Pacific Islands Region Observer Program

Pacific Islands Region Observer Program
Information collected through the observer program will be used to: (1) monitor catch
and bycatch; (2) understand the population status and trends of fish stocks and protected
species, as well as the interactions between them; (3) determine the quantity and
distribution of net benefits derived from living marine resources; (4) predict the
biological, ecological, and economic impacts of existing management actions and
proposed management options; and (5) ensure that the observer programs can safely and
efficiently collect the information required for the previous four uses. In particular, the
observer program provides information that is used in analyses that support the
conservation and management of living marine resources and that are required under the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), the Endangered
Species Act (ESA), the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), Executive
Order 12866 (EO 12866), and other applicable law. Most of the information collected by
observers is obtained through “direct observation by an employee or agent of the
sponsoring agency or through non-standardized oral communication in connection with
such direct observations". Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) regulations at 5
C.F.R. 1320.3(h)(3), facts or opinions obtained through such observations and
communications are not considered to be "information" subject to the PRA. The public
reporting burden for responding to the questions that observers ask or that are asked at
the Placement Meeting, and that are subject to the PRA is estimated to average 80
minutes per trip, including the time for hearing and understanding the questions. Send
comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of
information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: National Marine
Fisheries Service, F/SF1, 1315 East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Providing
the requested information is mandatory under regulations at 50 C.F.R. 600.746 for the
safety questions and at 50 C.F.R. Part 665.28, Conditions for At-sea observer coverage
for all other questions, excluding the economic questions. Providing the requested
economic information is voluntary. All information collected by observers will be kept
confidential as required under Section 402(b) of the MSA (18 U.S.C. 1881a(b)) and
regulations at 50 C.F.R. Part 600, Subpart E. 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
Paperwork Reduction Act, unless that collection of information displays a currently valid
OMB Control Number.
OMB Control No. 0648-xxxx
Expires xx/xx/2012.