter data) incoming transfer, renewal and annual registration applications; prepare
agency decision documents and permit documents; maintain and improve the vessel and QS
account system, and respond to permit owners and vessel account holders questions about the
program and account operations. The total net administrative cost accruing to the Federal
government is approximately $700,000.
15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments.
This is a new collection.
16. For collections whose results will be published, outline the plans for tabulation and
publication.
The results from this collection are not planned for statistical publication.
17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the
information collection, explain the reasons why display would be inappropriate.
Not Applicable.
18. Explain each exception to the certification statement.
Not Applicable.

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B. COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS
This collection does not employ statistical methods.

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